Monday, March 10, 2008

Almost Mexico

A full day of driving takes us from the edge of the snow covered Sequoia National Forest through the outskirts of hazy LA and, at some points, 8 lanes of freeway in both directions leading south towards sunny San Diego.
San Diego is renowned for sun and unsurprisingly is one of America's closest cities to the Mexican border. It's around 10 miles to Mexico from here. This is also as far south as we're going on the west coast. We'd heard crossing the border into Mexico was easy but getting back into America takes forever.


So here we are. It transpires that we've driven the length of the American West coast in full. To try and put it in perspective the coast of California alone is the distance from London to Milan. There's certainly a Mediterranean climate here which is a nice break from the snow of the last few days. It's back to t-shirt weather again.
Our motel is on the edge of town which seems a bit ramshackle and run down. When driving into downtown San Diego you pass through blocks of homeless and crazies. We see a group of homeless engaged in rapping contest on the street, it's comical at best. Once through the tramp-belt downtown seems decent enough. The main area of congregation is around the Gaslamp District that is lined with bars and restaurants and the odd gas lamp. It's President's Day the day after so the streets and establishments are full and moderately lively. Decent looking Euro-style buildings and upmarket bars mixed in with old style American theatres and shops. Not bad.
Signs have been erected in the area reading, 'Giving to pan handlers promotes drug and alcohol abuse'. So instead of hanging around here they're just a few blocks on the outer edges of town. The governors probably think, 'Problem solved. Now we can continue on spending millions of dollars improving the facilities for the rich people.' Utterly useless. It's a out of sight out of mind syndrome as there clearly is a lot of money in San Diego. From what we see on local tv the money keeps getting spent to improve the waterfront area and upscale living in the city itself. All this while on the edge of town we drive under bridges full of sleeping homeless and trolley pushers sifting through bins. I suddenly realise how similar America is to China, but the people here are less healthy.
We have a look around Balboa Park, like parks in other American cities you can't just walk to, you have to drive or take a bus for a while to get there. But when you do it's a good looking place and typically huge.


It houses various things like a science museum and arts museum but also has a Spanish Colonial area that is a welcome relief from some of the blandness of the outlying neighbourhoods. It's like we're back in Latin America again as we pass through vine covered courtyards and under white-arched corridors past old churches.

All of a sudden we stroll into a fake mini-England from Shakespearean times, sort of. It's a small courtyard with a Globe-style theatre and and a couple of other ye olde England looking buildings. Shakespeare performances go on inside, we sit on a bench in the sun thinking about good ole Blighty for a while.
We come across a cactus garden housing all varieties of the plant of sizes, shapes and colours I've never seen. It's a great place to get away from the problems of the city.
Back in town and we notice the new baseball stadium and conference centre. This is a part of the plan to get people living back in downtown and to an improved quality of life. The people who already have money that it. If you have none and living on the street then all you get is a nice multi-million dollar stadium to look at from a distance before you get moved on by the police.
The next morning we're getting ready to leave and hear a bang outside. A car has somehow driven off the nearby freeway and onto the road below completely crushing itself.
We chat to a Danish business man in the morning and he tells us of his life of international travel to weird and wonderful places. He recommends the Faroe Islands and Greenland for a must visit. It would certainly be different to San Diego.
Although San Diego is a decent place it's by no means inspiring and has it's fair share of run down living. At this point I'm sick of American cities. Not only are they disappointing, other than San Francisco, but they largely have a homeless problem you'd normally think would be consistent with South America or Asia, but it's not. America is far worse. This is the richest country in the world and yet it has no national health service or homeless solution for it's own people. No wonder it has so much money to got to war and have an expensive space program.
On the whole the urban areas are soulless and have no passion , life or colour about them. What colour, style and life only exists from previous land owners the Spanish and the Mexicans.
I start to wonder whether spending so long in North America was such a wise idea and if all those people who'd been confused by our decision to come here were right. We missed South America. we considered buying tickets to Argentina or Mexico.
But there's a lot ahead yet to see and this country has to show me what I really came here for. The land itself. Maybe then this extended North American adventure will be justified.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don’t believe one optimistic word from any public figure about the economy or humanity in general. They are all part of the problem. Its like a game of Monopoly. In America, the richest 1% now hold 1/2 OF ALL UNITED STATES WEALTH. Unlike ‘lesser’ estimates, this includes all stocks, bonds, cash, and material assets held by America’s richest 1%. Even that filthy pig Oprah acknowledged that it was at about 50% in 2006. Naturally, she put her own ‘humanitarian’ spin on it. Calling attention to her own ‘good will’. WHAT A DISGUSTING HYPOCRITE SLOB. THE RICHEST 1% HAVE LITERALLY MADE WORLD PROSPERITY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. Don’t fall for any of their ‘humanitarian’ CRAP. ITS A SHAM. THESE PEOPLE ARE CAUSING THE SAME PROBLEMS THEY PRETEND TO CARE ABOUT. Ask any professor of economics. Money does not grow on trees. The government can’t just print up more on a whim. At any given time, there is a relative limit to the wealth within ANY economy of ANY size. So when too much wealth accumulates at the top, the middle class slip further into debt and the lower class further into poverty. A similar rule applies worldwide. The world’s richest 1% now own over 40% of ALL WORLD WEALTH. This is EVEN AFTER you account for all of this ‘good will’ ‘humanitarian’ BS from celebrities and executives. ITS A SHAM. As they get richer and richer, less wealth is left circulating beneath them. This is the single greatest underlying cause for the current US recession. The middle class can no longer afford to sustain their share of the economy. Their wealth has been gradually transfered to the richest 1%. One way or another, we suffer because of their incredible greed. We are talking about TRILLIONS of dollars. Transfered FROM US TO THEM. Over a period of about 27 years. Thats Reaganomics for you. The wealth does not ‘trickle down’ as we were told it would. It just accumulates at the top. Shrinking the middle class and expanding the lower class. Causing a domino effect of socio-economic problems. But the rich will never stop. They just keep getting richer. Leaving even less of the pie for the other 99% of us to share. At the same time, they throw back a few tax deductible crumbs and call themselves ‘humanitarians’. Cashing in on the PR and getting even richer the following year. IT CAN’T WORK THIS WAY. Their bogus efforts to make the world a better place can not possibly succeed. Any 'humanitarian' progress made in one area will be lost in another. EVERY SINGLE TIME. IT ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT WORK THIS WAY. This is going to end just like a game of Monopoly. The current US recession will drag on for years and lead into the worst US depression of all time. The richest 1% will live like royalty while the rest of us fight over jobs, food, and gasoline. So don’t fall for any of this PR CRAP from Hollywood, Pro Sports, and Wall Street PIGS. ITS A SHAM. Remember: They are filthy rich EVEN AFTER their tax deductible contributions. Greedy pigs. Now, we are headed for the worst economic and cultural crisis of all time. Crime, poverty, and suicide will skyrocket. SEND A “THANK YOU” NOTE TO YOUR FAVORITE MILLIONAIRE. ITS THEIR FAULT. I’m not discounting other factors like China, sub-prime, or gas prices. But all of those factors combined still pale in comparison to that HUGE transfer of wealth to the rich. Anyway, those other factors are all related and further aggrivated because of GREED. If it weren’t for the OBSCENE distribution of wealth within our country, there never would have been such a market for sub-prime to begin with. Which by the way, was another trick whipped up by greedy bankers and executives. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. The credit industry has been ENDORSED by people like Oprah, Ellen, Dr Phil, and many other celebrities. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. Now, there are commercial ties between nearly every industry and every public figure. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. So don’t fall for their ‘good will’ BS. ITS A LIE. If you fall for it, then you’re a fool. If you see any real difference between the moral character of a celebrity, politician, attorney, or executive, then you’re a fool.. WAKE UP PEOPLE. THEIR GOAL IS TO WIN THE GAME. The 1% club will always say or do whatever it takes to get as rich as possible. Without the slightest regard for anything or anyone but themselves. Reaganomics. Their idea. Loans from China. Their idea. NAFTA. Their idea. Outsourcing. Their idea. Sub-prime. Their idea. High energy prices. Their idea. The commercial lobbyist. Their idea. The multi-million dollar lawsuit. Their idea. The multi-million dollar endorsement. Their idea. $200 cell phone bills. Their idea. $200 basketball shoes. Their idea. $30 late fees. Their idea. $30 NSF fees. Their idea. $20 DVDs. Their idea. Subliminal advertising. Their idea. Brainwash plots on TV. Their idea. Prozac, Zanex, Vioxx, and Celebrex. Their idea. The MASSIVE campaign to turn every American into a brainwashed, credit card, pharmaceutical, love-sick, couch potatoe, celebrity junkie. Their idea. All of the above shrink the middle class, concentrate the world’s wealth and resources, create a dominoe effect of socio-economic problems, and wreak havok on society. All of which have been CREATED AND ENDORSED by celebrities, athletes, executives, entrepreneurs, attorneys, and politicians. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. So don’t fall for any of their ‘good will’ ‘humanitarian’ BS. ITS A SHAM. NOTHING BUT TAX DEDUCTIBLE PR CRAP. In many cases, the 'charitable' contribution is almost entirely offset.. Not to mention the opportunity to plug their name, image, product, and 'good will' all at once. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. These filthy pigs even have the nerve to throw a fit and spin up a misleading defense with regard to 'tax revenue'. ITS A SHAM. THEY SCREWED UP THE EQUATION TO BEGIN WITH. ITS THEIR OWN DAMN FAULT. If the middle and lower classes had a greater share of the pie, they could easily cover a greater share of the federal tax revenue. They are held down in many ways because of greed. Wages remain stagnant for millions because the executives, celebrities, athletes, attorneys, and entrepreneurs, are paid millions. They over-sell, over-charge, under-pay, outsource, cut jobs, and benefits to increase their bottom line. As their profits rise, so do the stock values. Which are owned primarily by the richest 5%. As more United States wealth rises to the top, the middle and lower classes inevitably suffer. This reduces the potential tax reveue drawn from those brackets. At the same time, it wreaks havok on middle and lower class communities and increases the need for financial aid. Not to mention the spike in crime because of it. There is a dominoe effect to consider. So when people forgive the rich for all of the above and then praise them for paying a greater share of the FEDERAL income taxes, its like nails on a chalk board. If these filthy pigs want to be over-paid, then they should be over-taxed as well. Remember: The richest 1% STILL own 1/2 of all United States wealth EVEN AFTER taxes, charity, and PR CRAP. A similar rule applies worldwide. There is nothing anyone can say to justify that. Anyway, there is usually a higher state and local burden on the middle and lower classes. They get little or nothing without a local tax increase. Otherwise, the red inks flows. Service cuts and lay-offs follow. Again, because of the OBSCENE distribution of bottom line wealth in this country. I can not accept any theory that our economy would suffer in any way with a more reasonable distribution of wealth. Afterall, it was more reasonable 30 years ago. Before Reaganomics came along. Before GREED became such an epidemic. Before we had an army of over-paid executives, celebrities, athletes, attorneys, investors, entrepreneurs, developers, and sold-out politicians to kiss their asses. As a nation, we were in much better shape. Lower crime rate, more widespread prosperity, stable job market, free and clear assets, lower deficit, ect. Our economy as a whole was much more stable and prosperous for the majority. WITHOUT LOANS FROM CHINA. Now, we have a more obscene distribution of bottom line wealth than ever before. We have a sold-out government, crumbling infrastructure, energy crisis, home forclosure epidemic, 13 figure national deficit, and 12 figure annual shortfall. The cost of living is higher than ever before. Most people can't even afford basic health care. ALL BECAUSE OF GREED. I really don't blame the 2nd -5th percentiles. No economy could ever function without some reasonable scale of personal wealth and income. But it can't be allowed to run wild like a mad dog. ALBERT EINSTEIN TRIED TO MAKE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND. UNBRIDLED CAPITALISM ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT WORK. Bottom line: The richest 1% will soon tank the largest economy in the world. It will be like nothing we’ve ever seen before. and thats just the beginning. Greed will eventually tank every major economy in the world. Causing millions to suffer and die. Oprah, Angelina, Brad, Bono, and Bill are not part of the solution. They are part of the problem. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE HUMANITARIAN. EXTREME WEALTH MAKES WORLD PROSPERITY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. WITHOUT WORLD PROSPERITY, THERE WILL NEVER BE WORLD PEACE OR ANYTHING EVEN CLOSE. GREED KILLS. IT WILL BE OUR DOWNFALL. Of course, the rich will throw a fit and call me a madman. Of course, they will jump to small minded conclusions about 'jealousy', 'envy', or 'socialism'. Of course, their ignorant fans will do the same. You have to expect that. But I speak the truth. If you don’t believe me, then copy this entry and run it by any professor of economics or socio-economics. Then tell a friend. Call the local radio station. Re-post this entry or put it in your own words. Be one of the first to predict the worst economic and cultural crisis of all time and explain its cause. WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE.