Recession update

The recession is reaching into high places, which would bring ein bisschen schadenfreude except for the fact that the working stiffs who keep those places exalted are taking the hit.

A story in the WSJ reports that the clubbable set are finding that finances (or financial straits) are trumping exclusivity. Country clubs & yacht clubs are closing either before or after foreclosure. The august institutions that have positively defined the term snootiness for scores of years are being reduced to admitting new members without waiting decades because they need the influx of cash.

They’re even offering current members referral fees for bringing in fresh ones whose money is new but whose checks don’t bounce, & relaxing the dress codes.

So clearly civilization is in the early to mid stages of collapsing entirely.

It’s also interesting to note that corporations have finally taken on board the examples of the outrage caused by Wells Fargo, Merrill Lynch & Northern Trust—accepting federal bailout bucks & then heading off for corporate jollies or redecorating the executive offices.

They’re conspicuous by their absence at the Masters Tournament in Augusta. The big wine-&-dine write-off parties are cancelled & if any companies are showing up, they’re not blaring their logos on rented stretch limos or in the yards of houses they rented for $50K a pop to house employees & clients.

Even the scalpers are having a hard time unloading tickets. Four-day passes that brought in up to $3500 last year have gone for $1350 this year.

I’d shed a few CrockTears™ about this, but the people who really get hurt are the waitstaff, limo drivers, caterers, housekeepers & others who keep the clubs & the tournaments running smoothly.

So the ones who are the last to have the wealth trickle down to them again are the first to suffer when the stream dries up.

Nihil novum sub solis.