Economic turkey

You know what’s a surprisingly economical meal? Thanksgiving food. Turkey, mash potatoes, ham, and frozen broccoli can all be bought at Costco for about $75. That lot will comfortably feed 10 adults into a food coma. In this inflated economy, I think Thanksgiving food is a very viable option for other times of the year. The price per pound per gram of protein of a turkey is devastatingly superior.

You know what grinds my gears? When people say: “When adjusted for inflation.” It’s annoying because the person saying that line is invariable using it as a defense of the current economy. It’s not so bad once you adjust for inflation! A 2024 Honda Civic is magnitudes better than the 2000 version, at a cheaper price when inflation adjusted.

That’s great, but we don’t live in the past. Our reality cannot adjusted for inflation. Telling people X isn’t so bad when you consider Y and Z is a recipe for losing an election. The economy under President Biden may look mathematically great: all-time highs in the stock market, and broad wage increases that kept up with the pandemic inflation. But people don’t feel great about the economy. Facts may not care about feelings, but facts don’t vote, feelings do.

I’ve certainly been negatively vocal about the economy on this blog. I’ve had a fortunate 30% increase to my 2019 salary - the keeping up with inflation part - and yet I feel like my purchasing power has gone to shits. What people want is deflation, but without all the other hugely deleterious effects. Of course, that’s not possible, but the Americans sure voted like it is!

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It’s like gold.

To close or not to close

There was another Presidential debate this evening, and I could not care less. Between this one and the last debate, we’re no longer voting between two senile old men. That in it of itself is a win. Whatever happens in November is whatever. Besides, living in a California means the electoral votes will go to Vice President Harris, regardless of how I vote. It doesn’t materially matter.

Locally in San Francisco, I will have to vote on banning cars on the Great Highway. For those who don’t live here, the Great Highway is a long stretch of road running alongside the western beachhead. The road has been closed to traffic on the weekends already, but now people are petitioning for full time closure.

It seems wrong for me to vote on a thing where I have zero skin in the game. I hardly ever go to the beach (it’s not really a beach weather kind of town), and I don’t use the Great Highway to commute. I think the biggest opponent of banning cars are those who commute on the road. Make sense: I wouldn’t want to deviate from my normal routine either. Plus, it’s simply math: other arterial roads will see an uptick in vehicle traffic, and perhaps congestion.

Proponents of shutting down the Great Highway wants to turn it into a public park. I’m dubious of this one two fronts. One: who the heck is going to pay for the renovations? I thought San Francisco government is in a budget crisis. Second: there’s already a public park there. It’s called… the beach! For a region so much in need of more housing, if we’re going to shut down an entire road for good, let’s turn it residential.

I remain undecided.

Call me maybe.