April 13

Still dark outside but it looks like it might be sunny. I could see the moon for a bit. We'll see what happens. I got a good start with reworking the garden pots. I think I can get the shepherds hooks stabilized. I found a long crack in one of the buckets which I patched with one of the super strong tapes. I hope it holds. All of the garden centers are busily getting their plants out. I think I will advance my plans a bit. I usually start getting plants the second week of may but the last week of April sounds goods--now. If the weather forecast for the next month proves good I should have everything planted by mid May.

I saw this story late yesterday and my first comment was "I bet the stores are all on the south side." The south and west sides of Chicago are lowest income areas and have had difficulty attracting merchants--especially those that sell fresh foods. I wonder if Walmart's business plan is the problem. They are into the big box model and most of their efforts to do smaller "express" stores have failed. Also they may have squeezed their suppliers to the point where they can't get their profits that way any more. 

Did you all notice that the price of postage stamps is going up--again. Would you believe the price to send a first class letter was $.03 the year I was born. I thought I remembered stamps at $.15 and decided to check my memory. It was right on point. The price has tripled since the mid-1990s.

Japan plans to get serious about increasing their birth rate which last year was the lowest since they started collecting the data in the 1890s. NHK has a long article on the government's plans which includes direct cash subsidies and forgiveness of student debt. Like most of the developed world Japan has a problem: fewer young workers to support a growing number of elderly people. Even China faces that problem.

Watching BBC and its coverage of the Paris demonstrations against Macron's pension "reform" legislation. I am always amazed how the programs that benefit people in the lower economic classes suddenly are too expensive. Over the last 30 years in this country the age at which we can qualify for full Social Security has increased from 62 to 65 and finally to 70. It seems to me that lower classes are expected to be robbed of a dignified old age. Most of us--some of us don't qualify for much of a Social Security payout. Perhaps the power that be would rather we worked either til we died or were unable to work and get thrown out on the street.

We are under a "red flag" order meaning the fire danger is high. I gather that several brush fires have already burned. At least we haven't had, so far, the situation I was on the news last night in New Jersey.