Sunday, May 10, 2009

Lost Vegas

Lost Vegas

During the boom years, no place in America boomed more than Las Vegas. But when the economy collapsed, Vegas fell hard. Laura Ling tours the wreckage of Sin City, from unemployed strippers and half-built, abandoned casino projects, to hospitals turning away cancer patients and ambulances, to one of the few remaining boom industries--evicting people.

It is well worth a look. Be warned that it won't let you walk away with a warm and fuzzy feeling though.

8 comments:

averagerainfall said...

Our Congressional "leaders" need to be frog-prepped.

Rob Dawg said...

Vegas fell hard.Past tense? Las Vegas is half fallen IMO.

Stagflationary Mark said...

averagerainfall,

I'm reminded of the standard lawyer joke punchline. It's a good start!

Stagflationary Mark said...

Rob Dawg,

Assuming you are right, you might want to check out Residential Evil 3. It has some stunning Vegas scenery in it. Oops! I meant Resident! Resident Evil 3!

In my defense, the line is paper thin these days.

Zombie Body Count: fantasy
Zombie Bank Count: reality

mab said...

Stag,

Bernanke and the top brass at all the TARP banks should have to spend several years performing ordinary work - construction, flipping burgers, factory work, etc. A running documentary should be aired - The Apprentices

As harsh and outlandish as that sounds, it is probably the best way to re-establish the link between money and work.

Tens of millions of lives have been ruined.

Banker mischief, a plague throughout history.

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

"Bernanke and the top brass at all the TARP banks should have to spend several years performing ordinary work - construction, flipping burgers, factory work, etc."

I like the idea. Perhaps they could work in a factory constructing toys for a company that flips burgers? Let's also make them commute. They do have access to planes, right? Further, this would be the perfect "stress test" for them since they are such huge fans of transparency.

7/27/2006
Labor rights group reports riot at China factory producing toys for McDonald's
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2006/07/27/afx2908378.html

'It's not convenient for us to reveal any information,' said Yammie Chiu, a secretary at the company. 'This type of incident has never happened before.'

Anonymous said...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government will have to borrow nearly 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year, exploding the record federal deficit past $1.8 trillion under new White House estimates.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/White-House-Budget-deficit-to-apf-15199183.html?.v=8

Put it all on red Mark Be warned that it won't let you walk away with a warm and fuzzy feeling though.

LOL
Kevin

Stagflationary Mark said...

Kevin,

"Put it all on red Mark Be warned that it won't let you walk away with a warm and fuzzy feeling though."

I've got my money riding on 22!

Twenty-two, twenty-two, come on back to me, come on back to me! - Linda Howard, Lost in America (1985)

Say it! Say it! Say "I lost the nest-egg." Go on, say it! - David Howard, Lost in America (1985)