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Wednesday, April 2, 2008 12:00 AM

The Great Depression: The sequel

Is it coming to a soup kitchen near you? Here's how we'll know if the current recession is turning into something much worse.

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  • Wednesday, April 2, 2008 09:04 AM

    Obesity "Caused" by Poverty

    Silenced wrote:

    "Go down to the ghetto. Try to find fresh food. You'll find convenience stores where you can buy Cheetos and beer. But what if you want fresh chicken, whole wheat flour or broccoli? How do you buy those if you live in the inner city?"

    This is ridiculous! I live in Brooklyn, and there is not a single neighborhood I've ever been in, no matter how poor, where you can't get "broccoli" within 4 or 5 blocks. To the extent that junk food dominates -- well, that must be because of demand, hey? If the poor really were craving steamed vegetables every day instead of Cheetos, don't you think the vegetable sellers would be working to accommodate them?

    Every poor neighborhood here has at least one Chinese take-out, everyone of which is going to sell both steamed broccoli and deep-fried chicken puffs. Why don't you go survey those places and ask which dish sells better? You're living in a fantasy world where the poor would be dining everyday on tofu and sprouts if only someone -- God knows whom -- wasn't conspiring to keep those things from their waiting lips. To the extent that poverty correlates to obesity, it is a matter of the preferences of the poor.

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