Homeless in Santa Barbara?

Santa Barbara is certainly one beautiful city. It has an expansive, crescent shaped oceanfront from which you can see the majestic channel islands. Yesterday morning, hundreds of people were walking, running, skateboarding or biking along the paths that follow the shoreline through palm dotted parks under a cloudless, deep blue sky. The mountains that rise behind the city are impressive as are the fabulously extravagant homes in the hills that offer lush gardens and expansive views of the sea. Downtown is immaculate and fancy shops and eateries line the main drag, State Street. It's nearly picture perfect, but crankyjewishguy (CJG) was surprised to see that Santa Barbara has a huge homeless population that is ever-present downtown and in the oceanfront parks. But, maybe that shouldn't be a surprise in a city where the median price for a single family home is $1 million. If CJG lived here he'd be homeless, too. (To read more about homelessness in Santa Barbara, click here.)

CJG was surprised by the size of the homeless
population in affluent Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara is a reminder that the gap between rich and poor in this country isn't really a gap anymore, but a huge chasm with a tiny percentage of the population in possession of 90% of all the wealth. And the rich...well, they keep getting richer. America's expansive middle class used to be one of its strongest virtues and something that separated us from the world's developing nations and banana republics (no, not the store.) Think about that the next time the Republicans go to the mat to protect the rich from having their taxes raised even a nickel and explain it to the huge crowd we saw outside the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission at dinnertime last night waiting for a meal amidst the abundance that is Santa Barbara.

Mellow Yellow

Sorry, crankyjewishguy (CJG) got a late start this morning owing to the fact that he spent a couple of hours walking along the beachfront in Santa Barbara where the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the home prices are exorbitant. You see, CJG and his older son, the one who attends Harvard on St. Charles a/k/a Tulane University, have been spending some quality time taking one the great American road trips down the California coast. CJG figures, if your 20-year-old son is willing to spend a week with you (a) you've done something right as a parent and (b) seize the precious moment because it may not come again. There isn't much to be cranky about when the scenery is jaw-dropping, the air warm, and the seafood fresh. So, amigos, hasta manana. Tomorrow, CJG and son will be in L.A. That should give us plenty to complain about.