I was reading this Selena Zito piece on how the Baby Formula Shortage is affecting communities and how the politicians in charge of fixing it seem completely out of touch with the anxiety it’s causing out there in flyover country, and I was reminded of a time I was chatting with the owner of the best gun store in the little Oklahoma town where I just built a house.
His name is Bill and he was telling me that he also runs a pawn shop in town where he does a pretty good business in small loans. I said what is a “small loan?” He said that the average loan amount he gives at his pawn shop is around $20. I laughed and said “who the hell takes out a loan for $20!?” He looked at me and said “someone who needs to buy baby formula on Monday and doesn’t get paid until Friday.”
Well, I can tell you, I felt pretty dumb and more than a little elitist. To Bill’s credit, he didn’t hold it against me. Just a blind spot, nothing to make a Federal case over… I guess the difference is that fixing the Baby Formula shortage ain’t my job, so my ignorance of the reality on the ground doesn’t really harm anyone.
I should add that, like Zito, I too am noticing that pot shops are sprouting up like weeds in an empty lot all over my little adopted small town in Oklahoma. I can’t help but wonder if the legalized drug business is going to, alongside inflation a tanking market and generalized shortages, hollow out the town over the next decade.