Economies

 

 

I could call it economics

But I choose to name it, economies:

The former is the science

While the latter is the reality.

 

So, what is the reality?

In just a moment I shall say,

Hopefully, I will make the point

If as usual, I don’t stray.

 

Some economies are slow

With little get-up-and-go,

Most blame this on COVID-19

But I guess we won’t really know.

 

They were struggling

Before COVID-19 came along

But have blamed everything on COVID

As long as COVID was around.

 

Some economies are groveling:

I won’t say ours is so

But you see I am not an economist

So, I would not really know.

 

 

It’s a good position for praying,

I mean down on one’s knees

But God did not study economics

So this I must quickly leave.

 

Some economies are dying:

As a matter of fact, almost dead

But like the embers of a dying fire

They are still being fed.

 

These refuse to lie down

As long as the IMF is around

And as in Accident & Emergency,

They are all IMF bound.

 

Some economies are intubated:

Vital signs are almost nil,

And the attempt to end the waste

Has been a bitter pill.

 

Some economies are obese

Even in these economic times

And how to treat to this comorbidity

Baffles economic minds.

 

Ventilators were introduced

To help such economies breathe

But given the excessive overweight

They continue to wheeze.

 

 

Some economies are shattered

Like a broken show window

And where there is still a display

Business is very slow.

 

Here there is belt tightening

That restricts the natural flow

And the luxurious sweets of life,

Many have had to forego.

 

Some economies are thriving

Or so it may seem to some

And this miraculous feat is attributed

To how they are being run.

 

I find it particularly strange

That this is actually happening

Thus, my unsettling foreboding

Something ominous is threatening.

 

Some economies are lying

Like strangers to the truth

But this may be the economists

That tamper with the proof.

 

 

“There are three kinds of lies:”

According to Benjamin Disraeli,

“Lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

Sounds like economies.

 

And so, with this I conclude

This narrative on economies,

I have no doubt that time will reveal

The economic reality.

 

Then the truth will have unfolded

For all the world to see

And those alive will discover

The real economies.

 

Stewart Russell © September 18, 2021