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By Michael Snyder, on April 28th, 2016
Even the government is admitting that the U.S. economy is slowing down.
On Thursday, we learned that U.S. GDP grew at just a 0.5 percent annual rate during the first quarter of 2016.
This was lower than analysts were anticipating, and it marks the third time in a row that the GDP number has declined compared to the previous quarter.
In other words, GDP growth has been declining for close to a year now, and this lines up perfectly with what I have been saying about how the second half of last year was a turning point that plunged us into the early chapters of a brand new economic crisis.
And as you will see below, the official GDP number is highly manipulated, and the way that it is calculated has been changed numerous times over the years.
So the bad number that is being reported by the government is actually the best case scenario.
Of course many of the “experts” being quoted by the mainstream media are saying that this is just a temporary blip and that good times for the U.S. economy are right around the corner.
For instance, check out this quote …
“The economy essentially stalled in the first quarter, but that doesn’t mean it is faltering,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. “Some of the restraints to growth are dissipating. Growth is likely to accelerate going forward.”
We have been told this same story for years, but the “acceleration” has never materialized.
In fact, Barack Obama is poised to become
to never have a single year when the economy grew by more than 3 percent during his presidency.
That is a statistic that is hard to believe, but it is true.
In addition,
has pointed out that the average rate of U.S. economic growth during the Obama years will be the fourth worst in recorded history…
Assuming 2.67% RGDP growth for 2016, Obama will leave office having produced an average of 1.55% growth. This would place his presidency fourth from the bottom of the list of 39*, above only those of Herbert Hoover (-5.65%), Andrew Johnson (-0.70%) and Theodore Roosevelt (1.41%)
So does anyone out there still believe that there has been an “Obama recovery”?
We also need to add another layer to our analysis.
By now, everyone should realize that the official GDP number is highly manipulated, and the way that GDP is calculated has been changed many, many times over the years.
For example, here is Peter Schiff commenting on changes …
The latest example of this was revealed earlier this week when the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced new methods of calculating Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that will immediately make the economy “bigger’ than it used to be. The changes focus heavily on how money spent on research and development (R&D) and the production of “intangible” assets like movies, music, and television programs will be accounted for. Declaring such expenditures to be “investments” will immediately increase U.S. GDP by about three percent. Such an upgrade would immediately increase the theoretic size of the U.S economy and may well lead to the perception of faster growth. In reality these smoke and mirror alterations are no different from changes made to the inflation and unemployment yardsticks that for years have convinced Americans that the economy is better than it actually is.
And the following originally comes from a Bloomberg article which discussed changes …
The way some parts of U.S. gross domestic product are calculated are about to change in the wake of the debate over persistently depressed first-quarter growth.
In a blog post published Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis listed a series of alterations it will make in seasonally adjusting data used to calculate economic growth. The changes will be implemented with the release of the initial second-quarter GDP estimate on July 30, the BEA said.
One of the changes that was made last year was intended to artificially boost GDP growth numbers for the first quarter of each year.
So without that artificial boost, what would the real number for the first quarter of 2016 look like?
John Williams of
tracks what the official government numbers would be if honest numbers were actually being used, and according to him U.S. GDP growth has been continuously negative since 2005.
But we certainly can’t have the press report those sorts of things.
If that were the case, then everyone would be talking about the “economic depression” that never seems to end.
Unfortunately, the truth is that we are in the midst of a long-term economic decline, and we can see evidence of this all around us.
For example, on Thursday we also learned that the rate of homeownership in the United States has fallen once again, and it is now hovering
above the lowest level ever recorded in American history…
After gains in the second half of 2015, the homeownership rate fell to just 63.6 percent, seasonally adjusted, in the first quarter of this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Homeownership hit a high of 69.4 percent in 2004, during one of the biggest housing booms in history. That was also when mortgage lending was arguably at its loosest level in history. The homeownership rate is now just one-tenth of 1 basis point higher than its all-time low in the second quarter of 2015.
For many more numbers that show that the U.S. economy has continued to decline, please see the following articles that I authored earlier this month…
#1 “”
#2 “”
#3 “”
#4 “”
#5 “”
Now that U.S. GDP growth has been steadily dropping for three quarters in a row, hopefully people will wake up and begin to realize what is happening.
We are entering very hard times, so now is not the time to go out and buy fancy new toys or to go into lots of debt.
Rather, this is a time to tighten our belts, batten down the hatches and prepare for rough seas ahead.
Sadly, most people continue to have blind faith that our politicians and the central bankers will be able to perform some kind of miracle to save us from what is coming.
*About the author: Michael Snyder is the founder and publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog. Michael’s controversial new book about Bible prophecy entitled “The Rapture Verdict” is available完形填空. Mr Smith lives in the small village, but he works in an office in a big city. He goes to work by train every morning and comes 1 the same way. One morning while he was 2 his newspaper on the tra 题目和参考答案——精英家教网——
成绩波动大？难提高？听顶级名师视频辅导，
& 题目详情
完形填空。
&&&& Mr Smith lives in the small village, but he works in an office in a big city. He goes to work by train every morning and comes&&&&1 && the same way.&&&&One morning while he was&&&&2& & his newspaper on the train, a man&&&&3& & him came up to him. Mr Smith had not met him before. The man said,&"&& &4&& "to him and then&&&&5&&&&to talk to him. The man said, "Your&&& 6&& isn't interesting, is it? You got on the same train at the same station at the same time&&&&7& & morning and you always sit in the same seat and read the same newspaper.”&&&&When Mr Smith&&& &8&&&&this, he put his newspaper down, turned around and&&&&9&&&&the man angrily, &&&& "How do you know all that about me?"&&&&"Because I'm&&&&10&& sitting in the same seat behind you," the man answered.
(&&&&)1. A. family&&(&&&&)2. A. reading (&&&&)3. A. before&&(&&&&)4. A. Sorry&& (&&&&)5. A. refused (&&&&)6. A. life&&&&(&&&&)7. A. one&&&& (&&&&)8. A. heard&& (&&&&)9. A. asked&& (&&&&)10. A. never&&
B.house&&&& B.look&&&&&&B.behind&&&&B. Thanks&& B. stopped&&B. work&&&& B. every&&&&B. listened B. said&&&& B. hardly&&
C.home&&&&&& C.seeing&&&& C.beside&&&& C. Hello&&&& C. began&&&& C. office&&&&C. this&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& C. found&&&& C. told&&&&&&C. always&&&&
1-5 CABCC&&6-10 ABAAC
请在这里输入关键词：
科目：初中英语
（完形填空）
Mr White works in an office. He liked reading in bed when he was at school. It was bad for his (1)　and now he has near sight (近视). But he wouldn’t want (2)　to know about it and he never wears a pair of glasses. It often (3)　 him some trouble. One winter morning he was sent to a village school on business (出差). He (4)　a bus at a stop in a small town. Then he had to walk there. The road to the village wasn’t smooth (平坦). He fell over several times and it (5)　his clothes dirty. (6)　he got to the village. Suddenly it began to blow and it got colder. He was looking for the school while his
(7) was blown off. He began to run after it but he couldn’t get it. He couldn’t understand why his hat ran into a house as if (似乎) it had (8). And he ran into the house, (9)　. A woman stopped him and shouted angrily,“ (10)　　are you running after my hen (母鸡) for?”(1)
A. ears　　　　B. nose　　　　C. mouth　　　　D. eyes
A. anybody else　　　　B. nobody　　　　C. woman　　　　D. somebody
A. follows　　　　B. takes　　　　C. brings　　　　D. carries
A. took off　　　　B. got off　　　　C. got on　　　　D. came on
A. let　　　　B. made　　　　C. gave　　　　D. felt
A. At first　　　　B. At home　　　　C. At times　　　　D. At last
A. clothes　　　　B. bag　　　　C. hat　　　　D. glasses
A. legs　　　　B. hands　　　　C. shoes　　　　D. arms
A. always　　　　B. also　　　　C. either　　　　D. too
A. What　　　　B. Why　　　　C. Which　　　　D. Who
科目：初中英语
来源：学年湖北省利川市龙船中学八年级下学期期中考试英语试卷（带解析）
题型：完型填空
完形填空。Mr. Smith works in New York. Last month he had a fifteen-day holiday, but he didn’t know where to spend it. He spoke to his friend Bill,“I &&1&&the hot weather, but I can’t find a cool place in America. How should I spend my holiday?”“That’s easy, ” said Bill, “You’d &&2&&to Moscow. Snow and ice are covering the ground now. ”Mr. Smith agreed &&3&&his friend. He bought an air ticket and soon &&4&&Moscow. He had a happy trip there, but one day he &&5&. After lunch he went outside the city, he saw a dog& 6&&him while he &&7&&past(走过) a house. The dog was hungry and wished him to give it some food to eat. Bad luck! He had no piece of bread or cake in his pockets. He tried to drive it away. But it began to bark at(对……大叫) him. He wanted to look for a stick but he couldn’t find anything &&8&&snow and ice. Suddenly he saw a stone on the ground. He hurried to &9&but failed.“How strange Russians are!” Mr. Smith said to himself, “They don’t tie dogs, but firmly (紧紧地)& 10&&the stones. My God!”【小题1】A．likeB．unlikeC．not like D．hate【小题2】A．would goB．would not goC．better goD．better to go【小题3】A．toB．withC．atD．about【小题4】A．arrived inB．arrive inC．reachD．reached in【小题5】A．made a mistakeB．get into trouble C．got into troubleD．find the trouble【小题6】A．to followB．is following C．followed D．following【小题7】A．was walkingB．walkedC．was crossing D．crossed【小题8】A．exceptB．besidesC．besideD．without【小题9】A．picked it upB．picked up itC．pick it upD．pick up it【小题10】A．tiedB．liedC．tieD．lie
科目：初中英语
来源：2014届湖北省利川市八年级下学期期中考试英语试卷（解析版）
题型：完型填空
完形填空。Mr. Smith works in New York. Last month he had afifteen-day holiday, but he didn’t know where to spend it. He spoke to hisfriend Bill,“I &&1&&the hot weather, but I can’tfind a cool place in America. How should I spend my holiday?”“That’s easy, ” said Bill, “You’d &&2&&toMoscow. Snow and ice are covering the ground now. ”Mr. Smith agreed &&3&&hisfriend. He bought an air ticket and soon &&4&&Moscow.He had a happy trip there, but one day he &&5&. Afterlunch he went outside the city, he saw a dog& 6&&himwhile he &&7&&past(走过) ahouse. The dog was hungry and wished him to give it some food to eat. Bad luck!He had no piece of bread or cake in his pockets. He tried to drive it away. Butit began to bark at(对……大叫) him. Hewanted to look for a stick but he couldn’t find anything &&8&&snowand ice. Suddenly he saw a stone on the ground. He hurried to &9&butfailed.“How strange Russians are!” Mr. Smith said to himself,“They don’t tie dogs, but firmly (紧紧地)&10&&the stones. My God!”1.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．like&&&&&&&&&&& B．unlike&&&&&&&&& C．not like & D．hate&2.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．would go&&&&&& B．would not go&&&& C．better go D．better to go&3.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．to&&&&&&&&&&&& B．with&&&&&&&&&& C．at&& D．about&4.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．arrived in&&&&&& B．arrive in&&&&&&& C．reach&&& D．reached in&5.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．made amistake&& B．get intotrouble & C．got intotrouble D．find thetrouble&6.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．to follow&&&&&&& B．is following &&&& C．followed D．following&7.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．was walking&&&& B．walked&&&&&&&& C．was crossing & D．crossed&8.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．except&&&&&&&& B．besides&&&&&&&& C．beside&& D．without&9.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．picked it up&&&& B．picked up it&&&&& C．pick it up& D．pick up it&10.&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A．tied&&&&&&&&&& B．lied&&&&&&&&&&& C．tie&& D．lie&&
科目：初中英语
来源：0113 期末题
题型：完形填空
完形填空。
&&&&& Mr Green works in a middle school. He&&&&1&&&&a teacher. He likes reading and often&&&&2&& &some books from the library. He keeps&&&&3&&&&to the radio every day and reading texts after supper.So he knows much and teaches&&&&4& . His students like him very much.Mike, Mr Green's little son ,is only nine. He often reads when his father is&&&&5& . And he often asks him some questions. Mr Green always thinks he is too&&&&6&&&&understand them and chooses&&&&7&&&one to answer. Of course the boy is not satisfied (满意) with it. &&&&& One day, Mike read&&&&8&&&&about the electric lights and was&&&&9&&&it. When his father told him to do somehomework, he went on thinking of the book. He asked his father&&&10&&&questions,and his father answered all.Then the father said proudly, "Fathers always know&&&11&&&than sons!" &&&&& The boy thought for a while and said, "&&12& !" &&&&& "Oh? Why?" &&&&&& Mike didn't answer and&&&&13&&&instead "Who invented the electric lights?" &&&&& "&&14& ." answered Mr Green. &&&&& "Why didn't his father inwent them,then?" &&&&&& Looking at his son, Mr Green didn'tknow&&&15&&&to answer!
(&&&& )1.A.am&&&&&&&&& (&&& &)2.A.buys&&&&&&& (&&& &)3.A.listening&& (&&& &)4.A.well&&&&&&& (&& & )5.A.sleeping&&& (&&& &)6.A.silly&&&&&& (&&& &)7.A.the easiest (&&& &)8.A.a newspaper (&& & )9.A.surprised&& (&& & )10.A.a little&& (&& & )11.A.no&&&&&&&& (&&& &)12.A.Happily&&& (&& & )13.A.asked&&&&& (& && )14.A.Washington&&&&&& (&&& &)15.A.when&&&&&&
B.is&&&&&&&& &B.borrows&&& &B.watching&& &B.bad&&&&&&& &B.at school& &B.young&&&&& &B.the hardest&B.a book&&&& &B.worried&&& &B.little&&&& &B.more&&&&&& &B.Not always &B.swam&&&&&& &B.Bill Gates &&&&&&&&& B.why&&&&&&&
C.are&&&&&&&&& C.lends&&&&&&& C.hearing&&&&& C.maths&&&&&&& C.eating&&&&&& C.clever&&&&&& C.the best&&&& C.a test&&&&&& C.interested inC.few&&&&&&&&& C.less&&&&&&&& C.Who&&&&&&&&& C.sang&&&&&&&& C.Mr Green&&&& C.how&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
D.been&&&&&&&&&&& &D.keeps&&&&&&&&&& &D.talking&&&&&&&& &D.French&&&&&&&&& &D.at home&&&&&&&& &D.old&&&&&&&&&&&& &D.the worst&&&&&& &D.a piece of paper&D.sure about&&&&& &D.many&&&&&&&&&&& D.much&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&& D.Nothing&&&&&&&& &D.danced&&&&&&&&& D.Edison&&&&&&&&& &D.where&&&&&&&&&&
科目：初中英语
来源：期末题
题型：完形填空
完形填空。
&&&&& Mr and Mrs Moore were invited to a Christmas party at a hotel one year. They&&&&1&&&&their car outside and went in. Mr Moore had never got drunk (醉) before, so he was&&&&2&&&&not to drink too much,&&&&3&& &his friends asked him to drink more&&&&4&& . &&&&& During the party, Mrs Moore found that she had&&&&5& &&to bring her bag, so she asked her husband to go out to the car and&&&&&6&&&&it for her. He&&&&7&&&&so, but on his way back to the hotel gate,he heard a car horn(喇叭) blowing near his own car. He thought&&&&8&&&&might be in need of help and went over to the car withthe&&&&9&& . He found a small black bear sitting in the driving-seat and blowing the horn. &&&&& When Mr Moore&&& 10&&&the party, he told several people about the bear, but of course they did not believe him and thought he was drunk. When he took them out of the hotel to&&&11&&&that his story was&&&12& ,he found that the car with the&&&13&&&in it had gone. There were so many&&&14&&&about Mr Moore's black bear during the next week that he at last put an advertisement (广告) "If anyone saw a black bear blowing the horn in a car outside the Century Hotel&&&15 &&the evening of Christmas Day, please tell…"&&&&&&Two days later&&&16&&&Mrs Richards called him and said that she and her husband had left their pet (宠物)bear in their car outside the Century Hotel for a few minutes that evening, and that&&&17&&&he had blown the horn.&&&&&&Mrs Richards did not&&&18&&&to think there was anything&&&19&&&about that."Our bear likes blowing car horns," she said, "and we don't&&&20&&&when we are not driving the car."
(&&&& )1. A. pulled&&&& (&&&& )2. A. polite&&&& (&&&& )3. A. whether&&& (&&&& )4. A. all along&(&&&& )5. A. learned&&& (&&&& )6. A. buy&&&&&&& (&&&& )7. A. said&&&&&& (&&&& )8. A. one&&&&&&(&&&& )9. A. noise&&&&&(&&&& )10. A. was sent to(&&&& )11. A. show&&&&&&(&&&& )12. A. interesting(&&&& )13. A. horn&&&&&& (&&&& )14. A. laughs&&&& (&&&& )15. A. for&&&&&&& (&&&& )16. A. the&&&&&&& (&&&& )17. A. quickly&&& (&&&& )18. A. mean&&&&&& (&&&& )19. A. useful&&&&(&&&& ) 20. A. agree&&&&&
B. stayed&&&&&&&& &B. careful&&&&&& B. until&&&&&&&&& & B. once again&& &B. known&&&&&&&& B. get&&&&&&&&&&& &B. went&&&&&&&&& B. someone&&&&&&& &B. voice&&&&&&&& & B. was seated atB. notice&&&&&&&& & B. correct&&&&& B. bear&&&&&&&&&&B. shouts&&&&&&&B. at&&&&&&&&&&&& B. a&&&&&&&&&&&&& &B. completely&&& B. have&&&&&&&&&& &B. strange&&&&&& B. like&&&&&&&&&&
C. left&&&&&&& && C. glad&&&&&& & C. or&&&&&&&&& && C. just then& C. remembered&&& C. send&&&&&&&&& C. did&&&&&&&&&& C. his wife&&&&& &C. cry&&&&&&&&& &&& C. got rid of& C. require&&&& &&& C. true&&&&& &C. bag&&&&&&&&& & C. smiles&&&&& &C. in&&&&&&&&&&&&C. /&&&&&&&&&&& && C. maybe&&&&& &C. know&&&&&&&& && C. common&&&& &C. mind&&&&&&&&
D. hid&&&&&&&&&&& && D. afraid&&&&&&&& & D. though&&&&&&&&& &&&& D. for ever&&&& &D. forgotten&&&&&&& &D. return&&&&&&&&&& &D. thought&&&&&&&&& & D. the bear&&&&&&& & D. shout&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&& D. got back to&& D. promise&&&&&&& &&&& D. exciting&&&& & D. driving-seat&&& && D. calls&&&&&&&&& & D. on&&&&&&&&&&&&& & D. some&&&&&&&&&&& && D. almost&&&&&&&& & D. seem&&&&&&&&&&& &&D. bad&&&&&&&&&&& && D. worry&&&&&&&&&
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请输入手机号March 2014 | The Ride HomeBehind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, reviewed.
Katherine Boo’s Spellbinding Story of a Mumbai Slum
Katherine Boo’s Spellbinding Story of a Mumbai Slum
Residents hunt for usable items from the burnt remains of a slum area in Mumbai in 2011.
Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images.
On Wednesday Katherine Boo&s
won the 2012 National Book Awards in nonfiction. The minutely researched, compassionately reported account of waste-pickers in an Indian slum earned praise for its &.& In a recent Q&A, Boo explained that &when you spend years in a single place, you get to know the children .& Elaine Blair introduced us to one such child&and his family&in her review of Boo&s book last February. The original piece is printed below. & &&
Katherine Boo, a Pulitzer-winning journalist and New Yorker staff writer, has many ways of illuminating the people she writes about. The most important and obvious is that she listens closely and intelligently. But the most unusual is that she teases them&or lets them tease themselves. You can feel the richness of her affection in her ironic appreciation of their oddities. When, for example, in her spellbinding first book,
(Random House), we meet Abdul Husain, a 19-year-old resident of the Mumbai slum called Annawadi, we first hear him tell us of his shortcomings: &Allah, in his impenetrable wisdom, had cut him small and jumpy,& Boo writes. &A coward: Abdul said it of himself &. What he knew about, mainly, was trash.&
Abdul buys recyclables that the neighborhood&s waste-pickers have scavenged and then resells it in bulk to local recycling plants. He works with his mother, Zehrunisa, who haggles with the waste-pickers. In Abdul&s view, her &one great flaw& is &the language she used when haggling. Although profane bargaining was the norm in the waste business, he felt his mother acceded to that norm with too much relish.&
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Abdul and Zehrunisa are two of a handful of Annawadians whose fortunes Boo follows closely in the book. Behind the Beautiful Forevers is the product of Boo&s three and a half years of reporting (with the help of translators) in Annawadi.& The slum is home to 3,000 people (crammed into 335 huts) and unknown numbers of goats, feral pigs, and water buffalo. Lest you get the wrong idea: &Almost no one in this slum was considered poor by official Indian benchmarks.& In spite of the fact that a few residents have to trap frogs and rats to fill out their meals, the slum is officially reckoned a success story, full of people on their way out of poverty, and the frog-eaters give other, non-frog-eating Annawadians &a felt sense of their own upward mobility.& Annawadi was built illegally on land next to the Mumbai International Airport and is under constant threat of slum clearance. It is surrounded by new luxury hotels, which make it &magnificently positioned for a trafficker in rich people&s garbage.&
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Many Annawadians make their small livings as trash scavengers. Abdul, as a buyer, is a rank above. His main job is to sort the valuable trash into one of 60 categories of paper, plastic, and metal. As the book opens in January 2008, Abdul has been steadily enriching his family (his parents and eight siblings) for several years with his trade. Their hut now has four solid walls (instead of the old sheet dividing them from their neighbors), and they&ve been saving money for payments on a plot of land outside the city.
Abdul sits in Annawadi&s main square (actually an empty dirt lot) most of the day sorting, and this gives him time to watch his neighbors and think. Boo, who never uses the word I and usually sticks closely to her subjects& points of view, limits her own interpretations to a short author&s note at the end of the book. It is Abdul who supplies a lot of the book&s trenchant analysis of slum life.
It seemed to him that in Annawadi, fortunes derived not just from what people did, or how well they did it, but from the accidents and catastrophes they avoided. A decent life was the train that hadn&t hit you, the slumlord you hadn&t offended, the malaria you hadn&t caught.
Journalist and author Katherine Boo.
Photograph by Heleen Welvaart.
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To put it another way, what you don&t want is plot: When dramatic things happen in Annawadi, they are bad, not good. On the other hand, by this measure, a decent life for Abdul would be more of the same: working with garbage, &work that churned so much filth into the air it turned his snot black.& His dream for the future: a wife &who didn&t much mind how he smelled& and a home somewhere other than Annawadi.
Plot can also be a pitfall for a journalist. When writing about lives punctuated by violence, ruination, and stressful encounters with civic, medical, and commercial institutions, it is easy to lose sight of the person at the center of the drama, the one who is constantly making choices and recalibrating her sense of her life and possibilities. Boo, who has also reported extensively in poor neighborhoods across the United States, has always focused precisely on her subjects& choices. When we first meet them, they seem like the heroes and heroines of 19th-century novels: They are on the make, or they hope to be, and they have a complex view of their lives and their place in the social landscape. As Boo follows them around, we see how much they are able to make of their limited and sometimes downright lousy options&and we also see the kind of daily binds that make it so difficult, when you start at the bottom, to get economic purchase.
Eventually, plot catches up with Abdul Husain. His next-door neighbor, Fatima, attempts suicide by self-immolation and then accuses Abdul, his father, and his sister of driving her to suicide by beating and threatening her. There are hundreds of witnesses to disprove Fatima&s claim, but that&s not the point. Everyone knows that Abdul&s family has some money socked away, and now everyone sees an angle for getting some of it.
Police officers arrest the accused and demand br a government official coaxes a written accusation from Fatima, then uses the document as leverage against the H the Annawadi village fixer, Asha, offers to make the problem go away for a fee. When Abdul&s mother refuses to pay most bribes, all three of the accused Husains are held in jail and beaten. Abdul is then sent to a juvenile correctional facility.
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The arrests, incarceration, and court trials of the Husains give us an inside view of the Indian criminal justice system, and there is nothing good to see. At least as far as the Husains& case is concerned, it is a vast spectacle of corruption and incompetence in which bribes are required at every step. Abdul quickly sees that &the Indian criminal justice system was a market like garbage.& We wish that he had been spared this Boo makes sure we are always aware that our own education in Indian criminal justice for the poor is the result of the Husains& misfortune.
In a , Boo once wrote critically about the movie
and its fraudulent conceit &that a child&s specific miserable experiences might be the things that spring him from his deprivation.& Abdul&s specific miserable experiences of arrest and incarceration certai while he is in juvenile detention, his family&s garbage-sorting business flounders and never picks up again. Another of his younger brothers has to drop out of school so he can help earn money for the family. The Husains lose the deposit they had put down on the plot of land outside the city.&
Incredibly, however, Abdul&s time in juvenile detention (where, unlike at the local jail, he is not beaten but largely left to his own devices) does enlarge his sympathies. In Annawadi, Abdul had been &overwhelmed by his own work and worry.& His stay at the detention center, he realizes later, &was the first long rest he&d ever had.& While there, &something had happened to his heart.& He finds himself feeling sorry for other people. He finds in himself a desire to be generous and noble. When he is released on parole, he brings this desire back home with him.
What are the prospects for a young man with broadened sympathies and a sharpened sense of justice back in Annawadi? Abdul&s first resolution is not to trade in stolen recyclables, which he normally buys and sells with the legally scavenged trash.
Boo has never put forward policy suggestions or articulated political ideals, but in her American reporting she has considered the effects of specific policy initiatives on the lives of the people she writes about. Here, too, she writes about a number of different laws and policies that come to bear on the lives of Annawadians. (In addition to her field reporting she has also &used more than three thousand public records.&) But, as her reporting painstakingly reveals, the effect of any single policy is dwarfed by the general mad siphoning of money into private hands that goes on at every turn and every income level. Some women in Annawadi make money by taking government-subsidized micro-loans for poor women and lending the money to even poorer women at a higher interest rate. The nuns at a local orphanage are selling donated foods that have passed their expiration date to poor women who then resell them to the public at roadside stands. Patients at the local hospital have to buy their medicine elsewhere&everything in the hospital&s supply cabinets gets pilfered and resold.
It is in this context of financial free-for-all that we must consider the remarkable case of a teenage garbage trafficker who decides to draw a line between legally obtained scrap metal and illegally obtained scrap metal. Boo describes Abdul&s shifting moral sensibility without sentimentality or emotional punctuation. He tries, for a while, to stick to his resolution, but finds that he can&t make enough money only on legal trash. As he puts it, &I tell Allah now I love him immensely, immensely. But I tell him I cannot be better, because of how the world is.&
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Elaine Blair is on the staff of the New York Review of Books.