Red Queen, I hope you like this one:
A writer at the Cape Cod Times named Sean Gonsalves has come up with this handy checklist to see if your local political candidate is a “regular person” or is just pretending to empathize with the experiences of us regular folks:
1. Have you gone grocery shopping for your family more than once in the past year? No? Red flag.
2. Have you recently received a shut-off notice from your utility company, looking for the overdue balance, and then had to do Rob-Peter-To-Pay-Paul budgeting to avoid having to live without lights or heat? No? Another red flag.
3. Do you live paycheck-to-paycheck, not because you're a poor money manager, but because your entire salary is less than the cost of living? No? Another red flag, please.
4. Can you afford to replace all four tires on your vehicle on the same day? Yes? And another red flag.
5. Have you ever been put into financial crisis because your only transportation to work was rejected during an inspection and you didn't have enough money in the bank to get it fixed before your next paycheck? No? The red flags are stacking up!
6. Have you ever shrugged off a tax-free holiday because even without the tax you couldn't afford to buy whatever "great deal" was being offered? No? Throw the flag.
7. Have you washed and ironed your own clothes, cut your own grass or washed your own dishes at least a dozen times in the past year? No? Now, we are officially in the red zone.
8. Do you worry that if you lose your job, you really won't be able to find another one, except maybe for a low-paying, won't-make-the-ends-meet gig in fast-food or retail? No? Red flag alert!
Not a bad place to start, I mean, from a member of the media and all ;-) Maybe there are a few meager signs of hope, after all.