Small cons downtown: how to steal from the poor

There are small Ponzis and small cons that seldom make it in the justice system: in Savannah where I live, for instance, small crimes against poor people are committed every day. There is this nice couple trying to sell some exotic fruit juice to a small restaurant owner: it cures cancer, they tell him. I raise my head over my coffee to explain that they have no right to say that. They are defensive: it is on the list of qualities that the juice company manager has recommended to them. They show me the list in good faith: of course it has no name or address on it. I explain to them that they can be sued, not the manager, because they cannot prove the paper came from him. The fruit in question not only cures cancer, but every disease you can think of such as the flu or broken bones.

A more successful con around here is a pyramid: you pay 500 dollars for a lecture (usually about how to get rich), then you find three people who will pay you 500 dollars for the lecture, and your benefit is a thousand bucks. It has to work, right? If it does not work, it is your fault. The victims do not even know that it is an illegal scheme, so they do not complain.

The worst financial crime in Savannah is against black women, although an old white lonely woman is a likely victim too. Why black women? I guess there is in some families a cultural bias, a make-believe that the man has more authority, more competence than the woman. Any woman who believes it is prone to become a victim. Here is how the con works. Imagine a situation, very common around here, where the woman is working and the man is mainly going out and spending money, if he makes any. When comes the time to buy a house, the man says: "Let me take care of it. I know how to deal with this". The sale happens with the name of the man on the deed, no trace of the name of the woman. Later, divorce or separation occurs, and the woman discovers that she has no right to the house. Cases like this are difficult to prove. I have seen four cases without making any research, so it has to be common.

Domino effect in Savannah, GA

In the relatively small town where I live, Savannah GA, there are more and more signs of recession.

• Like everywhere else, houses stopped selling. We did not get very anxious about it, as housing around here had gone up much faster than salaries: this can only go on for so long.

• The neighbors at the fringe of society in our neighborhood disappeared: the mom who was on drugs, the couple who "worked to drink", the entire household of some freshly installed students that we suspected of selling drugs.

• The new commercial building, pretty and well located, did not rent. It is usual for old business locations to stay empty for a year, but for a new building, it is surprising.

• Places that had little excuse for survival started going, going and were gone. such as the Linen and Things specially designed for people much older than me (I am almost 70 years old: it does not leave many customers of an older generation), the fast food which was always dirty, the fabric store where the manager hated all her customers, the antique shop which was filled with expensive junk, the restaurant where nobody ever greets you. They are gone, it may be sad, but it is healthy.

• We lost the very nice couple next door and their five kids. They both worked in construction, lost their job the same day and could not pay the rent. In six months, unemployment in Savannah has gone from 4.7% to 6.0 %. Construction, manufacturing, leisure and information are hit.
  

• Shops that I really liked disappeared, the nice small Mexican restaurant just slightly out of the way, the great little store of wine and cheese, who went from fair business to loosing money for the last five months.

• Smart places are in trouble like the elegant extended stay hotel nearby, the best restaurant, the gallery owner.

• LOWES sent me a card offering me 10 dollars if I spend $25.
  

• A friend of mine lost his job in the local newspaper... but we made it in the New York Times with a sad story and a beautiful picture.