A few years ago and $50 richer

Not all that long ago it seems, I used to be able to head out to the local deli with a $15 in my pocket and fetch all the items a starving young lad might need to pass the evening: a sandwich, a bag of peanuts and a 6-pack - and I still had change left over for the $1.25 ride to work in the morning.

Living in New York has always been tough, but now its downright unbearable. Now add an idiot's (aka. Bloomberg's) personal agenda against every vise known to man, vices expected and until late, taken for granted by NYers. Then add 15 or so years, allowing for inflation. What do you get?: I went out to the deli tonight as a cash poor man and came back a beggar. Wine vs. beer, yes (as I'm no longer 20); and gourmet bread vs. rye (as I'm no longer 20); and I added a few extras like fruit and almonds (as I'm no longer 20), but the result was nearly $50 and a required trip to the ATM that cost me $1.75 on the host bank's end and $1 on my bank's end.

It is no wonder that NYers are leaving our great city in droves, especially those who have to work for a living.