Change is on the way.

The factory was churning its way through another day, only two to go and then it was over for another year. This year had been different. There was talk of a takeover and a move out of the country to somewhere else, job losses and speculation ruled the day.

It's funny really. When we had so little economic clout and the market was mainly the stocking stuffing items, low value but high turnover this place was humming. Now with the economy tied down to produce a surplus there seemed nothing to look forward to but the surplus. A surplus which having to be maintained meant more belt tightening until there would be no more notches to tighten.

The elves usually a happy bunch had become sanguine as to their future. With not many job opportunities and a tightening on the disability fund they rued the day when they were convinced by that PR consultant and his neighbour who's face resembled one of them but on assuming power, was clearly not. "Disabled" he might be but he was part of that happy brotherhood, the political fraternity where disability is a badge of office.

At head office they were having there own problems as the ice floe was shrinking and the takeoff and landing for the reindeer was being reduced each day. The boss seemed oblivious as he Ho Ho'd around the corridors trying to keep up the spirit but in dispatch there was clearly pressure and his humour was wearing thin on many. 

The problem was Global. A global economy which took no interest in the individual and was prepared to shut down the toy making establishments for the more economic unit in some remote village in China, where the pay ensured that no presents were within the budgeting of even the most thrifty worker, a provision for disaster as any economist worth his salt will tell you. And global warming which was turning Greenland into a summer resort.

The politics of Wall Street was baring down on everyone and Scrooge, in the image of Lloyd Blankfein had no truck with underpaid, poorly trained elves the job after all was open to competition and it wasn't in the job description to have funny ears. He was already considering opening up the job of Santa to a wider field of applicant and anyway if the beard was no longer a necessity (who cares about tradition) and could be replaced by a pigtail, that was progress so long as the Banks were the beneficiaries.