Editor:

Autumn is the season of mists, property tax payments and charity appeals. T.S. Eliot wrote of April as the cruelest month, but the fall months can also be mean-spirited.

It is the season, historically, for crashes in the stock market. The Dow-Jones Index has risen in the last few months and, as I write, is flirting with 10,000, which means very little if the fundamentals of our economy do not rise as well. Last year’s drop in U.S. house prices was a bomb in the global economic lake. The agitation that resulted seemed to presage a tsunami. That did not happen, but the waves caused by that drop did destroy many banks, some insurance companies, sales, jobs and credit. The damage was immense.

More seldom headlined have been the falls to derisory levels of interest rates. They devalued certificates of deposit, pension funds and similar money reserves. Most retirees depend on such reserves, and Fairhope houses an uncommonly high percentage of retirees. Suddenly they found that the fruit of their years of labor had withered. To add to their woe, they learn there will be no Social Security cost of living raise in the coming year, only a one-size-fits-all $250 handout.

Of course, distress is not confined to one segment of society. We are in a time of compulsory sacrifice for most Americans. There is a call and a real need for charity. The posts of our mailboxes sink daily deeper into the turf beneath the weight of appeals. It is the result of our national economic distress. The income of charities has fallen by 9 percent I hear, although the numbers of the needy have risen.

If we can continue to give, of course we should, but to discriminate is wise. Not all charities are well-managed. To spot bloated administrative costs and see useful comparative ratings of different charities in similar fields, go to charitynavigator.org.

Robin Fabel

Fairhope