Santa's Job this Year? Deliver bad news to Kids.

While Republicans think of more ways to take from the poor and middle class, their Christmas message of austerity is now being delivered to children by Santa Claus. 

NY Times: The result is a Christmas season in which Santas — including the 115 of them in this year’s graduating class of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School — must learn to swiftly size up families’ financial circumstances, gently scale back children’s Christmas gift requests and even how to answer the wish some say they have been hearing with more frequency — “Can you bring my parent a job?”

Santa’s here tell of children who appear on their laps with lists that include the latest, most expensive toys and their parents, standing off to the side, stealthily but imploringly shaking their heads no. On the flip side, some, like Fred Honerkamp, have been visited by children whose expectations seem to have sunk to match the gloom; not long ago, a boy asked him for only one item — a pair of sneakers that actually fit.

“In the end, Santa’s have to be sure to never promise anything,” said Mr. Honerkamp, an alumnus of the school who also lectures here.