A PICTURE IS WORTH...

A PICTURE IS WORTH...
Gun's don't kill people. People with guns kill people.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"No body could have done a better job than Obama, with the economy he was handed —including me!" —Bill Clinton—

Showing posts with label bailout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bailout. Show all posts

Monday, September 22, 2008

America: A Riches To Rags Story

This nation is in dire straits. I think this current financial collapse is going to make make the depression look like a picnic. How we came to this juncture in American history is clouded with charge and counter charge, by paid political pundits, lobbying groups, think tanks and a bankrupt moral climate in our federal government on both sides of the aisle. We have elected officials that pander like whores to highest bidder. I would urge you to consider your vote very carefully. It is how we can impose term limits, its time to clean House, Senate, and White House. No incumbents should be left standing after Nov 4th, on either side of the aisle.

We have MBA economists touting unsound economic theories such as, "Darwinian economics", based on self interest and greed. We have raised such theories to a level of cult worship without regard for the logical outcomes of such pathologically flawed ideas.

Greed without restraint. Unregulated economic rape of unsuspecting consumers all in the guise of unfettered free trade and markets. The list of suspects in this collusion are legion. The radical right wing conservatives who mouth the words spun with guile meant to cloak the real effects of these so called theories.

You've heard the buzz words that hide the truth of their real malevolence: free trade, deregulation, globalization, let the market decide, privatization, outsourcing just to name a few.

In stead of plain talk they weave policies in deliberate obfuscation. Lets have a look at what they are really saying. Globalization and Outsourcing sound innocuous and justifiable after all its just seeking the lowest priced labor pool for the benefit of the corporation stockholders.

But consider what happens when it is put into practice, you or your neighbor are forced out of their job and into lower paying jobs elsewhere in the economy.

Basically you are now in wage competition with third world countries without regulation or protection for their workers, who in many cases will work for pennies an hour. Do these so called American Corporations care? No way. This is Darwinian Economics, basically they are saying, I've got mine and you can go to hell. Patriots that swear allegiance to the dollar, not to flag or country.

To add insult to injury they flood American markets with cheap products and goods produced in China. What country benefits in the exchange? Communist China. Who gets the benefit of bloated profits? The stockholders. Who gets the shaft? American workers.

But we are complicit in our own demise, we purchase these cheap products. It started in the seventies when we allowed foreign auto imports into this country. That has devastated our domestic automakers.

All of that, along with the incessant mantra of deregulation, that has given free reign to the worst aspects of human nature, has brought this house of cards crashing down. Now these "born again" regulators and reformers want us to believe that their thirty year war on the regulations that have kept us safe since the Great Depression has nothing to do with them or their amoral policies.

John McCain seems surprised and outraged that men are greedy and amoral. Which is the reason we need the government, that he has, heretofore despised, and has said "the government is problem".

Now they want us to give them a blank check for 700 billion dollars, in addition to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG and Bear Sterans bailouts we have already given them. Plus they don't want the American people to have any over sight, or put any limits on "the golden parachutes " of the greedy bastards that did this. In the market place if you or I as an employee screwed up we would get fired without severance or unemployment benefits(period)

Their head cheerleader John McCain a suddenly, "born again" re-regulator says he will fix what has been broken, even though he didn't have enough foresight to anticipate the consequences of his own policies that he has been pushing for the last thirty years. He said in a moment of absolute honesty, that he doesn't understand economics very well. That makes John McCain unfit to lead this country.


"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
—Thomas Jefferson—

America America, for Endless Waves of Debt

As an American that has held a minority political and economic view for decades, I predicted this collapse some four years ago. If my view of the world is correct this adjustment was long over due. For the second time in our history the religion of unfettered capitalism has shown that greed has it own self limiting consequences.

We forgot the lessons of the Great Depression. And we let the Neocon Republican ideologues brow beat us into a stupor of complacency. Their political agenda of empire building and their manufactured constant state of paranoia from exaggerated external threats has put this country in a state of decline.

I love my country, it has contributed an ideal of individual freedom and equality that is to be aspired to, but, suffers from thinking itself greater than it is, and the truth is that its position in history is as fragile as any other country that would be an "empire".

The biblical admonition "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." seems appropriate. I hope that what emerges from the ashes is a humbler less self absorbed country.

To the "born again" Republican regulators and reformers No bailout. Not without massive over sight, restraints, and strict re-regulation of the banking industries. Its time "the real elitists" share the pain, the fat bastards that ran this into the ground. Absolutely No parachutes whatsoever for them. The average person in this country doesn't get severance or unemployment benefits when we screw up we get fired and thrown out the door. Let them share the pain of their incompetence. Personal responsibility its not just a Republican idea anymore.

To the Democrats who think the upcoming election will be a mandate to ever greater social programs: this country is flat ass broke. And America is in no mood for expanding the deficit, trust me on this, there is a growing rage in America that feels betrayed by its "elected leaders." You should embrace the T. Boone Pickens Plan for energy independence, he's brilliant and has thought this problem through. Plus it will put American's back to work almost immediately creating wealth again. Plus encourage old fashioned savings.

To both parties because of your failed leadership to come up with a sustainable energy plan, we have squandered our wealth, on "cheap oil", on conspicuous over consumption, cheap Chinese imports, unprovoked foreign wars and living beyond our means chasing an empty American Dream that over consumption will make us happy.

News Flash: Over consumption doesn't make us any happier than over eating makes us skinny.

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary."
— James Madison—

What Madison missed, is that, unfortunately, governments are made up of men.