The thing that bothers me the most in all this economic collapse is the apathy of the American People. Before the crashing of the Equities and Bond Markets I thought people didn’t care because they were all getting so fat that they could not stop stuffing more and more into their greedy maws.
Now there is still the apathy, but the stuffing continues in the form of many billions of dollars of bailouts from the Federal Government. If the Gavernment takes over the banks and major industries, where is the plan in place to reverse these acts and restore capitalism? We are entering a new and disturbing form of Socialism and anarchy with the consent of the public. What’s next?
In case nobody noticed, as Iraq winds down we are building up the forces in Afghanistan. We are trading a war in Iraq for one in the terrible terrain of Afghanistan–another war we cannot and will not win. Where’s the sense of all this? Stuck in the growth of the military/industrial complex? Are we exchanging a cash cow for Bush & Cheney for a new hog named Obama/Biden? Maybe time will tell the tale, but it seems to me, continuing these trite expressions, that the writing is on the wall already and we are too myopic to see.
B/C got us into the war because people’s attention was diverted by the runaway real estate and stock markets. O/B are getting us into a new war becausepeople’s attention is diverted by the failed economy and the soaring unemployment in a world wide financial meltdown. What happens if all these taken over businesses continue to lose money? Will the government shut them down or continue to deficit the budget and increase the national debt by pouring more and more money into the hole in the water lined with paper ma shay debt? It is highly unlikely (looking at other government endeavors like the Post Office and Amtrak) that the government can turn a profit, so where’s the exit door? How do we bail out of the bail out?
It seems to me that we should end Iraq, get out of Afghanistan, and let these sinking businesses sink into Chapter 11 or Chapter 7. People will find jobs, and if some Westchester blue blood ends up sweeping streets, well, it is simple justice. Deflation will make Streetsweeper a prestige job.
Living in SE Asia, I see real poverty every day. People here exist on incomes of $100 a month or even less. I said exist, not live. Living takes $200 a month. There was an article in the paper that workers here are slower and less competent than workers in other countries because they are malnourished. The article was reporting facts, not editorializing. People were working in factories for $80 a month, and trying to exist on the one meal the factory fed them at lunchtime–spoiled rice and rancid fish. It was heartbreaking. It was true.
Maybe the future portends that for the USA. If the National Debt continues along with unemployment to rise and rise, perhaps the days of profligate living are ending and the days of rancid fish and moldy potatoes are the future for America. Jumping off a tall building isn’t going to kill anyone. It is the sudden stop at the ground level that causes all the tragedy. If we don’t keep leaping off tall buildings, we are going to be sadly surprised when we get to the bottom. Wake up people. See the sidewalk down there? That could be the future if we don’t stop this insanity of takeovers and wars and half-assed plans with no rational conclusions.
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