Critical Overview of the Whole Economic Mess

[citizenbfk]

Like everyone else these past few weeks we've been fed fear about the
failure of big banks and the rescue plan that would be equal to 1/3 of
the Federal Budget, enough money to fight, destroy and occupy Iraq for
ten more years.

I put seven (7) conclusions up front...and then a whole article-length
5,000 words about why I come to these conclusions (if interested).

I guess the basic one fundamental conclusion is that the laws favor
the SuperRich; and this extraordinary expenditure of money also favors
the SuperRich.

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1. Why is it that we have endless amounts of money for War and Wall
Street but none for health care, education, investments in renewable
and clean energy alternatives?

2. And now we expect a failed President getting money from a failed
Congress to give to a failed Wall Street is going to solve the
problem?

3. There is no way capitalism can justify socialism and gifts to the
rich. It’s a scam.

4. This is another ‘Bridge to Nowhere and a multi-million dollar road
that’s a dead-end. (like what was done and how money was spent and
wasted in Alaska this year)

5. We got to wipe away all the ideas and actions that have caused
this.

6. Now we have to start again, from the beginning.

7. We need to invest in ourselves, doing real things that produce
jobs, energy, or products -- rather than giving away free money to
bankers.

_______________________________________________________________

It sure has been a great Bush Administration: Ignoring warning that
led to 9/11; starting a false war based on deliberately fabricated
lies; allowing and contributing to the destruction of the economy of
our nation.

____________________________________________________________

The seven (7) ideas, above, are my personal conclusions; the comment
about the Bush Administration is my personal belief.

Maybe America could be ‘thanked,’ in that it may be seen as a warning,
i.e., like saying “Don’t sail your ship in this direction or you will
run aground.”


The reasons for my conclusions and feelings are: (if interested)


One problem with the news of the ‘Economic Crisis ‘we’ve all being fed
right now is some folks are apparently so ill-informed as to say at
the start of the week, “The fundamentals of the economy are strong,”
and at the end of the week say, “We’re in the biggest economic crisis
since the Great Depression; or worse,” like Republican candidate John
McCain said last week.


In addition to people who are suppose to know something totally
flipping over their opinions overnight, other folks, with absolutely
no knowledge at all, make harsh and speculative accusations about who
caused the problem and why.

Meanwhile, one thing for sure, is someone is walking away with
billions of bucks and it probably ain’t you and it ain’t me.

Another thing, for sure, is that all sides working on the Quick Fix
claim to be doing so “In the interest of the American people.”

Yet the American people, according to polls and correspondence and
objections being sent to Congress, are hopping mad and completely
outraged by this.

Big business and lobbyist appear pleased.

Some immediate questions and concerns for the Quick Fix are: Should
the government even be giving hundreds of billions of dollars to Wall
Street banks?

This is the type of socialism the Republicans are suppose to be
against. They are the ones always complaining about government
intervention and regulations, but now say they need the greatest
financial intervention in the history of the world.

Even worse, this Wall Street Socialism let’s banks keep their profits
while the taxpayers get stuck with their bad ‘toxic,’ debts.

There are bottom-line questions about where this hundreds of billions
of bailout cash will go, who’s going to hand it out, and how it will
be used ?

Will this plan work at all? Or is this another government funded
‘Bridge to Nowhere.’

The rationale for doing this is that if we don’t, we’re the one’s who
will suffer. There will be no loans to buy houses or cars, no loans to
allow businesses to expand. The credit market will dry up.
Productivity will stop. Everything will start to fall apart. Jobs will
be lost. Businesses will fail. Nobody will be able to buy houses or
cars anymore. Even our credit cards will be taken away.

American cities that also depend upon borrowed money also will not
have any buyers for their bonds and not even be able to pay salaries
to city workers.

The crisis appears real.

Another thing that appears real is that “the rich are getting rich and
the poor are getting poorer.”[b]

The top 1% richest people in America took home 20% of the nation’s
income last year. Ten years ago the top 1% richest people in American
took home 8% of the nation’s cash.

At the same time it’s said that the average family has more money in
debt then they do in savings. It’s said we have 9 credit cards per
adult in America. $12,000.00 debt per family. And this bailout of
banks will cost taxes due $38,000 per family.

The theory, we are told, is that money given to the rich, to banks,
and to corporations will [b] Trickle Down.

The theory is that banks will start to make loans again.

Image


This seems like a con job to me. Instead of buying the bad debt we
should be buying ownership and equity in these banks.

Instead of hoping that banks will start giving loans we should insist
that this money be used for loans, monitor or reward or punish for
actual loans to people to buy homes and cars, for businesses that hire
more workers for doing what our leaders now say needs to be done
rather than stuffing money in their pockets and ‘hoping,’ it will be
done.

Instead of giving away money for free (who ever heard of such a
thing?), we should demand they have to pay it back (like everybody
else who gets a loan).

Instead of hoping that the banks and lobbyist will do the ‘right
thing,’ why don’t we take this money ourselves and do the right thing.
We could buy real homes with this money rather than worthless paper
promises of repayment.

We could build a wind power plant and solar energy factories, giving
us both energy & jobs. We could invest in industries that actually
make things rather than banks that make nothing but profit for
themselves.

We could invest in schools, computers and science so our kids get
smarter. (At least we’d have a couple of laptops at the end of the
day, if nothing else).

We could use the money to plant trees: paying people for the seeds or
sapling, paying people to plant the trees, giving lumber companies
more product to sell and increasing federal royalties off the land and
do it in an ongoing and self-sustaining way.

Or just let the banks that made all these bad investments fail, let
them go out of business; isn’t that the core idea of capitalism -- no
government intervention -- and then the free market will sort it out.
New banks will come into business. Or private investors will step in
to help them out for a piece of the action.

There is no way capitalism can justify socialism and gifts to the
rich. It’s a scam.

The accounting deceptions are It’s a scam.

The tax loopholes for corporations and banks are a It’s a scam.

The giving of tax breaks and grants to the most wealthy in our society
is It’s a scam.

The revised bankrupcy laws are It’s a scam.
favoring the rich.

The home mortgage laws are It’s a scam.
favoring the rich.

The giving away of this money to personal friends or former employers
is It’s a scam.

The incredible initial request that no previous rules for handling
government money is It’s a scam.

The incredible initial request that there must be no oversight is It’s
a scam.

The insistence that even the courts can not consider any cases
concerning this cash is It’s a scam.


The failure to do what is normally done in such a crisis -- the
Federal Reserve lower interest rates -- is It’s a scam.

The Federal Reserve System is It’s a scam.


These government backed mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
are It’s a scam.

Overnight changing the policy that everybody’s bank accounts were
guaranteed up to $100,000.00 -- to deciding to guarantee bank accounts
worth millions, is It’s a scam.

Allowing this money to even be used to buy foreign bad debts is It’s a
scam.

Allowing this money to be used with no strings attached and no need to
be paid back is It’s a scam.


The ‘subprime’ mortgages at the heart of this was It’s a scam.

Preying upon the poorest borrowers and favoring more wealthy
speculators was It’s a scam.

The false and inflated assessments of home values was It’s a scam.

The big buck salaries, fees, bonuses and severance pay for the CEO’s
and executive managers --- even as they drive their businesses into
the ground! -- is It’s a scam.

The threat of immediate disaster and practically extortion has been
It’s a scam.

The fact that all the people involved in this (and involved in our
false wars) have no accountability and face no consequences -- and
even write laws to give themselves immunity or grant themselves
pardons -- It’s a scam.

And all these scams have been like a disease that allows all this
cancer to grow.

So the end result has been this: A failed President asks a failed
Congress to give money to a failed Wall Street.

What possibly could go wrong?

:angry:

In truth, what possibly could go right?

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We got to wipe away all the ideas and actions that have caused this.

Now we have to start again, from the beginning.