(#65-1) December 5 2014 Do most people look beyond the immediate? Do they even look?

WE SEEM ADDICTED TO MORE OF THE SAME. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE GOING TO GET (EXCEPT WORSE).

JOB NUMBERS , INVESTMENT, CORPORATE PROFITS, THE STOCK MARKET, CAR SALES & GROWTH—UP—AND THE PRICE OF GAS DRAMATICALLY DOWN

SO LET’S ALL HATE THE PRESIDENT UNDER WHOSE WATCH THIS HAS ALL HAPPENED ,

On the face of it, all of the above appears to be good news—and, arguably it is in the short term—though I have reservations.  However, it also indicates that we are a nation of addicts addicted to a deeply flawed business model—and unsustainable way of life—and have largely closed our minds to thoughts of change despite overwhelming evidence that we must.

So what’s new?

Then again, I could be absolutely and completely wrong (though of course I’m not).

Let me argue my position.

• The 2008 Great Recession was fundamentally caused by the excesses of Financialization—and by the Big Banks in particular. Six years later, the Big Banks are even bigger—largely thanks to government subsidies and the Federal Reserve—and we have done virtually nothing to remedy the root causes of the crisis. In fact, we haven’t even prosecuted any of the people whose policies and management caused the economic carnage. That being so, a similar crisis is likely to happen again. The track record is clear. Inadequately regulated financial institutions have to be bailed out repeatedly by the taxpayer—in fact such institutions count on it. Have we forgotten the Savings and Loan crisis? Look up the records and you will see a pattern of such egregious behavior..
• We are the most unequal society in the developed world and there is now plenty of evidence to indicate that this situation is harmful to the economic wellbeing of most Americans. We have done absolutely nothing about this socially corrosive issue—which gets worse by the day.
• Growth is not a good thing for most Americans if its fruits merely accrue to a small group of the ultra rich and their followers—which is the current situation. In fact, it is a bad thing because it pushes prices up—and more and more ordinary Americans into higher and higher debt.
• We have problems every which way from low pay to poor working condition, from a rigged economy to corporate dominance of our political system—yet we seem hell bent on doing precisely nothing. Why not? It’s easier to do nothing. It’s what couch potatoes do.

I could list more of the same for paragraph after paragraph.—but if I continue I’ll depress myself (and that would never do).

Whatever the future holds for the U.S., it is all material for the writer—and where would stories be without drama. And that is guaranteed.

Am I optimistic?

Primarily, I’m curious. It’s fun to have a seat in the arena and watch great events unfold—and blood be spilled (providing it’s someone else’s).

Gimme a beer. Pass the popcorn. Bring on the lions!

VOR words 485.

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