Only a Catastrophe Can Save Us

I have more time to read in winter and it used to be nice. Now, not as much. I innocently googled "causes of great recession" the other day. I have an open mind, that it was probably driven by deregulation even though there are other, contributing, insufficient causes.

Immediately I was in the land of hacks and shills. Republican "think tanks" and conservative journalists have unloaded the blame onto hapless Democrats who are credited with trashing the economy while trying to help ordinary people. I talk to working people all the time.

Derivatives and credit default swaps are not common topics. None of them knowingly had risky stocks. Enron is now the model for the whole economy. You jig the system and hope to escape with the loot before it crashes about your ears. A collapse is our best hope now.

The latest stock run-up feels like the usual Republican scam to me, musical chairs with our money and an unknown number of players and chairs. It's a game to them. One of these times the collapse is going to be bad enough to discredit the scammers. They don't care.

Most of them will escape unscathed. America, my ass. All they care about is themselves. Hope for enough of a collapse to expose them but not too bad to preclude a recovery. As always and before, innocent, poorer people will suffer the most and many will die.