The Coming Train Wreck (5-16-08)

"Perhaps the cause of today's growing disconnect between futures and cash markets isn't singular, maybe it's a perfect storm of complex and complicating factors all arriving together. Or maybe it's just all our chickens--political inaction, unprecedented deregulation, monstrous trade, government and personal debt, a fast-falling dollar, a collapsing housing sector, dumb bankers, et al--finally coming home to roost. Whatever it is, typical Washington dawdling, dickering and dithering aren't options anymore because, as national Farmers' Union President Tom Buis told the CFTC meeting, 'We've got a train wreck coming like we've never seen before." (Alan Guebert; Peoria Journal Star Business; 4-29-08)

A perfect storm of economic conditions, which have been forseen by our politicians for years (if they've been doing their jobs), are now gathering around America. Like someone who hears a tornado warning siren, but refuses to seek shelter; the consequences could be fatal for our once great nation. The question I'd like to ask you, however, is: Are these 6 causes of the coming economic train wreck for America INTENTIONAL; or were they all simply a result of INCOMPETENCE? And, what portion of the blame for America's collapse should be laid at the feet of We the People? Let's address this latter question first. Consider these 2 quotes from Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

"If once they [We the People] become INATTENTIVE to public affairs, you and I, and CONGRESS, and the assemblies [state legislatures], Judges, and Governors, shall all become WOLVES."

"It's the FIRST responsibility of every citizen to QUESTION authority."

Usually, in a presidential election, approximately HALF of Americans who are eliglible to vote, don't! I'd say that qualifies for being "innatentive to public affairs", wouldn't you agree? As for our "questioning authority"; it seems to me that most Americans only question the authority of the Party that they do NOT support. As for the issue of the wars that America has fought, and are now fighting: to speak out against any war our government conducts--either legally or illegally declared (and all of them since WW-II have been the latter, according to our Constitution!), immediately gets one labeled as "unpatriotic" (at best), or as a "terrorist [enemy] sympathizer or supporter" (at worst). We seem to have confused patriotism (love of and devotion to one's country) with nationalism (the uncritical and "unquestioning" support of our government REGUARDLESS of the immoral and illegal behavior they have been involved in). So obviously, We the People share in the blame for the coming economic train wreck that thretaens America.

But, the overwhelming portion of blame for the economic train wreck we ar experiencing, lays at the feet of our elected leaders from BOTH major political parties. The six causes for this impending disaster (political inaction, unprecedented deregualtion, monstrous TRADE, GOVERNMENT and PERSONAL debt, free-falling dollar, collapsing housing industry, and "DUMB" bankers) can hardly be blamed on the INCOMPETENCE of our elected and appointed political--and financial-- leaders. These people are almost all COLLEGE GRADUATES, and MILLIONAIRES. One can call or consider them many things: but STUPID--especially in financial matters--is, well, just plain "stupid"! Incompetent means that one is NOT: "properly or well QUALIFIED, or CAPABLE". The college-educated-millionaires, that we always elect to office, are more than qualified to realize the inevitable results of spending more money than one takes in. If they didn't know this; they wouldn't be millionaires, would they? So once we rule out incompetence; we are only left with one possibility: our elected leaders are INTENTIONALLY destroying America economically! Am I missing anything here? The question then becomes: what are their MOTIVATIONS for intentionally destroying America financially?

Although the foundation for this economic destruction was laid in 1913, with the unconstitutional passing of the Federal Reserve Act; let's just go back to the time when America was the largest CREDITOR nation in the world (that is to say when America LOANED OUT more money to foreign nations than any other country in the world). This was in 1980. In the last 28 years, we have since become the world's largest DEBTOR nation (meaning we BORROW more money from foreigners than any other nation on Earth). This financial decline from the penthouse to the outhouse, began with the election to the White House of Ronald Reagan. He devised a plan to win the Cold War against the former Soviet Union, by engaging them in a financial race to insolvency. Give him his due: they went bankrupt first: so we "won". But what did we win, exactly?

(I'll have to finish this later.)