Down the Rabbit Hole

"I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies ... If the American people ever allow the private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and the corporations that grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”-Thomas Jefferson

I think the most interesting thing about the economic meltdown in the financial industry is how little immediate effect the crisis is having on Main Street. People are somewhat nervous but they really aren’t sure exactly why. I know from looking at my 401k that I have approximately half the money I used to six months ago and I am one of millions. One thing is clear, by bailing out AIG and others of its ilk while leaving their shareholders twisting in the wind, the government has made its position quite clear: socialism for the rich and capitalism for everyone else. The last 10 days have seen the most intense period of government intervention in the financial system since the Great Depression. If this was the 1930s, Wall Street would be flooded with angry investors brandishing pitchforks and demanding the heads of CEOs but, alas, this is not the 1930s. The idea that this sick society could produce the likes of an Emma Goldman or John Reed is laughable. The government has successfully brainwashed the radicalism out of the people by giving them an endless parade of consumable goods and low-cost flat screen televisions. Food is also cheap enough that the government won’t have to worry about mobs of unemployed hungry people roaming around committing devilish acts of anarchy. Hell, most of us are so fat we couldn’t get off our couches to load our guns even if we wanted to. Let’s not forget that over the last seven years the totalitarian state has implemented mechanisms of control like surveillance and the abolition of the 4^th amendment, and the police are well armed.

It is going to take a lot more than shrinking retirement funds to get the populace out into the streets, but something tells me that a lot more is coming. I have this strange feeling that with one swift kick the whole shitbox will come crashing down around us. At some point it is going to dawn on people that there is an inherent unfairness to punishing the taxpayers while reckless financiers get to walk with their golden parachutes more or less intact. This kind of thing wouldn't happen if we extended capital punishment to white-collar crimes of sufficient gravity. My personal belief is that all the robber barons should be lined up against a wall and offered a last cigarette. A good old fashioned blood sacrifice is just the catharsis this country needs.