Financial awesomeness / a prediction (at the end)

I haven't posted in a while for two reasons: (1) because no body actually reads my blog, and (2) because I haven't had any thing to say -- yes, even in the midst of this economic crisis that is happening.

The fact is, I am enjoying the shit out of this economic "meltdown". Partially because it is not a meltdown -- it is simply what happens when the worth of a society is put into one place. In the late 1800s there was the Great Panic in the US. This was a period of time when the national unemployment rate skyrocketed. The reason was we had put so much labor and so much money behind the railroad and primitive infrastructure systems to cross the continent that when it was all finished we had nothing to do. Also there was the overrated Great Depression. It started in October of 1929 when due to reasons -- mostly stemming from overconfidence in the stock market and a lack of oversight -- that were not the fault of average Americans. Then, in 1933 or so the runs on the banks began. We had people starving thoughout the nation and a new president came in and did something. (I say he did something because that's all he promised to do, as opposed to Hoover who thought we should just leave shit alone.) Roosevelt wasn't willing to let people starve and be unhappy in order to let capitalists work out the kinks. I'll return to that point later.

There were several other breakdowns along the way all having to do with the idea of "too many eggs in one basket."

Now...here we are! Over a year ago I predicted that between July and September of 2008 the economy would crumble and the government would pump in astronomical amounts of money to try to fix it. HOLY SHIT I WAS RIGHT!!! Why? Because it's elementary capitalist theory.

TODAY's SITUATION
I'm not going to get into why this is happening. All of the things your are hearing on the radio have some element of truth. Last night I was able to see Naomi Klein speak about her book The Shock Doctrine. I was very impressed by her premise: basically, those in power use traumatizing events that put whole populations in a state of shock to advance their own prosperity whether that be money, power, or whatever else is thinkable. I do not disagree with her thesis, however, I do disagree with her limit. In the book she is speaking specifically of capitalists. The way I stated her thesis would include everyone in a position of power. In fact, I have recently been throwing around the idea of staring a socialist club on my campus because I know it would attract a lot of people at this period in time -- this would be using "the shock doctrine" to my advantage.

SO...
I've watched several interviews from Naomi Klein's website www.shockdoctrine.org and found that her primary problem, and this is true of all pundits, is that she is trying to place the blame on people. She certainly isn't shy about the fact that she is anti-capitalist, which is against a system, but she keeps trying to find someone to blame. If you look at the website a great example of this is her interview with Bill Maher.

What you will see in that interview/debate is that she ends up defending her theory against a man who is proposing that the American people, those who fucked up on their mortgages, are to blame. She steps into the position of blaming it ALL on the corporations and politicians, corruption and whatnot. I don't necessarily disagree with her, but my problem is that she is submitting to arguments that force her into that defensives posture when she needs to be attacking the very notion of capitalism. She finds herself in these interviews where sound bites are the key to success. She cannot present a coherent anti-capitalist agenda in thirty seconds -- nor can anyone else -- that breaks down people's deeply held, irrational beliefs. Of course if they were to read her book they might find themselves agreeing with her, but in reality more people are able to watch a small bit of TV than pick up a good book. And that is part of the problem!!

Who is to blame is not the question. Rather, it needs to be, what is to blame.

Capitalism does not value human life. As far as Naomi Klein goes, this is an unspoken theme that runs throughout her writing. What if she were to be so bold as to say that on the Colbert Report? Well, no one would understand her.

That was a digression.

Capitalism does not value anything other than profit. It is NOT sustainable. There cannot be infinite growth in a finite world. But, that is the narrative that we live by. Wealth can always be made. Everyone can get a "slice of the pie."

We are not only dealing with human life, but that of plants, of animals, of natural resources, of OUR ENTIRE PLANET -- the thing we rely on for our existence. Capitalism does nothing other than exploit the available resources. The only time it refrains is when it is stopped by either governments, individuals, or the total elimination of the needed resources. Primarily, capitalism does not value human life. People die every day because our society has been conditioned to think that profits are a necessity. We are using all of the world's resources to supply unnecessary goods to the masses, from which the profits benefit only a small elite. The animals that we need for nutrition, not to mention the fact that they provide fertilizer for the plants we need, are being killed off species by species.

On a purely human level, it does not make sense that people should have to work their ass off at a shitty job in order to PAY TO SURVIVE!!! We are not born into this world to suffer. We are born to exist. When the value of our existence is based on how many things we have, how big our house is, how much our net worth is, and how many chics we got to give us a blow job last weekend, we have something wrong. The worth of each and every one of us has been recreated to mean all of these things. IT'S NOT RIGHT!!

It's a manufactured existence! We need to reinvent how the market works. It needs to be run by those who it serves. It needs to be run for the benefit of those it serves. It does NOT need to be run by a select few who own the majority of the resources. We need to stop being giant fuckin' pussies and dancing around this "fine line" between capitalism and whatever-the-fuck-else. CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT IS NOT SUSTAINABLE!!!!!

If you think Barak Obama is going to make a change, you're stupid as shit! When he starts talking his border-line socialist views and speaking the populist speak, that we need market regulation, then says "I've spoke with my financial advisers," (who just happen to be rich Wall St. fucks) he's just giving a little heads up to the financial community that they shouldn't believe what he's saying.

If you think John McCain is going to make a change, you're stupid as shit!

Oh, and fuck Ron Paul too!!

Your life has been run by a storyline that submits the results of your life to people who are looking out only for their pocket books. If you think that's ok, you're wrong.

Another Prediction
Let's assume Barak Obama wins the election. I, like many, would not be a bit surprised if someone tries to kill him. I would also not be surprised, if that were to happen, it would happen between election day and inauguration day. Also, having written that, I would not be surprised if the FBI or Secret Service puts me in jail.