Either the Bush/Cheney cabal or some other power brokers who are going to reap a lot of benefit out of everyone's suffering.
This "benefit" might come in the way of simple profits ~ or, more likely, in the way of new, arbitrary measures that would have the effect of putting more controls on people, keeping power in the hands of the already-powerful and rich, forcing people into accepting identity chip implants in order to get on welfare, get a job, etc., - any of that scary stuff...
Now, I'm beginning to wonder. The problems seem to be too widespread for it to be an organized depression, although I wouldn't rule it out yet...
But I am wondering if the economy has simply outpaced our ability to understand it.
The obvious examples being just the complete failure of anyone in a position of sufficient influence to predict or prevent the meltdown, even though it is of such an enormous and widespread nature.
Immediately before the bottom fell out of everything, we had so-called experts at the highest levels of government and the financial establishments, both in Canada and the U.S., declaring that everything was fine.
We had a November (+/- two months post-meltdown) financial report from the Harper gov't, prepared by supposedly smart, well-educated and experienced folks - that was total garbage - not worth lining a hamster cage with.
Now the new budget dares to include long range projections!
Who do they think they're kidding??? They don't have an f-ing Clue!!The Art White North Theory
The reality is that at this point in history it is possible for all of the work needed for a society's survival to be done by a very small portion of the people. i.e. - maybe 10% of the population could conceivably do all the work that needs to be done for survival. That is - grow the food, build and heat the shelters. Facilitate ample transportation, education and health care to service a modest existence.
There simply is not useful or necessary work for most of the people in the modern world.
More and more people are employed in recreational activities, fashion-driven industries contributing no intrinsic value to anyone, or the greed industry, in which bankers and insurance cos. chase their accountants around trying to figure out new ways of leeching off the rest of society... again, without contributing anything whatsoever... In fact, it seems like the American banking industry has only succeeded in going broke after robbing Americans blind for years...
Of course it is unfair and inaccurate to generalize in these statements... the point is, I think we may have reached a point where a new economy needs to be acknowledged. Some kind of a new value system that would differentiate between different currencies.
i.e. Alex Rodriguez is now proven to have fraudulently earned his first $120 million contract. Just this simple sentence is proof that our entire system needs to be re-constructed. It is bogus. It is full of crap. It makes no sense. It is full of cheaters like Madoff, scams like Enron and Bre-X, houses of cards like Nortel. Scumbags everywhere.
Maybe we have to look at supply and demand. Maybe we have to look at the principles of the market. Maybe we have to look at the compatibility of a commodity market conceived hundreds of years ago in the information age.
I think it is time for a new Adam Smith.
