I figured It Out
by James Glaser
February 10, 2009

You might say, "Well duh, we knew that already, Jim." But here goes. I thought of it while watching some news program last night where they were talking about getting people back to work. It isn't getting people back to work that is so important. What is important is to get banks to loosen up their money so they will loan it to the American people.

Never mind, that the money that banks have today is really our money, given to the banks to keep them from going belly up. The government wants the banks to make it possible for us to borrow more money so that we can go further into debt. That is the whole reason for the bank bailout and the stimulus package. People have to have a job to borrow more money, and if the government creates these jobs with the money they borrow from China and Saudi Arabia, the people of the United States will be able to borrow money from the banks who will be loaning us money given to them by our government—money that our government also borrowed from China and Saudi Arabia.

You might say that makes no sense whatsoever, and I would agree with you. In fact, it is ridiculous and without reason. But that insane path is where our leaders are trying to take us, and they are trying really hard. (You saw the press conference last night.)

Here's the reason for the urgency. Right now Americans are figuring out that they don't need all the things they thought they did just a year or so ago. Washington knows that if American citizens realize that they can live a good life without all the consumer products that keep our economy floating, they will get out of the habit of buying every new thing that comes out on the market. America has a consumer driven economy, and if we quit buying, America will have to change the way we do things and change the things we sell. That would cost international corporations a bundle of money.

So, Washington can't stop and think about what would be best for all of us, it has to get us hooked up and addicted to buying again, and they have to do it fast before we kick the habit.

Washington and the corporations want things to be just like they were a few years ago. The only problem is that the American Ponzi scheme has run its course, and we know we have been had. Going back to the same old way of doing things will not work, because we now know that we can live without keeping up with the Joneses.




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