Bail Me Out Scotty!

I was hoping I wouldn't have to open up this can of worms again because even though I knock my American friends from time to time, I love them and hope they can recover from the economic CATASTROPHUCK they are in. I don't understand the amounts of money being talked about when the subject of bail-outs comes up, (and I don't know you but), neither do you. We hear words like "trillion" and most of us don't really know what that means. I heard a really good illustration on the only TV news I watch, The Daily Show with John Stewart. A guy said that if you started spending a million bucks a day when Jesus was born you still wouldn't have spent a trillion bucks. And I'm assuming he's not accounting for interest accrued over the 2009 years you've been spending. Anybody remember the movie with Richard Prior called "Brewster's Millions"? What did he have a week or a month? I forget but he had a helluva time spending just one million bucks and having nothing to show for it. So I guess it shoulda been called "Brewster's Million." But he started with one and I think he ended up earning more millions didn't he? Whatever. Spending a trillion and having nothing to show for it would be impossible... for anyone but a government official. This is their specialty folks. It's what they do.

So how do they do it? Bail-outs is the plan of choice these days. This idea has been bothering me since I first heard about it because for the most part, people have been labelling these bail-out loans as "socialism". I wrote an entry back in November about the way people use words that are completely the opposite of the truth. This was the example that inspired the entry. Essentially, (and I'm no economist), all these bail-out loans are doing is intensifying the capitalism by enriching the, (miniscule number of), beneficiaries of capitalist society without ANY benefits to the people who are the source of the capital and, thereby, its benefactors, Joe Average, Joe Blow, Joe Sixpack, Joe the Plumber. Almost all Americans fall into one of these four categories. I think I'd be a Joe Sixpack if I were American.

The plan is pretty simple but as any good villain would say, "It's ingenious in its simplicity!" Bolster the benefactors' desire to work their asses off for the beneficiaries of capitalism by intensifying the unfair system and labelling it socialism. Communism is no longer a threat. It was chased away by McCarthy. But at this time in America the people NEED socialism so it is necessary to demonize it right away. So amp up the capitalism to a point where it's obvious to the most ardent zealot that it's a shitty idea and then make sure you call it socialism enough times to keep them zealous. And lo, and behold, it's working!

But, not with the aforementioned host of the Daily Show. He's started saying what I've been saying to anyone who will listen to me for the last few months: give the people the money! Hey what a concept! But that would be enriching SOCIETY. Socialism is all about society. You can tell because they are almost the same word. It's not about giving all the good shit to the top 00.001% like capitalism is. Capitalism, as I said in my November entry, is all about capital. Money. Like most "isms" those who are true "ists" are nefarious and extreme in their goals. They invite as many junior "ists" as they can to further their cause but not really benefit from it.

On a couple recent Daily Shows, John Stewart threw out the idea of giving money to the American people instead of giving it to the banks. All that would happen is the people would use it to pay down mortgages or loans or put it in their savings or buy bonds or stocks or whatever and the banks would eventually end up with it anyway but with great improvement of the average American's fianancial situation. Not to mention consumer confidence, economic stability, job creation, social program relief, healthier stock market, all sorts of signs of prosperity it would create. It seems logical right? Almost too logical. It's so logical it must be illogical. That's what capitalists hope you believe. Because even though the true capitalists of America would still get all that money, the goal of a true capitalist is not to be rich, it's to be richer than YOU! With the John Stewart plan, they are not as much richer than you so it's not as satisfying.

Here's the rub: This is what the American economy needs, (and has needed for like ever), but this really IS socialism. And Americans are supposed to hate that. Or at least fear it. Not supposed to want it anyway. So I think the wave of anti-socialism has just begun in America. You must not abandon capitalism. Socialism is bad. We don't want socialism. These are not the droids you are looking for. You'll be hearing more messages like this very soon. And to quote the great bard again, mark my words.