Friday, June 25, 2010

The American Nightmare is here

Dreams and hopes die hard. America, the nation which was believed to be the best place on earth where a person would be able to reap what he has sowed, a place where the laborer was worthy of his wages, has changed for the worst. Those days are long gone, and if we are to have any success going forward, then we will have to be able to recognize the correct political and economic environment we live, and adapt thereto.

The facts show that the republic that this nation used to be has turned into a kleptocratic, oligarchic, plutocratic, quasi-imperial police state. Slowly but surely these trends have been in place and have only accelerated in the past 20 years. The last decade has been overtly dark for the dying republic. Federal power grows, which in reality means that corporate power grows, as we all know that the federal government is nothing other than a conduit whereby corporations garner influence, market share, and power. We all know that regulatory capture has gone awry, with the SEC and wall street being a revolving door, the pentagon and the defense contractors a revolving door, the oil companies and the department of the interior, the dept of education and for profit institutions, the FDA and big pharma, and the list goes on and on. The problem with this parasitic relationship is that it lowers our standard of lives and forces us to live subject to their dictates and mandates.

War is waged on poor 2nd and 3rd world nations, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and wounded. The war machine continues to accumulate its obscene profits which are stained with the blood of many. Many small town boys fall prey to the recruiters sweet sale of "honor, duty, career" in the military. I’ve heard so many stories of young men being told that they wouldn’t be shipped out to Afghanistan or Iraq, of how they would probably end up in Korea, Germany, Hawaii, Japan, only to find themselves riding on dusty roads in the middle of Asia, hoping and praying that the next IED wont go off in a burst of red. Halliburton, KBR, Raytheon, United Technologies make their profits while John Hanks comes home with no leg. Many of these young men (and women) believe in their country, the good America, the country wishing to enlighten these supposed Asian savages with democracy and liberal human rights. Nothing can be further from the truth. Not only that, but many of these soldiers will find themselves in a very difficult situation upon returning from the battlefield as soldiers with PTSD are not the best candidates for employment positions. In fact, for many vets, what awaits their arrival is homelessness and the streets.
Back at home, the light is getting dimmer and dimmer.

College graduates realized that they wasted 4 years of their lives obtaining a degree which has little to no economic value. Many accept this fact and find work in retail, restaurants and bars, some find work in corporate america with low wages and highly stressful work environments. Productivity is at a all time high while true unemployment rockets to 20% across the nation. Some of these disillusioned college grads make the decision to obtain even higher education, such as a law degree or an MBA hoping to better their earnings prospects, hoping to obtain their own piece of the American dream. Little do they realize that for many, this will be a investment which will have devastating consequences for their financial and emotional well being. One quick look at some law school scam blogs will show the despair that lurks among the newly minted "professional" class of America.

Some argue that the American dream is alive and well, and that if you are good enough, smart enough and dedicated enough, then you too can excel to the top. Sure, it is statistically possible for anyone to end up as a CEO or a board member of a Fortune 500 company. Lets assume for every major company, there are 20 top spots. 500 X 20= 10,000. Out of a population of 300 million, your odds of getting one of these positions is .003%. The latest date shows that for the wealthiest 30,000 people, the average income was $5.6 million. The top 1% earned 22% of all income. Keep in mind this is 2005 data. I could only imagine how much worse things have become. The bottom 20% earned $19,000 per year. This growing underclass of Americans continues to grow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/business/29tax.html

Lets enter the minds of those who rule this nation, lets see how they think. Many of these people went to the best schools in the nation, got the highest grades, and were awarded prestigious awards. These people find their way through the private sector or the government and make huge amounts of money. I wouldn’t be surprised that they view the rest of us with utter contempt, as we are obviously not as smart, not as gifted as they are. "They want jobs? FUCK EM. Let them eat cake". Their arrogance is made manifest through the comments that leak out from time to time. A BP official stated the other day, "we care about the small people". The CEO said, "I want my life back". Goldman Sachs CEO Lord Blankfien said they were going "god's work".
According to their own personal life circumstances, the system works just fine. They have excelled, therefore anyone should be able to excel. Regardless of the fact that incomes continue to fall in real terms. Regardless of the fact that unemployment remains dangerously high and continues to deteriorate, the system is fine. There is nothing wrong with the system, its just that we are too stupid, not smart enough, not dedicated enough. For them, outsourcing of american labor is justified as we are now in a "global eCONonmy", and in order to compete, american labor must be sacrificed. In reality, in order for their standard of living to increase, the serfs must have their standard of living decrease. In the elite club, if you can get in you are safe. Outside of the club, the american nightmare grows in intensity day by day, month by month.

The nation has been taken hostage by a few thousand sociopath elitist aristocrats who believe that they truly deserve what they "earn" in exchange for the financial livelihoods of others. This rampant outsourcing of labor will not stop until we make a stand. At the moment the lie is still widely believed by the american sheeple, that they one day will get their major break and get out of their paycheck to paycheck existence. The bottom 20% of the populace has been so demoralized that no revolution could ever come about. Sadly, the impoverished segment of the US population engages in self destructive behavior by shooting and robbing each other at notoriously high rates.

Its up to the dying middle class to take a stand, to make a move. Right now I see a demoralized middle class, one that blames itself for their economic situations, one that sees itself as a failure. No. The way the system has been designed prices in failure for many of us. This global fucking ponzi scheme only allows for the few at the top to make the gains. It will continue to progressively worsen until a breaking point is reached. It is not here yet, and it may take a generation until it does. There is also the risk that a true revolution will never come again, leaving the old republic of the US as a relic of history to be looked upon in awe and fear many years from now. I hope this is not the case, but when I see thousands of stupid motherfuckers waiting in lines for a phone made in sweatshops in east Asia, the little optimism I have fades.

I hate to say it, but until zero point is reached, its every man for himself. Because those not in charge of the system have deemed themselves powerless to stop it, the machine will crash and burn on its own. I already see some of the elites buying gold en masse, as the price continues to make new highs, currently at $1255 per oz. Eventually, I see a Titanic type scenario where there will be a global run for the exits on the US dollar reserve system. Those left holding dollars will find themselves in a most impoverished position.

So here is my plea for all of you: do not feel defeated, do not feel as if you are a failure. In some form or another, we are all victims of the great debt ponzi scheme. The system will crash and burn. So please prepare accordingly. As Gerald Butler said in Law Abiding Citizen, "its going to be biblical".

5 comments:

  1. I'm not sure I would go that far, but I do agree that the current system needs to be reformed. Most importantly, the cutoff needs to be made before people go deep into non-dischargeable debt.

    By the way, would you be interested in letting me advertise on your site? My name is David Abrams and I am an attorney. I am very interested in talking to people who have fallen victim to the so-called "education scam."

    I think there may be an opportunity to seek tuition refunds in some cases. I normally work on contingency, i.e. like most contingency fee lawyers I normally don't charge a fee unless there is a recovery.

    Anyway, if you are interested in letting me advertise, please feel free to contact me.

    Thanks, Dave

    David Abrams, Attorney at Law
    299 Broadway Suite 1700
    New York, NY 10007

    tel. 212-897-5821

    dnabrams @ gmail

    ReplyDelete
  2. As much as I like to think that everything will work out fine, in my heart of hearts I agree with subprime. Nothing is being done to fix the root problems. Government is increasingly revealing itself to be either incompetent or powerless...probably both. All the makings of a real, nasty, harsh decline are on the table.

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  3. SH:

    Its not just the economic situation that concerns me but also the peak oil problem which is going to bitch slap the ponzi across its face. Ive read numerous wall street newsletters from 30 year pros that have a very negative forecast on the world. Marc Faber is one of my personal favorites. He forecasts global conflict by the end of the decade. Sigh..

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  4. This is the correct sentiment.

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  5. I could not agree with you more. You hit the nail on the head. Brilliant.

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