Monday, March 30, 2009

The G-20,The Witch Hunt, But Where Are the Solutions?

The G-20 Summit is set to begin in a few days in London and the usual suspects who appear from the cracks in the walk ways and the sewer drains along the streets are already marching in the streets for what ever agenda they may represent. Meanwhile the so called leaders are plotting and planning ways to enhance their standing in the world community and in the eyes of the voters back home but yet there is more happening than meets the eye. The story, which never gets reported it seems, is happening.

It’s happening away from the screaming malcontents who use any global gathering to pimp their latest gripe. It’s happening in our homes and suburbs and workplaces, in cafes and playgrounds, places people gather and talk. It is there too on the streets of London. One guy there must have been listening to Obama ( or one could fill in that blank with the name Rudd, from Australia or Brown, from the UK and it would be the same song). He said the markets failed causing untold damage, the crisis of all crisis. Another one said that capitalism had rewarded a tiny few, and left the vast majority of people worse off. Try telling that to the millions lifted out of poverty across the world by trade and commerce conducted through free markets. Evidently enough drank that kool aide to vote in the Chief Occupier who continues to sing that same old song day in and day out but to them it is government who creates the wealth rather than business.

People who are sensible but anxious about the future have been fed a fairy tale of heroes and villains. The heroes are the politicians meeting in London to work out how to deal with the greedy corporate villains. Politicians , including those gathering in London , bear much of the blame for stoking in the community an irrational anger against capitalism. They sought out scapegoats because it made for an easy political narrative they could sell in 15 second sound-bites. Remember the quote, "ever let a good crisis go to waste"? What a perfect setting for such sound bites. Every good witch hunt needs a witch and today’s witches are found on Wall Street and in corporate offices around the globe. Suspicions are now raised about anyone who has earned a bit more than what some see as a reasonable amount of money from the free market. Corporate bosses and bankers are now presumed guilty of excess. Rogues and crooks run riot in the free market according to the yarn. Why bother trying to explain their own role in the fiasco, the loose monetary policies of the US fed, or the bad laws emanating from Congress that mandated loans to those who could not afford them when you can stick to a simple tale of villains on Wall Street?

Witness the hoopla over the US$165 million payouts to employees at AIG, a firm that received a $US100 billion bailout. Whatever the rights and wrongs of those payments, nothing warrants what followed. US Senator Charles Grassley suggested that AIG executives ought to “follow the Japanese model ... resign, or go commit suicide”. AIG staff have now been warned to travel in pairs, not wear the company logo, AIG employees have received death threats and a union backed campaign and ACORN now run bus tours of AIG houses in Connecticut.

But here’s the hard fact, the place where the rubber meets the road and spin meets reality. Spinning a flimsy narrative where the politicians play heroes won’t wash. After feeding the anger at Wall Street greed, the Obama administration was forced to pull back last week when it announced its plan to deal with toxic debt. It turns out that the plan will only work with the support of Wall Street and those in capitalism central who pursue profit and are driven by greed. Now it turns out that greed will drive Obama’s plan to rid the banking industry of toxic debt. Indeed, no government anywhere will be able to solve the current financial crisis without those participants politicians have spent months demonizing as villains. Given that reality, perhaps along side the banners that read “Climate Emergency,” “Gaza: End the Blockade,” “Planet Before Profit,” “We Won’t Pay for Their Crisis,” and “Jobs not Bombs”, some brave soul should take to the streets of London with a banner that says “Thank God for capitalism after all”. (Janet Albrechtsen)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

But where are the solutions?

You’re kidding, right?

What has government ever done to convince you they’re in the problem-solving business? No sir, they create problems. The creation of problems entitles politicians to a few more years in office, courtesy of the average uninformed socialist pawn. By the way, do you need any yard work done around the house? I understand Rich Wagner is looking for work.

Ticker said...

It gets rather spooky when the White House begins to fire executives of corporations like Wagoner rather than the Board of Directors. But then what did you expect with the "taxcheat in chief" looking to make a power grab and seize control of corporations that they see as "possible failures. Just one more step in the direction of nationalizing all industry, banking and health care in this country. Belize is looking better all the time.

Faultline USA said...

I'd like to see a list of all of the atrocities committed against this republic in the last couple of months.

Anonymous said...

Jus' thinkin' after reading your post and this came to mind. Some of us don't need reminding about the mindset of liberals but James Burnham published his classic in 1964. It is still a valuable lesson today.

Suicide of the West

Fred G.

Independent Cuss said...

Ticker,

So what is your solution to the fact that the "free trade" of which you spoke has, for Americans, largely rendered the law of supply and demand . . . well, dead? “Free trade” has been anything BUT “free” for most of us. Sorry, but it HAS in fact lined the pockets of the wealthy while harming all other Americans in every way.

And, while "free trade" may have lifted some people in other nations out of poverty, it has certainly left working Americans between a rock and a hard place -- while simultaneously surrendering our means of production to often-hostile foreign powers.

Not that our nation would ever bother, but just try to actually WIN a war with a handicap like that!

Jeff Dreibus

Ticker said...

Sorry Jeff, but the "free trade" experienced in the US is not "free trade". It is bound with NAFTA, CAFTA and nonsenses regulations set by the WTO. "Free trade" has been a one sided event for the US with high tariffs set on our goods while very low tariffs or no tariffs set on incoming goods from other countries.
Now when we go back to the days of actual real "free trade" with tariff's being a two way street then the problems which you feel are there will disappear and we will have true "free trade" balanced by a market where goods are traded on different level.

Ticker said...

Now I suppose also Jeff that I could go back and ask if you believe that some form of protectionism is necessary or if you are willing to allow a free and open market to determine cost of trade.
If perhaps you see no barriers are needed how would you counter the "dumping" of cheap made goods on the US or the US dumping ,say low cost agriculture products on foreign countries?

Independent Cuss said...

Ticker,

All we need to do is go back to the Reagan era. As I recall, Reagan placed massive "quid pro quo" tariffs on imported motorcycles to save Harley-Davidson from the Japanese invasion -- and it worked.

We could do the same today if we actually cared to save our industry and the jobs which accompany it. But between the eco-weenies, the unions and the execs and "shareholders" who are making a killing by "outsourcing", I fear that the situation is academic. To engage in protectionism (which, to me, is not a dirty word) we must actually have some industry to protect -- but hardly any remains.

Jeff Dreibus