I’m just going to refer to this as “Part Two” of the “You Gimmick Me Sick,” rant about the entire Credit System.
What a mess! O.K. Billy Joel, maybe “We” didn’t start the fire, but what are we going for, “The Scorched Earth Affect?” I mean, when are we going to pull our heads out of our assets, and smell the proverbial coffee (Which is up in the Commodities Market, btw)? Although Dire Straights was referring to the Music Industry in the 80’s, their Hit Song, “Money for Nothing,” totally hits the nail on the head for “What is Wrong with our Global Economy today?”
We are living in an illusion that this “Perpetual money making machine,” will “somehow” sustain itself inevitably into the future. Are you kidding me? There is no “Perpetual Anything,” within our Entropy infected Universal Ecosystem. Even children playing Musical Chairs get it. Each time the music stops, more resources diminish, and there is one less player with a place to sit. This is not rocket science! It’s like we are all living in the Emerald City, and the Wizard of Oz is just standing behind that curtain pulling those levers, and shouting into the microphone, “Everything is just fine!” Well, in the past couple years it looks like Toto has pulled that old curtain back, and well, there’s just us standing here looking at some old guy standing there shouting, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
It’s just that “The Old Guy” is just a metaphor for the Ken Lays, Bernie Madoffs, and Earl Jones’. You know those guys that took all that money from all those people, and none of it was real? These are the “Bad Guys” that they want us to focus our hate on, as if the Legitimate Financial Players were so “Wholesome,” in regard to loosing our money. It’s the same “You know what,” just a different pile, and you know what really “Goetz” me? These Wizards of Wall Street simply understood that “The Entire Economy” was based upon the Largest Ponzi Scheme Ever! It was guys like Madoff who figured out that the only way that he would ever get caught, is if the entire system crashed, and then it wouldn’t matter, because EVERYONE, even the so-called “Legits,” would be busted. Here the media is pointing their cameras at these Frauds, all the while, Major Players like Richard Fuld of Lehman Bros. is playing the same angle, but blaming… What, Bad Luck? Come on! At least the Madoffs and Lays could hide behind the fact that they legitimately defrauded millions, where as, Fuld… what, just “Dropped the Ball?” What’s the matter Dick, you didn’t see it coming? Hey – I got an idea… The next time you are flying around in your Private Jet and the Fuel light comes on, why don’t you just play by the same strategy – Knob!
The point is that “None of it was real!” Although they were taking “The Real Money” of Investors, they were all drawing interest from “Imaginary” funds! Now, I’m not saying that there is no reality to our economy, because we do have industries actually manufacturing stuff, people are employed and obviously consuming things. It’s just that in order to accelerate the rate of growth, the economy was injected with this synthetic steroid called, “Credit.” Merle Travis, the original writer of the 1946 hit song, “Sixteen Tons,” put it best when he declared the words, “I owe my soul to the company store.” This was in reference to working in the Mines, and well, “A Man has to eat between pay-cheques, right?” Therefore, as so many of us do, he would buy things on credit, because “The Company” knew that he was “Good for it.” They should, because he was working for “THEM,” after all. Therefore the same employment provider was also the sole distributor of items purchases by its employees. This was the perpetual economy created by the Mining Company, back in the day. They were triple dipping by controlling the wages, as well as, the mark up on the merchandise, and the interest rate on the credit – Incredible! This was legitimate price fixing. Remember, just because you are doing something “Legitimate,” doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not a Crook!
Now, you may have noticed the common theme that I’m weaving here, between Modern Folk Music and Children’s Fairly Tales, and the reason that I’m getting at this, is to illustrate the consistency throughout the ages on these themes. This economic Pipe Dream wasn’t established yesterday. This system has been in place since the beginning of time. It’s just that when this happens, the world turns to what it knows best – War!
A few weeks ago, I proposed on Facebook that we take a moment to look at the impact that certain Sci-Fi Writers have had on our civilization. Due to their “Futuristic” thinking, they have actually inspired the creation of some of the technological advancements that we enjoy today, just because they planted a seed in so many adolescent minds.
One story that dates back at least 300 years is the story of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Now, if you think about it, it’s really about Investing. Mother gives Jack the Cow (Their Life Savings), and says, “Go sell it in the market, and buy some food. This way we will not starve to death.” Starve to death? You have A Cow! I’m not saying the plot didn’t have its share of holes, but the point is that we all know this story. Jack takes the Cow, gets duped into selling the Cow for some “Magic Beans.” He then returns home to Mom with the good news, and Mom smacks him upside the head, and declares; “Now we are dead!” (I think in the original story, Jack’s name was actually “Yacov” – Inside joke). Relax Lady, Jack’s got this under control. OH – NO! Drama Queen chucks the beans out the window, and the next morning (ironically) Jack has an opportunity to redeem himself. Long story short, Jack grabs the Goose that lays Golden Eggs, and bingo, Jack has a perpetual cash machine. If my memory serves me correct, in some versions, his mother than tries to cook the goose. Oh my goodness Jack, take one of those eggs and put Mamma in a Home! Seriously, with a track record like that, Jack might find himself in the kitchen pot eventually – Ala Hansel and Griddle.
Therefore, in the same manner that Technologists have been inspired by Star Wars and Star Trek, Economists have been trying to find Jack’s Golden Goose. The problem was that they “Laid” all their Faith in Real Estate, as this perpetually sustaining mechanism. Really? I thought that these guys were supposed to be good at Math. We’ve been looking at a shrinking population base for the past 50 years. We’ve known for decades that Gen-X, “Y and Z” (for that matter) would never be able to sustain the “Baby Boomers.” Like Musical Chairs, there had to be some limit to the Real Estate Shuffle. Once the Baby Boomers began to knock off, and suddenly we had a “Dramatic Increase” in Housing Supply, what happens to the Market? It plummets! Common Freaking Sense!
So, what’s the solution? Why do you think that Canada isn’t suffering as much as the U.S. in this Global Economic downturn? The perpetual shuffle. The irony to the whole situation, in the U.S., is that the “Common Man,” is blaming “Federal Immigration Policy” for their present economic woes. All the while, it’s the “Immigration Shuffle”, rather than reproductive repopulation, that is somewhat sustaining the presently weak economy. Canada, with our “More Welcoming” Immigration Policies, are filling the lower end housing markets with new immigrants, as well as, allowing wealthy immigrants and Gen X’rs to shuffle up into the next caliber of houses. This perpetual motion is somewhat slowing down our Credit Crunch predicament. Although this is buying us time, it is not solving the greater threat, which is this dependence on imaginary capital known as “The Credit System.”
Here’s the deal; we tend to give so much Credit and Faith to those that are “In Charge,” assuming that they are where they are, because they deserve to be there. As I had stated earlier, “Just because you are doing something “Legitimate,” doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not a Crook!” There are some Laws that are “Universally” set (Laws of Physics), and therefore they are not left up to interpretation or negotiation, nor do they exist in order to be spun into support for one’s favor. We need to be morally accountable when our actions affect our fellow person, especially when it affects someone’s Life and Livelihood. What’s more, we need to hold those “In Charge,” accountable and responsible for their actions, before they are allowed to destroy all that we have worked so hard for.
This is Billy Goetz, Wishing you all Wisdom and Success in the Coming Days.
“… And that’s all I have to say about THAT!”
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