Sent to me by a friend, linked is an outstanding article by Gary D. Halbert: "Storms On The Horizon - The Entitlement Time Bomb," highlighting a speech by Dallas Fed President Richard W. Fisher
The sub-prime debacle and the resulting recent debauching of credit markets, as well as the energy crisis, our increasing insatiable appetite to create debt, and diddling with Social Security (sort of like the creative financing model of Enron) have converged into a frightful storm, a perfect storm of sorts, of economic instability and failing financial markets. All of this is the direct result of America's inability to look beyond the end of its collective nose -- America's shortsightedness. Americans are always in the NOW syndrome - Me! Me! Me! I want it now or at the latest by tomorrow morning; hubris and avarice is our proclivity. This tendency for immediacy undermines and compromises proaction; instead we get reaction. Now we are paying the price for this via our lack of being proactive, as a result of being complacent and reckless.
It is interesting to me that in our observable world we live within four dimensions (the fourth being a spatial dimension) and yet we seemingly only understand and appreciate those things that are two dimensional: a movie, the Olympics and sports TV, soap operas, reality TV, video games and a computer screen. It seems apparent to me that the reality is that Americans cannot think or understand beyond what they cannot see or what is fed to them. They don’t seem to understand that there are many things beyond their two-dimensional world, not only what is observable but what is transcendent, that needs to be pursued. They certainly cannot comprehend the innate power they have to create change.
The economic problems we have are not a result of new phenomena. Energy has been an issue for at least 40 to 50 years, which is the time frame at which I first became aware of a potential problem. And likewise, with our other credit and housing woes: it has been about 30 years ago when the first instances of this problem - again, at least when and of which I was aware -- was first envisioned; and we should not forget the Savings and Loans crisis of the 1980's. If none of these were a red flag, then certainly the dot-com debacle of the late 90's should have been a warning, when as in credit and housing irrational exuberance was at its pinnacle, that disaster lurks in every speculative bubble.
We -- you and I -- at least it seems, were too preoccupied in our two dimensional world, too complacent and into the now, too greedy and reckless, too engrossed into real estate – seeing, and salivating at, rising home prices; and forgetting that a home is a place to live and not an investment -- and too willing to accept let-the-good-times-roll feeding of creditors. Yes, we, more than anyone or anything else, are responsible for our current economic quagmire. America – all of us -- certainly should have seen it coming.
"Right now, we --you and I -- are launching fiscal bombs against ourselves. You have it in your power as the electors of our fiscal authorities to prevent this destruction." Dallas Fed President Richard W. Fisher
This is the time and season for Americans to step up to the plate and create change.
"Sí, se puede"
(So sorry! I just felt the urge, even though I know to some of you this mantra is an Obama anathema, in more ways than one)
