In regard to Obama's Wealth Destruction by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
I have very profound annoyance and contemptuousness toward all those who are responsible for this economic crisis, which has turned out to be a national emergency.
I am tired of folks ranting about Obama; I am tired of the Lew Rockwells, and Ron Pauls; I am tired of Libertarian philosophy, Left and Right, Democratics and Republicans; I am tired of socialism accusations and that it will lead to communism, free markets and capitalism, pork and earmarks; I am tired of Keynesianism; I am tired of Suze Orman, Rush Limbaugh, Jay Severin, Sean Hannity and whoever else there may be; and, I am tired of reporters, CCN, ABC, NBC, and CBS news outlets, and all of the media pundits. And, I am tired of the bipartisan-partisan rhetoric, and the generational theft rhetoric, as well. I am tired of all the government and political inertness and their propensity to place blame. Particularly when the blame is placed on people who can least defend themselves.
I don’t care if any of the Auto Makers declare bankruptcy; I don’t care if banks go belly-up; I don’t care if Wall Street goes belly-up; I don’t care if some fat cat loses all he or she has; I don’t care about the creation of wealth; I don’t care about troubled/toxic assets – if the folks owning them lose their shirt, so be it, I can only say they deserve it.
Folks at the bottom of the hierarchy of need pyramid will survive with only life’s necessities because of their dependence on community, and each other, that is a way of life for them. The folks at the narrow top of that pyramid will not because their life is based on wealth, survival based on only how much money or assets they have, they have no sense of community, and only care about themselves.
We should not bailout any of these nincompoops at the top.
I only care about these things to the extent that it affects or harms the folks on Main Street and of the urban and rural ghettos, and I understand that failures at the top will affect and harm Main Street and the urban and rural ghettos in many ways; that’s the tragedy in this quagmire. The ranting by Suze Orman, Rush Limbaugh, Jay Severin, Sean Hannity and et al does not benefit anyone; they only serve their own self-interest.
What I do care about is that human beings are treated fairly, that they are not exploited, and that they have the necessities in life: food, shelter, and clothing. That’s my bottom line. Except for President Obama, I certainly don’t see sufficient concern, on the part of many Americans, or those who have wealth, or on the part of politicians, government, or economist, for the welfare of those at the bottom of the pyramid. Nor do I see this concern in the rude, disrespectful, uncivil, hyperbolic rhetoric of Limbaugh, Severin, Hannity, et al. There is not adequate reporting or media coverage directed at the people to whom this economic crisis is hurting the most; and of who, by the way, are the way out of this mess.
I have trouble restraining my expression of indignation of those folks who are concerned about the money that may be spent in the stimulus package that may help those people of whom I speak; at those with wealth, those in government, and economist, who are concerned over the debt it creates, when no one was concerned about the ever increasing debt this country has accumulated, not until now, and seemingly only with this stimulus. No one was concerned about the debt created to finance a war in Iraq – as of today it is almost $600B. Politicians were uptight, and Senator McCain even suspended his campaign for president to return to the Senate in urgency to make sure our country bailed out Wall Street, to give his support for the TARP legislation. How come, after eight years during which the national debt has almost doubled, that they are so concerned with debt creation now? How come McCain and his peers don’t have the same sense of urgency now? Their national priorities are out of whack!
It is very simple: spending done by corporations, entrepreneurs, or even mom and pop enterprises to create goods and services are superfluous if individuals – the folks on Main Street and urban and rural ghettos – do not have the disposable income to spend on those goods and services; what good is credit if no one can attain it, or home mortgages if no one can purchase a home or maintain their existing mortgage -- even a roll of toilet paper is useless if no one has the money to purchase it. Who cares about Wealth Destruction when there is no concern for working men and women at the bottom; wealth, at the end of the day, is created by Main Street. The Wealth Destruction of concern is the destruction of wealth at the top; they create wealth for the sake of wealth. They have been inculcated with “trickle-down” theory. To me that sort of thinking is absurd and nauseating.
Bastiat's parable, and Henry Hazlitt’s description in his book “Economics in One Lesson,” of the broken window is a story of economics focused on what happens on Main Street and not on Wall Street, albeit -- I do understand! -- that will trickle-up to Wall Street eventually.
“Trickle-down” economic theory and laissez faire free markets just do not work.
We are stuck with the here and now of today, in our zeitgeist. There may very well be better economic, governmental, and societal ways, such as libertarianism, but we cannot stop with what we have and turn to something else on a dime. It doesn’t work that way. It can work over time, we can nurture it and see to its evolution, but this is not the time to do that.
I realize this may seem by some to be simplistic, a lack of sophistication, especially those in finance or economics; but to me it is simply fact.
Paradoxically, it seems we have never had so much to lose, and for which we have never had so much hope.
However, the broken window thesis and metaphor of James Q. Wilson and George Kelling is philosophically in play here: "One unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing."
Needless to say, I believe, if there is not some improvement, and it continues to worsen over time, Main Street and the urban and rural ghettos are going to revolt. Yes, there will be anarchy. When President Obama states that things could get worse, this among other contingencies is a part of which he speaks.
The ideology of the Fred Thompson's of this world got us into this mess in the first place. He was not complaining about the mounting debt of the last eight years of George W. Bush. Cutting taxes for the wealthy and borrowing more than we could afford to fund war; he was not concerned about fiat dollars then was he? The severity of the ideological differences between the two parties conflated with this unacceptable partisanship is ruining our country.
