By now we all know that the United States of America is an airliner flying straight into the side of a mountain. The plane is out of fuel. The pilot is drunk. The co-pilot is sleeping. The USA is tapped, bankrupt, toast.
Whether we pass the debt ceiling really doesn’t matter in the long run because the outstanding liabilities are so overwhelming. Forget the deficit number, it’s a short term distraction. The real bother is the estimated $65 trillion of obligations we (theoretically) have to pay to run this business called USA going forward. Social Security and health care for old folks. Medical care for veterans. Welfare for the burgeoning dependent class.
But wait, back to the headline. You see, while the US is suffering like never before, the corporations are hoarding more cash than ever before. From Fortune:
In all, Fortune 500 generated nearly $10.8 trillion in total revenues last year, an increase of 10.5 percent. Total profits soared 81%. ” But guess who didn’t benefit much from this giant wave of cash? Millions of U.S. workers stuck mired in a stagnant job market.”
Oh, and this one I love:
Amidst reports that Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) has more cash on hand than the beleaguered U.S. government, it might be fun to wonder if Steve Jobs could singlehandedly bail out the Feds.
Now some portion of the profits held by these corporations came from abroad, but the vast majority of the profit came from right here in the USA. We gave them our paychecks, our retirement accounts, the treasure accumulated over generations. We gave and they took it.
And they also took with them all the jobs and benefits and prosperity that this country once enjoyed. The pay far less taxes than ever before and less, as a percentage, than corporations in other countries. And what about us? The USA? Well, we remain mired in deep, deep trouble….the corporations are sitting high atop their mountains of cash, looking down at the rest of us. The banks, especially are sneering at us. And the banks especially, they want more.
It’s not enough that they have the mortgages and the payments…they have teams of jack booted thugs fanned out all across this country who are convinced that the banks have the right to kick down your door, change locks…and if one of their employees takes your property…well, that’s just too bad. Call law enforcement? Sorry, they’ll tell you, “too bad, not my problem”.
Just read about Chris Boudreau in Hernando County. Just read the press release put out by the Hernando County Sheriff. (A press release that contains many alleged “facts” that Boudreau disputes.
Boudreau’s fight is just one of many, many examples from all across the country…..I alone have many right here in the Tampa Bay area, where the banks are kicking down doors, changing locks and in some cases taking property. Talk about invasion. Talk about terror. We are all now forced to live (at least for now) in this terrifying world that corporatism has created. Scary. Very Scary..
