Mass delusion is always encouraged by those whobenefitmost from the mass delusion. David Lereah has admitted that he lied about the housing bubble because he was employed by realtors. Realtors made millions in commissions. Appraisers made millions in fees by inflating appraisals. Mortgage brokers made millions byencouraging people to lie on mortgage applications. Wall Street whores made billions by creating toxic packages of mortgagesand selling them to Irish nuns, old ladies andclueless municipal administrators. The ratings agencies made hundreds of millions in fees for slapping AAA ratings on toxic derivatives. Politicians got rich from political "contributions" fromFannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Wall Street, and the NAR. Any reasonable human being could look at the chart above and see that this would end badly, but Americans wanted to be deluded. They choose to believe. The housing market has now been falling for five years, with another five years to go. Ben Bernanke has reduced interest rates to zero. I wonder how that will work out.
Who Benefited from Globalization?"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." Mark Twain
From the time that Bill Clinton signed the NAFTA agreement in 1994, globalization has been touted by those in power as beneficial to all Americans. How could free markets and free trade be a bad thing? Corporate America, Wall Street, and the mainstream corporate media have blared the propaganda of globalization benefits from their loudspeakers. In theory, globalization appears to be a positive concept.It describes a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of communication, transportation, and trade. The truth is that globalization is not inherently good or inherently bad. The idea is that each country has its own strengths and weaknesses. Each country will take advantage of their strengths and rely on other countries to help mitigate their weaknesses. This will result in increased trade, a larger world market, and economic progress for all. One small problem. Trade is not really free. Every country on earth protects various industries. Every country on earth manipulates their currency in order to get an edge. Every country on earth invokes tariffs to protect their national interests.
BillBonner and Lila Rajiva address the difficulties of globalization and "free trade" in Mobs, Messiahs and Markets:
"Unfair trade is yet another of the dodgy slogans festooning the spectacle of globalization like tinsel slithering around a pole dancer. How can different regulations and practices in different countries constitute unfairness? Isn't the essence of trade that different countries have different things to offer whether cheap labor, or better technology, or more bountiful natural resources, or more welcoming business environments? If all countries had exactly the samethings to offer each other, there would be no reason to trade at all. But what "fair" trade advocates are really advocating, of course, is unfair trade! They want to make sure their foreign competitors divest themselves of the very advantages that they bring to trading."
"We notice, for instance, that when Americans in Detroit lose jobs to other Americans in California, they might grumble a bit. But, by and large, they accept it as part of the nature of things. They move, or retrain, or change jobs. But when they lose their jobs to Japanese in Osaka or Indians in Bangalore, then a cry goes up. Unfair trade, howl the trade unions; race to the bottom, scold the social activists; yellow or brown peril, shriek the xenophobes and racists."
It seems the American middle class was sold a false bill of goods. They bought theBig Liethat globalization would benefit them. They bought into the delusion that even though their high paying manufacturing jobssailed awayto China and India, they could maintain their lifestyle through brain work, easy credit, cheap goods made in China by the people who took their jobs, and the ever increasing value of their homes. Noam Chomsky notes the fallacy of this delusion:
"The dominant propaganda systems have appropriated the term "globalization" to refer to the specific version of international economic integration that they favor, which privileges the rights of investors and lenders, those of people being incidental."
Again, one must seek out who benefits from the delusion of globalization. The crony capitalists, Wall Street oligarchs, and corporate fascists who control thepuppet stringsin this country have benefited greatly from the Big Lie. Over 5 million manufacturing jobs have been off-shored since 2000. These good paying jobs are never coming back. Millions of service sector jobs continue to be shipped overseas. The globalconglomerates like GE, HP, Oracle, IBM, and Boeing continue to rake in billions of profits, distributing millionsto its high paid executives, while gutting middle class America. The ruling oligarchs convinced Americans to take advantage of cheap goods and easy credit, to buy electronics, cars, appliances, new kitchens, and take the vacations of their dreams. This Big Lie has left the American consumer with $2.5 trillion of non-mortgage debt and the lowest level of home equity in history. Retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, andBest Buyreaped billions in profits as Americans whipped out one of their 10 credit cards to buy HDTV's, economy bags of tube socks, iPads, iPods, stainless steel refrigerators, and Dell computers. Small town America's mom and pop economy was gutted by Big Box retailers selling the globalization delusion. The biggest beneficiaries of the globalization delusion were the Wall Street banks. They control 80% of credit card market and have reaped billions in interest at rates exceeding 20%, while sucking $20 billion per year in late fees from the clueless public. Wall Street bankers have rewarded themselves for their brilliance in destroying the middle class by reapingmulti-million dollar bonus packages.
Vincible Ignorance"Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know." - Aldous Huxley
Based on all available evidence, it seemsthe American public wants to be misled. They have chosen ignorance over knowledge and understanding. They want to believe their corrupt leaders. They want to believe that things always work out in the long run. They want to believe that the economy is about to get better. They don't want to think about unsustainable debt, unfunded liabilities,saving for retirement, or Simon Cowell leaving American Idol. Americans desperately want to be deluded into another bubble, but there are no evident bubbles left to blow. The existing American delusion is that the currentfiscal path will not lead to the utter destruction of our once great Republic.
America resembles a 40 year old aging baseball icon with two bad knees,a pot belly, receding hairline and delusions that he is still the ball player he was at 24. He doesn't realize that his skills are shot, as he flails at curveballs in the dirt thrown by 21 year old kids. The rest of the league knows he is washed up, but he refuses to accept reality. America isn't even running on fumes at this point. It is running on delusions. Politicians think they have saved the country from a Depression by adding $3 trillion to the National Debt and allowing Wall Street banks to pretend they are solvent. Americans have been deluded by the ruling oligarchs that a $700 billion bank bailout, an $800 billion pork filled stimulus plan, the Federal Reserve buying $1.2 trillion of toxic mortgages, and the Treasuryforcing taxpayers to pick up a $400 billiontab for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's bad loanshas actually solved a problem created by too much debt.
The American herd has gone mad. A few people have regained their senses, but the vast majority still exhibits the behavior of sheep being led to slaughter. The ruling oligarchs have utter contempt for the average American, but they fear the masses. In order to retain their power and wealth, they gladly hand out two years of unemployment payments, food stamps, and welfare payments to keep the masses sedated. The working middle class foots the bill. Corruption abounds and is sustained by the passage of more laws and regulations. The sociopathic powers that control the levers of power in this country need to be brought to justice if this country has any chance at survival. The den of vipers and thieveshave trampled on the Constitution, speculated with the country'sfunds, risked blowing up the financial system, committed fraud on a massive scale, and continue to rape and pillage the American citizens.Vincible ignorance by the American people is no longer alegitimate excuse. The criminals on Wall Street and Washington DC must be routed out andAmericans must awaken from their delusional state before it is too late.I weep for the liberty of my country.
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