Problems and Solutions

This recession has four layers of problems: finance, production, life style, and ecosystem.

Finance

The FINANCIAL crisis is familiar. The latest bubble in home prices enabled the rate of borrowing and debt to inflate to unprecedented levels. The economy grew steadily as investors borrowed on increasing home equity, then used the money to further inflate home prices. The brilliant minds in finance elaborated the process by bundling the mortgages, marketing them as mortgaged backed security bonds, then insuring them with credit default swaps. The rating agencies cooperated by corruptly rating these gimmicks as AAA. The scheme continued longer than knowledgeable economist imagined, but eventually the ponzi-like pyramid scheme collapsed. Millions and billions were made. [HAND OF GOD, HOG] Some was squirreled away by those who sold early, but many people lost their savings. The lower levels of savings, the 401ks, retirement funds, endowments, and others, lost and continue to loose.

The money poured into the U. S. economy as wealthy nations, flooded with funny money and boosted by the escalating prices of petroleum and commodities, and supported the American life style. They got suckered. Clever corruptions such as the corn ethanol production kept the pot boiling, raising commodity profits yet again. Health care and pharmacies took advantage to the frenzy and elaborated their services and costs. The cultural enthusiasm boosted the prison population and lead to ever more profitable constructions and services.

The wealthy loosers and the foreign investors and lenders demand that the funny money be made good by bail outs. The seem to assume that a recovery by reconstituting this phony pyramid can return to business as usual. Can't happen. Even the auto industry begs to continue making obsolete vehicles that can not be sold, an never will be. Foreign leaders in China and elsewhere join the demand that the U. S. government bail out the foolish investments they have made. How this complex of disasters can be resolved without selling the entire United States waits for the attention of President Obama, or Biden, or Clinton, or Pellosi. Solutions later.

Production

PRODUCTION has been gradually collapsing for decades, but the economy but the financial ingenuity made it look like the economy was growing. Production shifted overseas lowering costs, but prices rose based on the ingenious finances. The prosperity created more jobs, but the actual work was rarely productive in real goods or welfare. As the economy collapses, half the jobs in the nation, jobs with shouldn't have been done in the first place, will evaporate and not be missed. These include jobs in the financial sector, much of the service sector, certainly the auto sector, and almost anywhere one examines closely.

Profits from investments, much of it overseas, will continue to decline for several reasons. After WWII, U. S. owned about half the world's capital. A decade ago, after recovery, technology and prosperity, U. S. capital was even greater, about a quarter of a much larger pie. Owning a quarter of World's capital, U. S. consumed about a quarter of the World's resources, naturally. But that capital has been squandered by ever increasing deficits and the cataclysmic failure of the funny money bubble.

But the world's wealth that poured into this country will rapidly decline. Venezuela has confiscated some Petroleum investments. Other Latin American nations are putting on the squeeze. China and some other austere but healthy nations are buying us out. Somalia and the rest of Africa still funnels their production to U. S., but `Islamic socialists' make inroads on many fronts and the elaborate and expensive activities of the CIA similar agencies will not be able to `hold the fort'. It would be impolite, probably illegal, and certainly not safe to explain this in detail. The forces of freedom will not be able to hold the overseas wealth. Thus, the nation's overseas capital wealth is being undermined, now faster than ever. Meanwhile, the Chinese and others are buying up domestic capital.

Capital does not accumulate easily, and funny money bail outs will not help, recapitalization of defunct industries, subsidies to agribusiness will not help, but only delay the basic decrease in U. S. income and consumption. Solutions later.

Life Style

LIFE STYLE will change. The vast parasitic consumption based on funny money and false jobs can no longer be supported. Parasitic suburbs with their expensive auto transportation cannot be maintained. Many suburbs are already emptying, and, without more creative community planning [HOMES] will revert toward their natural ecosystems. Non-productive jobs, expensive pastimes, bizarre casinos, and general waste will contribute to the gradual decrease in the standard of living for most people. [PROGRESSIVE STAGNATION]

Sociologist like Putnam point out that economic depression degrades the social fabric and mental health. This continuing decay of culture plummet with the coming decay of the economy. Families have less to fall back on now than they did in the great depression. More people are helpless in even the simples survival tasks of maintaining a residence and nurturing their family. The parasitic life style had created a fragile population less able to cope with the most likely future. Solutions later.

Ecosystem

Our supporting ECOSYSTEM is coming apart. Fortunately scientists are familiar with the vast details of this degradation and what can be done to alleviate it, even turn it around. Whether the Elected government of Obama team can take advantage of this powerful knowledge depends on how they relate to the Business government, and the supporting Military government. The B ethic, the corporate ethic, is to maximize profits. [ICE] The M ethic is to luxuriate on B's success and support its continuing prosperity.[WE] together the BMs are in conflict with what we hope is the Human ethic of the Es.

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Last updated Monday, April 9, 2018 05:43 UTC