Meanwhile,the people go back to their busy lives embodied in their multiple jobs,cumbersome debts and taxes, futile entertainment, and overwhelmingdisinformation and propaganda.
by Rev. Richard Skaff
Merriam Webster’sdictionary defines capitalism as “an economic system characterized byprivate or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments thatare determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and thedistribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in afree market (1).”
Despitethe appearance of completeness, this definition is missing one thing;an unregulated capitalist society run by corrupt men would eventuallycollapse like a house of cards. Our brand of capitalism, or moreappropriately called corporate socialism, relies on prolificconsumerism as a means to globalization, where needs are created andwhere everything and everyone is for sale. We tend to sell the publicvarious goods, services, people, politicians, Presidents, and even Godfor the right price. Everything and everyone becomes a commodity to bepurchased and sold. From this consumerism, we develop an addiction toconsumption that renders us as needy infants desperate to suckle theirmother’s breast. Our brand ofcapitalism has us believe that the market is an independent entity thatself-regulates rather than an arena controlled by a few powerfulindividuals who dictate and manipulate the entire game. Unfortunatelyfor the people, if these men happen to be greedy and corrupt the wholesystem becomes a reflection of their image, which might eventually leadto its disintegration and complete dissolution. Extreme wealth oftencoexists with extreme corruption.
TodayAmerica is facing the same perilous patterns that the Roman Empireencountered over 1500 years ago. These patterns are characterized byprevalent corruption on every level of government, waging unnecessaryexpensive wars, inability to resolve conflicts in strategic areaswithin the empire, erosion of morality, control of the public,eradication of individual liberty, lavish borrowing and spending,hyperinflation, war mongering, and a wavering of the currency. Moneyand power are the ultimate goals that every man attempts to achieve inthe hope of satisfying their egos. This pathological narcissism thatinfests most of our leaders has been the only driving force in theiralleged passion for public service.
PresidentBarack Obama, allegedly the new face of change, had often proclaimedduring his presidential campaign that he would not be bought orinfluenced by special interest groups, because he wanted to be apresident of the people, for the people, and by the people. Thisrhetoric has rallied the populace who then enthusiastically rushed tosend him contributions of $5 and $10 or more. His supporters alsobelieved that he would finally bring back hope, freedom, prosperity,peace, love, and end the extensive depravity and abuses practiced byhis predecessor. Sadly, the people were deceived once again.
Practicingtrue freedom is difficult, anxiety provoking, and frightening. It alsorequires hard work, thinking, and competence. Instead, people prefer tobe led and to be given their basic needs; as a result they are willingto give up their liberty. Let’s remember that a state is not designedto care for the public but to control it. The more you allow the stateto regulate you, the more controlled you will become. Let us also notforget that in a true democracy the purpose of government is to servethe people not to rule them.
Recently,a scathing report was released by the Center for Public Integrity. TheCPI report presents enlightening research that elucidates some of thereasons behind the financial collapse. The report also addressed theplayers behind the collapse, and debunked the myth that the largestbanks and investment houses were somehow innocent bystanders andsurprised victims of unscrupulous subprime mortgage lenders. What isoften lacking in the media coverage of this story is the fact that themeltdown was a self-inflicted injury induced by greed, blind profitmaking and outlandish bonuses and salaries.
TheCPI ran a computer analysis of every high-interest loan reported by theindustry to the U.S. government from 2005 through 2007, a period thatmarks the peak and collapse of the subprime market. From this pool of7.2 million loans, CPI investigators identified the top subprimelenders. They labeled them as the “Subprime 25” that were responsiblefor nearly a trillion dollars of subprime lending, or 72 percent of allreported high interest loans (3). The “Subprime 25”, which are mostlyno longer in business, were largely non-bank retail lenders that neededoutside financing to make their subprime loans. The Center’s studyfound that at least 21 of these “Subprime 25” lenders were either ownedoutright by the biggest banks or former investment houses, or had theirsubprime lending hugely financed by those banks, either directly orthrough lines of credit. In other words, the largest American andEuropean banks made the bubble in subprime lending possible byfinancing it on the front end, so they could reap the huge rewards fromsecuritizing and selling mortgage-backed securities on the back end (3).
Accordingto the CPI investigation, the mega-banks not only invested in subprimelending institutions, but they were the enablers, bankrollers, andinstigators driving high-interest lending, and they did so because itwas so lucrative and unregulated. Worse, in many instances these arethe same financial institutions the government is now bailing out withtax revenues (3). The report will also give the readers an insight intothe purchasing of a president, and a clue why Bush Jr. and Obama haverushed to bail out the financial giants.
The next logical question would be: Isthere a correlation between the amount of contributions by the bankersand the election of a president? I would definitely say, yes. Theinvestment bankers attempt to finance both sides of the existingparties; however, if you look at the numbers below, you will be forcedto deduce that the candidate who receives the most money from them willbe the prospective winner. As a result the commodity we think weelected is actually a product that was already pre-purchased anddecided for us. Ironically, master propagandist Edward Bernays statedin his famous book, Propaganda, the following: “A presidentialcandidate may be “drafted” in response to “overwhelming demand,” but itis well known that his name may be decided upon by a half dozen mensitting around the table in a hotel room.”
Belowwas the amount of the money that was contributed to candidates from thesubprime 25 (not counting the rest of lobbyists and special interestgroups).
Top Recipients of Securities and Investment Company Contributions.
2007-2008
Obama, Barack (D) $ 14,447,682
McCain, John (R-AZ) $ 8,547,727
Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) $ 6,776,654
Giuliani, Rudolph W (R) $ 5,099,595
Romney, Mitt (R) $ 4,981,989
Dodd, Chris (D-CT) $ 2,907,182
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $ 835,236
Coleman, Norm (R-MN) $ 830,075
Richardson, Bill (D) $ 818,000
Edwards, John (D) $ 806,795
2003-2004
Bush, George W. (R) $ 9,185,969
Kerry, John (D-MA) $ 4,845,528
Schumer, Charles E (D-NY) $ 1,368,339
Daschle, Tom (D-SD) $ 1,036,145
Obama, Barack (D-IL) $ 1,029,632
Lieberman, Joe (D-CT) $ 1,021,075
Bowles, Erskine B (D-NC) $ 794,251
Dodd, Chris (D-CT) $ 672,614
Dean, Howard (D) $ 639,271
Clark, Wesley (D) $ 631,483
Itmust be very frustrating, disappointing, and desolating when theregular person finally comes to the realization that the system hethought he was a part of depends mostly on money. That explains thegeneral apathy and cynicism that the public has experienced towardpolitics and politicians. However, apathy leads to inaction, whichmakes the elite more powerful. Frustrating and confusing the populaceis an excellent strategy to engender more apathy in their hearts, andto keep them alienated and at a distance from the daily politicaldecisions.
Meanwhile,the people go back to their busy lives embodied in their multiple jobs,cumbersome debts and taxes, futile entertainment, and overwhelmingdisinformation and propaganda. Once again, they are left alone standingin the cold and wondering about the lost promises of change that theirnew Czar had once vowed to execute. Is Obama “the new face of change”only meant to be a physical manifestation rather than a political one?Is the purchasing of a President the key factor to maintain the statusquo of power, while the middle class continues to be slowlyassassinated?
References:
1. Merriam webster.com
2. E. Bernays, (1928, 2005) Propaganda, IG publishing, Brooklyn New York
3. Center for public integrity (2009). www.publicintegrity.org. Who is behind the Financial Meltdown?