Whether we’ll admit it or not, we are a communist nation. As such, no one is free to fail. No one is free to succeed either. In fact, no one is free at all. We are all pawns in the hands of the politicians – those proud men and women who tell us that they take our money for our own good. Since this country wasn’t originally intended to become a communist nation, these schemers still mostly have to steal our money on weekends.
At irregular intervals, the weekend also brings news of the latest installment of the incremental nationalization of the investment markets. This began several months ago with the federally backed and brokered buy-out of Bear Stearns. Over the most recent weekend this process reached an important milestone when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were transformed from fascist entities — that is, “public-private” partnerships — into fully realized, federally owned socialist organs.
Legendary investor Jim Rogers, as usual, speaks the unalloyed truth when he observes that the Fannie/Freddie bailout demonstrates that “America is more socialist than China right now,” with government redistributing wealth for the benefit of the politically connected super-rich. (That’s how socialism always works in practice, of course.)
Once again, to the surprise of nobody who has been paying attention, this development was praised by the presidential candidates from both wings of the Ruling Party. And as with all such socialist undertakings, the very first priority of the officials who seized Fannie and Freddie was to assure the apparatchiks that their jobs were secure.
Security only lasts until there are more parasites feeding on the hosts than the hosts can or are willing to support. Once that tipping point is reached both host and parasite suffer, and one or both die. America’s current political class on both sides of the aisle have made their careers on fostering the mentality of parasitism. No matter how useless you are to society, no matter how little you contribute, no matter how poor the decisions you make someone else will always be there to bail you out.
Unfortunately that is how America, the land of the free and the home of the brave (gag) have arrived at a national debt so staggering that it cannot be comprehended, even by the thieves who were instrumental in creating it. We are reaching the end of the balance between the producers and the consumers. Each massive bailout defrauds the American taxpayer and inexorably speeds up the slow decline of the behemoth known as American government. When the flames are licking their way up the walls of the Capitol building don’t say I didn’t tell you so.
TANSTAAFL