Pinched Fury

What a miserable inconvenience for Wall Street; to have been revealed for the venal structure that it is. And now, in the home country of unfettered laissez faire capitalism the world looks on as the government rushes in to save the country from complete and utter financial disaster. And who gets it in the pocket? An already strapped population, while the corporate heads of giant corporations rush to the bank with their earnings.

The CEOs of Lehman Brothers, Countrywide Financial, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, American International Group, all made their calmly patrician exits, well furnished with enough liquidity to keep them in multiple mansions and high-end vehicles, along with frequent trips to the French Riviera, for countless lifetimes. It's a well known fact that the gap between the wealthy and the disadvantaged has been steadily growing. Now it's downright galloping.

The country's legislators, long forewarned of a disaster impending, the tenuousness of a fragile economy built on the cobwebs of worthless paper, not backed up by sufficient cash to ensure a bulwark from disaster, preferred not to listen, not to believe, consulted their own expert authorities who calmed their jitters and encouraged a relaxed attitude. They're not quite so relaxed now, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans, both equally guilty of failed oversight.

The country, however, is an economic titan, whatever happens. It will stumble, then re-erect itself; its huge internal market will once again tick into pleasant order and life will resume on track. There will most certainly be pain, but there is always (the rather depleted) Treasury, there is that huge workforce, there is the nation's entrepreneurial spirit and expertise, there is the undeniable reality of flexibility and eventual recovery.

Pity that it's the taxpayers - those who cannot afford clever tax lawyers and forensic auditors to ensure they keep most of their earnings - who will suffer. But then, there's nothing new about that, either. Those CEOs earned, individually, between $60-million and $312-million U.S. for their considerable expertise in steering their great corporations into bankruptcy. More power to them, and hail to the victor!

How dreadfully inconvenient that this collapse would occur so unnervingly close to an election. All those elected representatives would very much appreciate re-election, thank you very much. Which is why, by and large, they cock their nervous ears toward the clamour heard from their constituents, who mightily resent bailing out those banks and insurance corporations, those money-lending institutions who encouraged credit where none should have been possible.

Now, they're broke, and there's no more credit for ordinary everyday businesses to get on with what they do best; create wealth for the United States of America. What to do, while Chicken Little is running about moaning about disaster, if Congress doesn't vote for that bailout? George W. Bush's constant statements of impending disaster are alarming people no end. He's got company; both presidential candidates are echoing his alarms in their own inimitable ways.

All those warning echoes of a blow-down worse than already exhibited, of hundreds of thousands of lost mortgages, worthless securities, have truly unsettled the good common sense of most people. What do they know, anyway, given that the experts, the professional financiers, are themselves in a turmoil of fearful insecurity? It's their chickens coming home to roost, and by extension, those of Main Street.

It's undeniable that without borrowing and lending, commerce will grind to a nasty halt. It will be a long and painful haul back to something resembling normalcy. Congress will most certainly relent; they're being blackmailed into submission. No one likes to hear "Pay up or watch the economy blister beyond redemption". Their fault, they've got to bear the burden, and wait while voters decide who, among the 435 members will be returned to office.

Moderation and prudence, and play-by-the-rules, and sensible abstention are the lessons taught to the ordinary man and woman on the street. Do they have the backbone to insist that these rules apply to everyone, including Wall Street, and that their elected representatives ensure fairness in future? Good luck, all. Meanwhile, it's not only the United States, it's the international economy too reeling in the backlash.

Canada, the European Union, Latin America, and oh dear, the up-and-coming world economic powers of Asia; India and above all China, will see their progress stymied for a little while longer. And now where will Russia get all those billions it insists it needs to upgrade their military and state-of-the-art armaments? Have patience. All will be restored.

The state of the economy, that is. Including corporate greed and stupidity, and government's unwillingness to argue compellingly through good legislation, to control rampant vulnerabilities.