As I sat in my comfy chair watching what likely looked to be a great college basketball game Friday night, Kansas vs. Michigan, I thought about the country--a bankrupt result of greed and corruption. But, the world is, indeed, a grand illusion (pardon the Styx reference). Let me explain. Most people in this country suffer from at least one of three flaws but I'll generalize and say they define all of us:
1, We're all uptight. That's right ladies and gentlemen. We are probably the most uptight group of people on the face of the earth. As I watch the game early, referees at the beginning of a game huddle and talk about some foul because there's so much money on the line for this NCAA Basketball corporation. Obviously, the kids who simply graduate won't make enough money to send back to the college. But the athletes! The professional athletes will make enough money to send hundreds of thousands of dollars back to the college. The short and long-term prospects are tremendous! But what does that say about the nature of our educational system? Kids are under extreme pressure from parents to get the best grades possible to get to the best college, which is extraordinarily expensive, are going into the first corporation. The first company to "hire" a college student will provide an education, biased by poltical philosophies from professors that may or may not coincide with student values. And, are these professors able to subdue their egos to give college students their own individual viewpoints if backed up by reasonable argument? Or, is it for the students to answer questions the way professors want them answered? So, besides the fact that we're all a bunch of uptight white and black people--and brown people--we're also failing in our individualism. And, what does it say about our education system in the USA?. Which is why...
2. We're all stupid. If you believe what I saw last Friday night on The Nightly Business Report about "America's Economic Recovery," well...let's just say I saw more bull than a good ol' fashion cattle-call! It came from a stupid chief economist at Chase and one rich stupid ancient relic from the Federal Reserve who helped send us into bankruptcy. And I should be listening to these guys? The dumb guy at Chase--someone titled senior vice president because he was smooching his boss' behind--white or black, man or woman, brown or green or adrogynous--this man was smooching a grown man's behind for position, income and status inside a community! How disgusting! The Larry Tate of the 21st Century. Actually, Larry Tate (from Bewitched) kissed the client's behind. That's understandable. But to kiss behind of a boss one must question how insecure that boss must be to like getting their behind kissed. I mean, Darren never kissed Larry Tate's behind, right? But I digress. The Chase SVP/Chief Economist has the nerve to tell a sparse Nightly Business Report audience on Good Friday that consumers feel wealthy! Why? Because equity in our homes and in the stocks we own make us feel wealthy. Let's hear it for equity and false promises! I'm equity rich and cash poor, so I'm going to go out and buy a new luxury item that I don't really need...right? What a jerk! Anyone that believes and/or understands him is an idiot. And, sorry, I didn't really have the money to get an M.A. from Harvard so I can then kiss behind on Wall Street for the rest of my life. The Chase corporation, like the other Fab Five TBTF Banks, is an ice-cold corporate prison that contributed into sending the world into bankruptcy. Anyone who clearly doesn't see that is blind. The stupid live in their information-laden smartphones thinking they have a million friends who care about them or they're uptight, self-absorbed individuals who don't allow business to wait for another day We work longer and harder than before and yet pay stays the same. We think we have so many Facebook friends who want to hear what we have to say every moment of the day. People wish us all "Happy Birthday" online as if they've been friends with us forever. Meantime, it's a complete diversion from a real life taking place with family and real friends who support you in bad times and share the good times. There's really nothing productive about Facebook. Twitter, maybe, if you can come up with some good quips and someone's reading. The scared lose themselves in watching television--the illusion within a grand illusion. The TV lies (i.e. the guy from Chase and the relic from the Fed on the Nightly Business Report). Once, Nightly Business Report was a boring show that few ever watched. It came from a trusted source of business information--a white, old aristocrat who was boring. But Wall Street's no longer boring and neither is Nightly Business Report. CNBC now produces Nightly Business Report, so whatever NBC Universal wants us to think about business, we'll see it on CNBC and on Nightly Business Report. The stock market is building a paper money monopoly of successful corporations in the short-term while playing a waiting game with Europe. Central banks in Europe, the U.K. and the USA are handing out newly made paper money to anyone who'll take it. But, how long can paper printing--money only seen on a computer screen--substitute for cold-hard cash in a consumer's pocket? Does anybody in this country think about it this way or are they saying the economy is in recovery because the stock market is high, more equity is in our homes and "experts" are telling us that we're in recovery. If we really were in recovery, wouldn't company CEOs with millions of dollars in their future golden parachutes give the word to start hiring workers because everyone's spending? As a CEO, I would say, "My gosh, so many people are spending and feeling wealthy now that I'm confident they'll continue to buy our products. We need more people to help us with this business because we have so much work to do because they're paying us so much money. And they're not shareholders either! They real consumers!" How many CEOs and company presidents are saying that today? Or, are they saying, "We're busy, we're making money and we can't afford any more people because we don't see this thing continuing." Or, are they saying, "I'll answer this Business Confidence Survey in a positive way--to add confidence for the country--but I'm not hiring anyone because this thing just ain't workin'." Does anyone really think in terms of decision-maker actions or do we believe what we hear them say on TV, radio and newspapers? Do we simply accept unemployment below 8% (14.5% for part-timers who'd like to be full time) because that's the number given in a complex survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics with an illogical methodology? Then, are we supposed to rely on corporate-owned chief economists paid to present the best picture for consumers and small-business audiences? We're really not watching or listening to the truth. We're working hard at our jobs, getting our kids to school to study and hope no harm comes to them so that someday they, too, can be prosperous. We hope our children will have a good college education, perhaps move on to graduate or work their way up to buying a home and having a family. That's the American Dream, and it's up to the current generation to not forsake that Dream for the children of today. But, wars that cost $6 trillion, bank bailouts, CEO and investor privileges and a false confidence for consumers is causing that Dream to fade. We are seeing a New Normal in favor of the American Dream. And, while this transition takes place, the American Dreamers are trying to find things they enjoy in their lives for escape. They escape to political discourse, as if we have any power in this discussion. We watch sports, movies, television for entertainment and read for either enjoyment or to gain insight into other people's lives. Some of us try to educate ourselves by paying attention to free thinkers without agendas. Some of us play golf, write on social media pages and try to find meaning and happiness in life rather than enjoying the life itself for enjoyment's sake. And, even if it's clear as day and we all know we're in a bankrupt world of computer/paper money illusion, loaded debt and a future world without a material American Dream, we'll accept it. The material world for all of us is evaporating and replaced by the American Dream of material wealth for only a select few. For the working middle class, the American Dream is simply life itself with hopes of winning a Powerball lottery to get rich, of keeping a job to pay for the house, the family and the health-care costs. At the same time, however, we're losing our integrity. The middle-class workers of this world will not and should not speak up for their slice of American materialism. Why? Because...
3. We're scared. Wouldn't you be? Imagine you're not an executive with a major bank or investor who spouts comments on television that don't make sense. Rather, you have a job that may or may not be there in the future and your wife is in the same boat. That's if you do have a wife. If you're divorced, you probably pay alimony and/or child support, so you're already in financial straits. People who actually think for themselves are so cautious that they don't need a frggin' loan, Mr. Corporate Banker. They need lower food prices, they need more employment opportunities, more income and more cash on hand to pay for food, gas, clothing and necessary supplies. They need these multi-million dollar politicians pretending to be CEOs to let it trickle down. The current trickle-down effect is a CEO depriving the working class--the ones scared of losing their jobs and working extra hard by doing the job of two or more people without benefit. Nobody needs a loan for anything but an education in this country...and maybe a car...and, of course, a mortgage for a home. Thank goodness we have investors with fake, paper money out there able to give their fake, paper money to the banks so the banks can get underwater houses off their books at a more mild loss and investors can rent the house out until it increases in value. Investors can then sell it for more and keep the difference. Great investment for them. No investment for the working middle class. Oh, by the way, I wouldn't be surprised if the banks and investors created a contract that provided banks with a percentage of monthly payments to make the banks even. It's great! Let's get these stupid middle or lower class consumers out of the real housing market. They still have to buy the more expensive homes that might appreciate a little more in the next 7 to 10 years. But the real money will be made by investors--and possibly the big banks--buying homes low, renting for awhile, and selling them high. The investors need homes not only to make money but because they didn't do their due diligence and were ripped off by banks and Wall Street when they were selling subprime securities. But, since CEOs at investment companies are also the extreme wealthy and affluent, we need to put these "Humpty Dumpty's" back together again. Filthy rich CEOs and Corporate/Wall Street cannot fail in America. Only middle-class and lower-class men and women who lose their jobs can fail. And when there's talk of a bailout to the unemployed, Republicans call it welfare. And then, Congress cuts spending with a budget sequester, it delays and forgets about the hundreds killed in mass shootings due to one financially powerful gun lobby. And, non-income producing jobs like policemen, firemen and teachers are cut in order to preserve Wall Street wealth for investors and large, out-of-control banks tied to investment firms like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Members of Congress, always concerned about reelection, need that special-interest money so they, too, are scared of losing their jobs. They'd rather cater to special interest, the needs of the few and vocal rather than the country as a whole. If anyone tries to "fight City Hall," they are pariahs--personas non-gratis--and thrown under a bus at first chance with a one-way ticket to failure. Oh, and rich people thrown under a bus might fail, too. But probably not because they're rich and they can pay their way out of anything. They're still in the "rich" club. Other rich people might look down on a CEO thrown under a bus. But the CEO can write a book, make television appearances and become a financial "expert" again. He or she can be a top lobbyist for financial interest groups in Washington, D.C. Or, if they can't find their way into the media, they'll be able to teach at one of our country's top colleges. They'll make money there, demand a large six-figure income that the college will accept so that everyone can say the former Federal Reserve Chairman (or some former Treasury Department Assistant Secretary or former Wall Street CEO) teaches at their school. And then, for that distinction, the school endowments can rise, more students will try to get into the school. If costs are higher to enter the very competitive school, there are student loans to get kids that education from a former Federal Reserve Chairman (or some former Treasury Assistant Secretary who helped Congress pass the Troubled Asset Relief Protection (TARP) bailout for banks). He'll explain the reasons why the TARP bailout was crucial to saving the U.S. economy. Will that person say that TARP was a bank bailout to save very large corporate bankers from failure? Will there be a philosophical discussion about failure in corporate America? Perhaps, there might be a classroom discussion on why some businesses can fail and others cannot. Is there a new definition of success if the government determines the successful companies from the failed ones? But if you're going into politics, pick a side because there's no gray--it's Democrat or Republican. The parties no longer have room for moderates to speak for the country as a whole--only for special interests and a small, vocal, wealthy few. For those outside of politics, with business degrees, they will reside in the world of corporate politics and accept the rules of the C-suite and executive lunches without questioning policy. For the future middle class just trying to earn a decent living, they can only speak their mind at home about the rights and wrongs of politics and corporate America. And then, they'll escape because student loans need to be paid back, families need health care, bills and the mortgage need their monthly payments. And, of course, food, clothing, gas and the necessary essentials. Yes, at one time about six years ago, we were able to buy the big-screen TVs, take the nice vacations, make the luxurious home improvements and still have money for essentials. We were on borrowed time and borrowed money-- from home equity loans and a false wealth effect in an overbloated stock market to job security and personal demand from employers. We were entertained with home improvements, wide screen TVs and political and business leaders saying that the good times will never end. Now, we think the good times are coming back and almost real again. That's just one reason we're stupid. But, the scared have a higher priority. They have a family, children, kids that need a college education at the highest cost EVER for colleges because college is a business and they only care about the bottom line, too. College--a business? Shouldn't that be illegal? Education as a business. Learning is a business? That's stupid. But, what's worse, is that student lending volume is nearly $1 trillion and more than 30 percent of those loans are in default. But, today, learning is a business and now, towards the end of the game, five referees have interrupted the momentum to spend 20 minutes figuring out the exact seconds on the time clock. With this much money on the line, it makes us uptight, stupid and scared of making mistakes. Well, don't worry. We need March Madness to take away from the other madness in our lives. The country is in debt and households are having money issues. How much is the average American family in debt? We need to divert attention from this stressful scene. A stressful household stresses out children. Stressed out children don't concentrate as well. Sometimes, they act out in class. Then, parents are too busy because they need their jobs because they're in debt because their mortgage is expensive and they can't buy a cheap house because investors are buying them up or banks are holding onto them because big banks can't fail--only the "mildly" wealthy can fail because they're not getting paper money from the Federal Government and they're not getting millions of dollars to take away on a golden parachute. So, when their kids are stressed out or acting out in class, we call it ADHD and start putting underage kids on drugs--psychiatric drugs. If the families had hundreds of thousands of dollars, they can survive on that and maybe even take the time to concentrate on home life. But how many people make hundreds of thousands of dollars without ambition to move up in the rankings at all costs? How can we trust the judgement of these ambitious people? Who's really calling the shots on our deposits and investments when paper money is thrown around in an artificial stock market? The country looks like this description and yet we're at record highs? Are you kidding me? I mean, when the housing market was red hot and the Dow was at record highs, at least people were temporarily, literally wealthy and everyone was spending--yes, there was artificial prosperity. As I explained, we were buying and confident in our employment. But now? There's prosperity only for the minority group of people making, maybe, $250,000 or more. They're the same people who generate money for a company and corporation. It's very important to be either a money generator or a problem solver in a company--sometimes both because they can't afford both. Most people, artificially or superficially, have either no job, a part-time job, a job paying under $100,000, a job and thousands of dollars in student debt, a good paying job with a husband or wife who have a two-child family (more or less) with a mortgage payment, perhaps one car payment, electricity bills, cell phone bills, TV and Internet bills, taxes, clothing, food bills going up, gas costs up. The man and woman get healthcare for their children through work. They get their salaries funneled into a 401K with all that retirement "wealth." Along with that home equity "wealth." Yeah, when you're a baby-boomer, that money becomes very real. And that paper money will be there for those baby boomers. Forget about the rest of us. But those boomers need to keep their jobs no matter what because without that job, without the healthcare, without the fixed income of Monopoly money every two weeks that declines in value, it's scary to think about being out in the street, with no paper money, no healthcare, no roof for your child or children and the lowest quality of life you've ever experienced. Yes, that's scary and nobody wants to go near that. So, we sit quietly, keep it all in, watch the rich get richer and poor get poorer. And we do nothing. If we don't think about it, maybe we don't get depressed. We keep positive so our kids only protest a little in our bankrupt nation. Notice how they protest more in European nations? Notice how they bailout every European loser country with paper money and the money isn't going anywhere in productivity? Why? Because European banks can't fail either. Just like Japan's banks couldn't fail. And yet, they're all bankrupt and scared that they'll lose their high-paying jobs and people will see the reality of global bankruptcy. It's not just the poor who can be scared, or the middle class in fear of being poor. Even the rich are scared that they'll be poor. Nobody wants to be poor and if they have to lie, cheat and steal to not be poor--even break the rules to maintain their positions--under the guise that the rich will help the poor, well, why shouldn't we believe them? It's almost like believing that our Facebook friends will take us in if we lose our homes and they'll give us a car if ours break down. No, only family will do that and maybe not even then. And, if you're that close to moving back in with your family? Under their rules? Yeah, you're scared.
The problem is that if the people working in this country are scared, or stupid, or uptight, or all of the above, then we don't see a grand illusion, we don't speak about the grand illusion and we don't want to hear about the grand illusion. But you can read, so read this: We are in global bankruptcy--right now--and the Wizard of Oz hides behind the curtain with his or her numbers, statistics, wordplay and white papers giving an illusion of educated, heartfelt courage and confidence. In fact, there's even an economic recovery. The business programs support it, the politicians support it, the investors support it and the banks, of course, support the illusion. The numbers support it in a record high stock market. And, we're in no place to question that illusion. But I am. So, ignore this and put your head in the sand--if you want to put your head in the sand. If not, look at this world for what it is...look at the cold, hard truth beyond entertainment and false television commentary. Look around at you and your neighbor to determine the country's economic scenario. And ask about how much of the things we have as a country, state and municipality are paid in full.
Why are we uptight? Why are we stupid? Why are we scared? Have we always been that way? No. We were young. Now, we're adults and connected to the global economy because we hope that our children will have a good education and grow to be happy in a prosperous world. In a Peter Pan world, we ignore debt. Rather, we applaud the illusion.
But economics--the global economy--is a real world event. We need to wonder why China is trying to hack Google, banks or financial institutions if not for military secrets. Are we in an economic war and is the world actually bankrupt? Has the U.S. been for sale? Are there any buyers? Is the West buying and the East selling? Or, is the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank buying? Of course, they're making up this money--more of the illusion--by printing it. Well, when I buy something, it's with the money I earn. I don't make money that I didn't earn. That just makes it paper money without any value. The West--U.S. and Europe--have little value in their currency. Some might say no value. But the East is selling, maybe selling their money (also known as lending) for interest. What's their currency looking like? Probably alot like U.S. currency since they get all of our money from the products we purchase. We send jobs to other places like India, Thailand, etc. so that fewer people here can work. We get our products from the East and buy with U.S. money of little value back there.
So, their money has no value, our money has no value and yet, we believe it does, therefore it is. What happens when we no longer believe anymore in the dollar's value? What then? What will motivate humanity to work if not for the almighty valuable dollar? Will man and woman see the realities for himself and herself? Will the illusion shatter when we wake up to the truth that shows us we were living in a 30-year American Dream? The good news is that the American Dream is not over. It's only changing and we'll make it into a new dream. I mean, as a people--can we ever give up illusion? It's a part of American Civilization--World Civilization--and it won't end until creation ends.
Now, seeing a Michigan comeback against Kansas and an easy win against Florida on Sunday, it's also refreshing to know that humans do compete and create magnificent achievements for themselves and for the love of the game itself. The students don't get paid for the win, they don't get promoted for the win and yet, the University of Michigan and the students--not far from the dilapidated, economic hazard called Detroit--earned dignity. The team cameback on Friday night and played at their best on Sunday so that they, the students and the school can call themselves the best in college basketball. And, perhaps, at the end of this tournament, Michigan will be able to say that. We'll see.
We can also learn--as all but one team in the NCAA Tournament learns--even playing at our best doesn't always means success. The pressure of March Madness can make players uptight, scared of losing and sometimes they make stupid plays. But thank goodness for the game's uptight officials for a fair game and making sure the game is played without changing the rules in the middle. They may have taken too much time to review the clock but they had good intentions. They were doing their jobs given the resources they were provided. They made sure Friday night--and in every game--that the games are won and lost in a fair manner. They don't make the rules, they don't make as much money as the coaches and they probably don't make as much money as NCAA executives, but they do enforce the rules to make it a fair game.
Can multinational banks and investment firms and lawmakers say the same thing?
