Reality Check

Before the Dot Com Bubble collapsed, I was talking with a Republican (yes, it happens) and I told her that the market was insane because the companies were selling nothing. To exemplify my point, I said, even if you take a rock and sing its praises and raise the price sky high, it is still a rock and eventually that fact will come to light. She disagreed and said that if people wanted the rock, supply and demand set the price.

When Reagan came to power, his philosophy was "Don't worry be happy." We all know how this actor (a job that makes illusion look like reality) is a God to the Republicans. They think that if we just stay optimistic, things will be fine. I think that deluding yourself can only last so long and eventually the facts become so obvious even Pollyanna might say, "we are so screwed".

We are told that the housing bubble collapse is due to poor risk people, but they are a small part. Nearly everyone with a recent mortgage is making payments for something that is worth a lot less than their mortgage and since many of them bought the house as a speculation (like a day trader) they are dumping them now. Add unemployment (thank you Clinton for destroying our manufacturing), the devalued dollar, no savings (thank you for the low interest rates that made the housing bubble possible and every idiot a gambler on Wall Street), a couple stupid wars (including expensive mercenaries), government spending gone wild in the name of fighting terrorism, too many folks getting rich like Romney (hedge funds, breaking up companies and selling off parts, etc.), a 9 trillion dollar debt (and many of our lenders nervous about the dollar depreciating), a crumbling infrastructure, banks that aren't solvent, I could go on.

I listened to the Republican debates held at Reagan's library and they still are spouting the bullshit that the free market will solve our problems. I just want to rap their skull and say, "Is anything up there?" They might be as big as an elephant, but even an elephant can only stand so much disease before it will die.