Oh Goody!
Sharon July 19th, 2009
As I head back home from Chicago (more on this later this week), I knew you’d all find this heartening:
”The Bush administration and Congress discussed the possibility of a breakdown in law and order and the logistics of feeding US citizens if commerce and banking collapsed as a result of last autumn’s financial panic, it was disclosed yesterday.
Making his first appearance on Capitol Hill since leaving office, the former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson said it was important at the time not to reveal the extent of officials’ concerns, for fear it would “terrify the American people and lead to an even bigger problem”.
Mr Paulson testified to the House Oversight Committee on the Bush administration’s unpopular $700bn (£426bn) bailout of Wall Street, which was triggered by the failure of Lehman Brothers last September. In the days that followed, a run on some of the safest investment vehicles in the financial markets threatened to make it impossible for people to access their savings.
Paul Kanjorski, a Pennsylvania Democrat, asked Mr Paulson to reveal details of officials’ concerns, which were relayed to Congress in hasty conference calls last year. The calls included discussion of law and order and whether it would be possible to feed the American people, and for how long, according to Mr Kanjorski.
“In a world where information can flow, money can move with the speed of light electronically, I looked at the ripple effect, and looked at when a financial system fails, a whole country’s economic system can fail,” Mr Paulson said. “I believe we could have gone back to the sorts of situations we saw in the Depression. I try not to use hyperbole. It’s impossible to prove now since it didn’t happen.”
Translation, folks - we know that we could be in a very dire situation, that people may go hungry, that things could collapse. But we won’t tell you, because, after all, you might be scared.
That’s helpful.
Sharon
And the saddest thing of all is that most of the lemmings in this country will not even blink at this news. What we need is a mass movement of anger, backlash, and questioning of our “government”, not blind “hope”
So, has anything really changed
between then and now? Except that
more people are suspicious about the
information that is released. Although
plenty of folks are still falling for the
old, “The Government has everything
under control. Things are getting
better and the economy is improving.”
Of course, the timing has gradually
been moved from this fall or winter to
next spring. Personally, I can’t see
any improvement here in Ohio, and
frankly things seem to be getting
worse. Stores are stocking less and
charging more for smaller quantities.
Our electric co-op appears to have
decided to charge more for electricity.
And Mother Nature has decided to
send all her Blessed Rain to the state
of our Beloved Leader (may her name
be praised forever!), and none to ours!
(I know that has nothing to do with
the government or the economy, but
it does add to the general frustration.
BTW, it looks like EVERYONE got a kick
out of the cult post. Thanks for giving
us all such a good time!
Okay, that just kicked me into gear for getting my fall garden in! Thank you!
Hey Sharon- When I googled: “peak oil ponzi economy” you showed up fourth on the search ahead of Jim Kunstler (12th) but behind Joe Romm (1st). You’re moving up in the doomer hall-of-infamy.
The whole economy is a Ponzi scheme with every investment of any kind imperiled by unpredictable whiplash coming off the oil supply squeeze and global warming damage. Even burying gold coins in the backyard can be subject to flooding (Iowa) or mudslides (California). The backyard might not stay where you put it.
Paulson surely knows this but it would be insanity for him to speak of his knowledge publicly. So, daily, they invent new justifications for the economic collapse and then tell us that some latest statistic is proof that we’ve reached bottom. More “jobless recovery” around the corner to go with roofless housing and food-less meals.
Reality is no longer a liberal concept but is the exclusive domain of the radical fringe.
Pangolin, I do hope you’re not burying gold in the back yard (though I do know some who are!) I read recently (where??) that during the Depression, the US government confiscated everyone’s gold coins without compensation. I asked my Depression era mother if that were true and she confirmed it. So if you are investing in gold, make it’s jewelry or teeth — apparently they don’t confiscate those
In the meantime, it looks like we’re in for more ‘it’s for your own good.’ We got a lot of that after hurricane Ivan. Enough to last a lifetime!
I have always found it helpful to believe that the Govt is either flat out lying to us or at least shading the truth and making my personal decisions with this in mind.
This does not surprise me at all. The “American People” have often been considered a dangerous group of nitwits by the government - incapable of handling the truth and getting in the way of important business.
“…have often been considered a dangerous group of nitwits … incapable of handling the truth and getting in the way of important business…”
This rather describes the government, too (with more deviousness and evil, though).
I guess I’m not totally convinced the Wall Street Wonks actually get it.
I think they may have just figured out a really good blackmail scare tactic. “Give us all your money, or you’ll all starve! Next week! REALLY! It’s URGENT!”
Right.
One of the reasons that line does work right now, is that there ARE a lot of people who have inklings, and suspicions, that the poo is about to hit the fan. Easier to scare.
Result; rather than thoughtful people looking around, and saying “hey, let’s put the criminals who caused all these problems in jail, and confiscate what they stole.”, we find ourselves paying protection to the same criminals.
Sigh.
What I want to know is when is this insanity going to end?
I’m off to the warehouse club to stock up on TP and more beans!
Whatever the “experts” say, a bubble that is popping is the “American way of life”. It seems to me that it is like a balloon gone flat a week after the party has been over. But.. it is still a balloon and one might possibly think it could be inflated again. That’s what “they” are trying to do.
The cult thing is great. The way I described it to my kids is: earth mothers who believe in the end of the world.
I think they kept it from the people because along with the TARP fiasco at the same time, I really think that would have been enough to push people into rioting. I do know where I live, in the still occasionally wild West, people were angry enough and well armed enough to talk insurrection. All they needed was the right motivation, and the potential for interrupted food supply would have been enough.
Well, those of us who were thoughtful had already considered this possibility, that’s why we have ridiculous (to the thoughtless) amounts of stored food.
On the other hand, if the leaders had NOT considered this possibility, they would have been woefully inept at their jobs.
I’ve been saying all along to anyone who would listen that things were worse than the government let on. Now Paulson tells the truth and proves my point.