The economic elite who caused the global recession are tasked with fixing it --

[PETRUS]

-- and they'll fix it in their favor

<snip>

"...as most people can sense by now, the changes we are experiencing go well beyond these headlines. In many countries, the fundamental political and economic bargain of postwar society is in the process of coming apart. The question, then, isn’t when will public life return to normal? It won’t. Nor should we be asking when will the crisis end. It won’t end for a very long time, perhaps decades. And it will change most people’s lives more profoundly than the end of the Cold War or 9/11 ever did."

<snip>

"But there is another — and in many ways deeper — reason why the technocrats put in charge in Greece and Italy are likely to fail, and it is related to the larger story of where Western capitalism has been heading for the last 30 years. The decisions the technocrats make will lack legitimacy with the populations they govern. In Europe, this is made clear by the imposition of the leaders by external forces. In the U.S., the imposition of the market’s sovereignty is felt through the now unlimited corporate campaign contributions that effectively circumvent the public preference for a more equitable distribution of income by bribing the Congress. In both places, the demands of the financial elite run against the popular will, and in both places the popular will is being ignored. There is no reason to believe that these abrogations of popular sovereignty cannot be sustained for a very long time with the tactical application of force. But if they do persist they will lead us into a condition we would no longer recognize as democratic. Capitalist, yes. Democratic, no."

http://www.salon.com/2011/11/30/is_the_financial_crisis_now_permanent/singleton/

More at the link.

[Newest Reality]

1. If we can't change the course and direction

of this system and the collapse that we will pay for with our lifestyles and by bearing the whip of austerity, then life, for more of us than is currently imaginable will change drastically.

There are causes and, the implication is that things could and should go another way for the benefit of us all. There are destructive forces that are not weapons-based. With all the concern about "terrorism" should we not also be concerned about the breakdown of our own stability and sense of security? Behaviorists, (whom have influenced the social engineering of our times) know what kind of effect this has on personalty, psychology and the rest.

So, as we think about bad economic times, we might also want to consider the slower, destructive impact that this stacked-deck of a system will have on life as we have known it and what our children will experience.

The isolated, television/entertainment seeking days of a more toned-down "rugged individualism" will most certainly come to an end for the bulk of us, which means this is a very good time to start to consider our relationships to each other and how that will impact survival -- which could lead to something good. At this pace, localizing and community will play a larger part in our struggle to maintain some semblance of a viable, stable and secure life.

We are not beaten yet, but we have a lot of thinking and changing to contemplate and resourcefulness to cultivate on this long, hard path of induced austerity.

[leeroysphitz]

2. That is one depressing article. n/t

[meow2u3]

3. Entrusting the financial elite to fix the economic mess we're in

...is like entrusting Stalin and Mao to fix the damage caused by Communism, Hitler to put a stop to the genocide heretofore known as the Holocaust, or John Gotti to squelch organized crime.

So what do the PTB do? Put foxes in charge of the henhouses.

[chowder66]

4. And we need to do something about the scale of corporations, etc

These massive/large companies, think tanks, lobbyists, military contractors, financial institutions, etc are all too damn big. The bigger they are.. the more power they have and that means less power for the citizens of this country. I feel this is slipping away from the narrative lately.

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Those economic elite caused the recession to profit. And a worse problem, to grab power.

They're doing it on purpose. Disaster capitalism. Don't expect them to do anything for anyone but themselves.

[woo me with science]

6. Thank you.

There is a bigger picture here.

[leeroysphitz]

7. Kick. Everyone needs to read this. n/t