(reprinted from the Burlington Free Press)
The concept of solidarity is marvelous. It means supporting people of a kindred spirit in their struggle. Labor union members throughout history have shown solidarity with one another. We should now give the same support to those brave young people who are protesting Wall Street.
This protest movement has come together as a result of a failed financial system. In his article "Laissez-Faire Capitalism Has Failed," by Nouriel Roubini in Forbes, the author writes: "The Financial Crisis has shown the failure of a particular model of capitalism. Namely, the laissez-faire, unregulated (or aggressively deregulated), Wild West model of free market capitalism with lack of prudential regulation, supervision of financial markets and proper provision of public goods by governments."
I like the W.C. Fields quote, "I like thieves. Some of my best friends are thieves. Why, just last week we had the president of the bank over for dinner."
The recent meltdown by companies like Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman, Washington Mutual, and AIG, proves that thieves are alive and well on Wall Street. They had to turn to the U.S government, to bail them out. This was our money, and it was recycled by the power brokers to spearhead more abuses that are raging full-force as I write this. There's no money for public welfare or health, but plenty of money for Wall Street. This is a complete outrage. These banks have proven to be, as Warren Buffet has stated, "Financial weapons of mass destruction."
I'm delighted that the American people have finally begun to lay the blame where it rightfully belongs, at the heart of our financial power structure. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was quoted as saying, at the Iowa State Fair, "Corporations are people, my friend." He has the nerve to make a statement like this in front of the people he intends to govern. What is his agenda, return to the era of serfs and vassals?
Most Republican and Democratic lawmakers are merely shills for business interests. We have pleaded with them to end the abuses on Wall Street. Unregulated commodity trading has brought about spiraling food and gasoline prices. Wall Street abuses have caused food riots, hunger, and death from malnutrition throughout the world. We are not talking about some mindless manipulation of paper transactions. The results are catastrophic in the real world. People will not have enough food, or oil to heat their homes. Why? Because Wall Street puts profits ahead of human welfare. The only sane voice in the U.S. Senate is Bernie Sanders. He is wise enough to recognize these abuses and recommend solutions.
The American people do not control the market. The market controls us. We are now subservient to the collective energy of the corporate oligarchy. All the precious resources that many generations of citizens have worked and sweated to save and preserve, are being siphoned off by greedy CEOs who enrich themselves while taking our jobs overseas. They are protected by tax loopholes that are sanctioned by our lawmakers.
The mad, frenetic trading of money on Wall Street just shifts wealth upward to more savvy investors. It produces no goods and no real wealth. The greatest assets in America are the men and women who do real work. They make products, teach our children, and cook our meals. The lowest forms of labor are those people who handle other people's money for the sole purpose of exploiting their honest efforts for the moneymen's own enrichment.
When will the next financial meltdown occur? What will be its cause -- default by a major European country, or perhaps a natural or manmade disaster in this country? How many people will be thrown into poverty as a result? It's not sane or rational for the foundation of our financial future to be based on the whims and fantasies of gamblers on Wall Street.
I totally support the protesters.
Joe Randazzo lives in South Burlington.
No comments:
Post a Comment