xmlns:og='http://ogp.me/ns#'. The Digibandit: Feb 6, 2010

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Read Em And Weep!

In my younger poker playing days there was an expression:

When after the betting was concluded and you called your opponent -he might lay down his cards - confident that Four Aces (or whatever) was a sure fire pot taker and declare "Read em and weep!"

Well - I'm no economist -and couldn't rationally explain the difference between a credit default swap and a wife swap -but I'm pretty sanguine about the fact that the priests of finance and economic and fiscal policy are either jerking us average schmucks chains pretty damn hard about what's ahead - What hand we're ACTUALLY holding - or they just DON"T get it!

Really --It didn't take an MBA from Harvard to realize that pre the collapse - folks were living in a consumption trance fueled by their ever expanding home equity and retail credit -and a "tomorrow will never come" mindset.

If any of the wealthy and accomplished and powerful folks who have the secret handshake between one another (the one you learn at Harvard and Yale and Goldman Sachs ) EVER stepped into a Blarney Stone - brought their corned beef sandwich from the steam table over to the bar - ordered a double Dewar's with a Guinness chaser -and JUST LISTENED:

They would have heard the harbingers of the financial collapse as clear as the closing bell of The NY Stock Exchange "All the F'in work is goin overseas - if i miss one goddamn paycheck it's all over! -We've maxed out on the credit cards - spent all the home equity dough -and we've got NOTHING to back us up -And - there's no student loan dough-but what's the diff -there's no jobs for the kids anyway when they graduate in debt up to their eyeballs to the loan company - AND - to the Chinese for life with the deficit -AND i already got my daughter back livin in the garage." AND AND AND:

"Little Johnny needs a knee operation but the insurance company says it's a precondition -and my boss says that soon he can't afford to pay for full coverage."

AND that was what was in play across this great "buy to get high" land BEFORE the shit hit the fan -AND there's NO more easy consumer credit -mortgages are one big upside down cake -the European Union is sucking wind along with everyone but China - The Great Bottomless Reservoir of TBills is leaking like a sieve - State Support Services soon will be non existent AND AND AND:

Productivity is going through the roof as businesses realize they never needed that many workers any way -and "if we need more we'll hire temporaries!" AND AND AND:

Soon Health Care will be 25% of the economy and since the Republicans now have found their footing (they think) - By becoming deficit hawks there will be no reform and limited additional jobs spending just when we need it most - SO - the recession is two steps away from going into collapse mode again. AND AND AND:

Forget about all the stuff like cap and trade and meaningful financial and education reform and entitlement reform (now there's a ship tht's sinking fast)-AND infra structure reform -

There is NO reform when everyone is trying to protect their asses from an electorate one step away from their pitchforks and torches - Even more panicked than their political leaders (oxymoron here)

Soooo - "Read EM And Weep" -Unemployment will hit twelve percent (thirty percent when you factor in the other REAL unemployment indicators) - And- will stay there indefinitely - HUGE Ongoing Mortgage defaults will bring on another financial collapse worldwide -Fueled by free money the big players will continue to enrich themselves with impunity -AND - the stock market will eventually collapse along with the dollar - AND AND AND

The folks will take to the streets and the barricades - Teapots Aboil - and it's not gonna be pretty -or safe - Especially for the rich and powerful who really aren't used to being inconvenienced by all their STUFF being carted away by the Peasant Class AND AND AND:

Just about then - when everyone's eyes are off the big ball - guess whose coming to dinner? (a clue - they're not from Sweden))

"Read EM and Weep!"