Saturday, September 20, 2008

My Nightmarish Vision Of Future America

Since this year began, China has blasted the Bush administration's handling of all things economic (here, here, here and most recently calling for "a diversified currency and financial system" independent from the United States here). I can't say that I blame them.



A total US fiscal crash would devastate the so-called global economy. Still, if the US economy continues its nosedive, would Japan, China, England, the UAE and our other creditors start acting akin to common hardcore bill collectors? You know the kind. The ones who go through your finances telling you what you can & can't spend money on all the while pushing for payments you cannot presently make. What might happen then?

I dozed a bit yesterday awakening with a start. Now it's true that I'm prone to spectacularly vivid dreams. (It has to do with one of my meds -- seriously). However, this particular phantasm had an unusually ominous tone. It went sorta like this...

The US economic stumbling persisted. Our creditor-nations ratchetted up their pressure. We first fained* rights to our biggest national monuments: the ICBC Statue of Liberty, Jefferson Memorial brought to you by Dubai Holdings, etc. That barely covered the vig and accordingly had a negligible effect towards steadying Wall Street. Panicked, our creditors pressed that much harder. They sought to collect whatever they could before the whole damn shit house burned to the ground.

America faced a classic Hobson’s choice.

Backed into this corner of their own making, our government was forced to choose between yet another desperate attempt to save this country’s foundering financial system orbennies for old folks” i.e. re-election. AARP or no AARP, the banks and big business won the day as they are wont to do. Every. Single. Fucking. Time.

As our government mortgaged the last bit of our future -- the future we had already bought and paid for -- we had limited options at best. We dared not give voice to our rage lest it queer the entire decidedly dicey and desperate scheme. Social Security benefits would be absolutely worthless in an America without a stable economy, banks, gainful employment, health insurance, government regulations et al. Like good little citizens, we kept our fucking mouths shut. We sucked it and hard. (I am sooo not the ”suck it” type).

We did this knowing full well that -- despite the scope of these Herculean efforts, our numerous collective sacrifices and all of the great gnashing of teeth -- we could not foresee a successful result. But if we neglected to act the imminent failure would surely leave us with nothing. Nada. Zippo. Zilch. 没有什么东西.

We rolled the dice and fail it did in glorious fashion. America's insolvency had worldwide ramifications. Nowhere was the impact more dramatic than here at home. Corporations fell. Banks closed. Jobs evaporated. Infrastructure collapsed. Our democracy as we knew it ceased to exist.

Armed mobs rioted and looted until there was no reason left to riot or anything of value left to loot. What they couldn't take with them was destroyed. Those who survived by going into hiding reappeared desperate to eke out some kind of life without getting themselves killed for it.

A few years on, here's a snapshot from the average person's life in this grave new world:

“Look Grams. You know I love you. Every one of us loves you. Bunches and bunches. I’m really, really, really sorry. We tried so very hard. Yet even with many deeply humiliating acts of prostitution, our entire monthly gross firewood sales and much spinning of wool, the most we can afford is the finest back-alley gall bladder surgery. That’s with the whole family eating nothing save Krill** Wafers and cellulose patties for months on end too. Grams, hang in there, OK? We’ll see you next week after your surgery…I hope.”
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the anointed ones, who come to be known as the “Bush-CheneysTM***,” led a blissful existence. Named for its unquestioned leaders, this cabal consisted of the rich and privileged -- both conservative and liberal alike. These unlikely bedfellows banded together over time. After the terrifying Trump kidnappings, it was agreed that the world at large had become too damn dangerous for the moneyed to move freely amongst the rest of us.

The Bush-Cheneys became increasingly isolated. They boarded heavily armored VH-451 jet copters to shuttle betwixt various Halliburton-built and Blackwater-protected bubble fortress-communities strewn about the world. Except for some minor concerns (i.e. inevitable in-breeding without an fresh influx of Western Europe's richest blood and/or carefully selected Esnian stock), they had nary a care in the world. In fact, they were substantially better off than at any other time in history. What is truly remarkable is how years earlier they so quickly and easily boosted their fortunes.

For when U.S. markets stabilized post-9/11, each original Bush-Cheney clan leader flipped every last dollar for euros.

That’s all it took. Later, other currencies, as well as other markets, were manipulated to further swell their coffers. While we watched this future America burn to a cinder, they cashed in every step of the way.

Yikes! I said it was a bad dream. I mean large parts of it didn't make any sense whatsoever. So something like this could never happen, right?

-AF


For the record: My sister use to tease me, quite effectively I might add, by saying: "The trouble with you, Anacher, is that you have no imagination." Ha!

*OK, so maybe I watched Hamlet today. What of it?
**Yes, I have read everything William Gibson ever wrote.
***This list ultimately includes everyone ranging from the Gates, Corzine, Soros, Buffett and Winfrey families to the Walton, Paulson, Adelson, Pickens, and DeVos tribes.

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