Stand Up

Greetings good citizen,

There are not one but two articles in today’s NY Times insisting Wall Street compensation has ‘fallen’ (for the underlings.)

It seems the top executives are ‘unaffected’ by the, er, ‘laconic performance’ of the world’s stock markets.

The top is getting what they gave themselves last year…whether they deserved it or not.

If you want to call it ‘a show of restraint’, it appears the pool of bonus recipients has been culled, somewhat.

Or at least that’s what they’re telling us. Not that their ‘credibility’ is above reproach or anything…if you know what I’m saying.

As we have all learned, ‘Honesty’ in the financial sector is an extremely ‘relative’ thing.

Because, truth be told good citizen, the global banking system went bankrupt three years ago, and nobody’s figured out how to rebalance the books again.

Because your average billionaire is actually so far in hock they’d make the homeless look wealthy!

It all circles back to ‘what is an asset and who decides how much that asset is worth?’

Right about now bubba it’s all worth squat!

How problematic is it that you won’t ‘doubt’ the value of your money until it takes a wheelbarrow full to buy a loaf of bread.

Of course when your whole paycheck won’t fill your gas tank…that just might convince you that you’re being ‘played’.

Because now we circle back to another factor that is spiraling out of control, what constitutes ‘a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work?’

Is anyone (besides me) asking why bankers are getting bonuses instead of stiff prison terms?

Theft is theft and treason is treason…and the only ones who don’t want to raise the subject are guilty of both!

But this is where you find yourself when the game turns into ‘us against them’.

It is apparent there is a great deal of confusion about what side represents who.

Adding to that confusion is the ‘purposeful vagueness’ surround who is and who is NOT ‘middle class’.

The ‘yardstick’ the corporate owned media uses (but keeps to itself) is a college degree.

Not the possession of one, but if your employment relies on your having a degree.

Thanks to unions, a large swath of the working class ‘mis-identifies’ itself as ‘middle class’.

If your job does NOT require a college degree then you are NOT ‘middle class’ regardless of how much money you make!

Yet if we listen to our (decidedly demented) politicians there are only the poor, the middle class and the rich/‘one percent’.

Which could be regarded as ‘generally true both here in the US and across the rest of what has classically been known as ‘Western Civilization’ (although this is also true of newly capitalistic countries like the former Soviet Union.)

There is no longer a ‘working class’ of any consequence. IF you have a job at all, it is most likely part time (regardless of how many hours you work) and pays something in the neighborhood of minimum wage!

What’s that? Only thirty something? You’d best start socking it away while you’ve still got a ‘regular job’.

The current ‘dynamic’ is that (like China) once you hit thirty you’re too old to keep up with the kids!

So by the time you hit forty you’ll be (whether you want to or not) starting your ‘second career’ (in straight commission sales!)

Worse, it will probably be MLM to boot!

How disturbing will it be to learn that your ‘down line pearl’ is a foreign national?

Just saying, ya know?

Creepy enough that everybody above you is taking a piece of what you bring in, but in order for YOU to make any loot you have to get a bunch of suckers to work for YOU (in an increasingly saturated market!)

Er, did I mention that this ‘Banana Republic’ thing has a life of its own? The only thing you have to do to land you and yours in a Banana Republic is let the fucking criminals keep ripping YOU off.

They don’t care, they’ve got theirs!

It’s not their problem if you’re TOO STUPID to stand up for yourself!

If you won’t lift a finger to save those you love, don’t expect anyone else to do it for you.

Just something to think about…

Thanks for letting me inside your head,

Gegner