THE DEMISE OF CAPITALISM BROUGHT TO AN END IN THE YEAR 2008 (12/27/12)

Recently some company acquired the New York Stock Exchange and company named Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) a location and building that has been in place for hundreds of years; an entity that is known worldwide - where money is invested, made and lost. Ever since the America dollar was used as a Standard - Wall Street and the Stock Exchange has prospered - wheeling and dealing; betting illegally and losing billions of dollars - most of it hard earn money of Nations, banks, financial institutions, investors, - you name it. About two years ago; was talking to some Federal Workers all retired and all of them had lost most of the Retirement Money - a nest that they saved and hoped that they could use for themselves and their children. None of these men; all hard working and decent, some of them college educated - could fathom less comprehend - how the United States could permit such a mess to happen. As did happen; in the year 2008 with the subprime loans and ploys, derivatives, hedge funds and so on. Algorithms that no one could understand less figure out. It pained me to see the tears in their eyes and more the stress they all were enduring. Some lost their homes and others did not know what to do with their balloon payments. Many had to seek help to deal with the many problems. I did not want to go there - but I had to go there. At one point many of these men came to be for advice and I encouraged them to invest in the Thrift Saving Plan; where dollar for dollar the U.S. Government matched their savings. Many saved thousands only to lose their hard earned money; in the 2008 debacle. No one really cares about these folks - and there is no way to write off such losses. The stress, the pain and suffering, the pandemonium - foreclosures on homes, moving to other States, seeking refuge with relatives and older children - is the reverse of progress and an insult to the years of hard work of many decent retirees - as was the case of this small - group. Multiply these many times over. Once you matched your savings; you could further invest your savings in various funds the G Fund (Government Securities Investment), the F Fund (Fixed Index Investment), and C Fund (Common Stock Index Investment). In later years other options were available. I was explaining from memory; how most of them invested their savings and how their savings played out on Wall Street and how nonchalant Wall Street played with their money - and lost most of it. I had no clue what would happen in the year 2008; the year of the demise of Capitalism as we knew it. Around 2000 I did have inkling about the economy of the United States - more from the heavy borrowing from China and the International debt deficit - growing by leaps and bounds. Stemming from some basic changes in 1993 with our Corporations and managing practices and giving more importance to shares and stocks. Corporate mangers suddenly gave themselves names such as Chief Executive Officers - and before you could blink - were making $100 million and more. The consequent years more - until today they make $500 million and more. If this is not the height of greed and being evil - in my life time I have never seen any other consequence so blatantly - disgusting and dehumanizing - adversely impacting millions. It did not help much the two wars the United States initiated; the first with Afghanistan and the second with Iraq. In my opinion wasting billions of dollars when we had no business invading these two Nations; none what so ever; I say that because I actively played a role in Desert Shield and Desert Storm; for those that still remember those two minor skirmishes we had that ended soon. We had no business invading these two countries - they did not directly harm us as a Nation. My retired friends had no clue about Wall Street and had put their faith much as did with our failed United States Government - which frankly speaking gives a damn about most hard working constituents. I had firsthand knowledge of this as Sixth United States and Presidio of San Francisco's last Congressional Liaison - serving the twelve Western States and inter acting with the many Senators and Congress persons on a daily basis. True; the issues pertained to injuries, pay, death in the family, other personal issues - but issues all the same that the Congress persons and Senators wanted fixed - and I had to do it. Provide an answer within 24 hours if it was a "Telephonic Congressional". 5 days if it was a "Written Congressional" and some concrete solution worked out. Many very high ranking officials, Chairs of powerful committees, in the Congress and Senate are known to me. Most of them befriended me during this period. You learn quickly the caring ones and the not so caring ones - caring for their constituents. Frankly speaking both Congress and the Senate - even as they are today - are asleep at the wheel. We are a few days from deciding if this Nation truly wants to serve the fiscal mess we are in. Judging from the play in the sandbox - the President, representing the Democrats and the spokesperson from the Republic Party - both seem to further their party politics and both have stayed so far apart - that it defies decency - and any leadership worth the salt - would carry on any decent activities and representation on behalf of millions of decent Americans. Imagine going for a vacation; when the Fiscal Cliff deliberations are not settled. All of us decent constituents; who really matter - are the ones that bailed out the failed banks and financial institution in 2008. We the constituents all Americans ˆ will be paying the extra taxes. Imagine the consequences to the many States in the United States linked to education, transportation, safety, human services, and so on - funding will be reduced in the millions. People still do not get it - in the year 2008 - Capitalism as we know it - D I E D. Much like when the Berlin Wall was brought down and Communism got a reality check. Make no bones if you think that Capitalism is alive and kicking. In the United States one in four children go to bed hungry. One in three seniors goes to bed hungry. Millions of innocent people for the first time have no home; the banks the same ones the people bailed out - have forced them out of their homes. This is the real, factual situation all over America. Nothing much has happened to the New York Stock Exchange - expect some entity has bought the building but all the ploys, machinations, and shenanigans are the same. Wall Street is the number lobbyist; a viable contributing factor both in the Senate and Congress - and controls anything they want - because money in the United States can buy anything and control anything. This past election we saw some fundamental changes. One very important one that most citizens fail to ponder deeply - the Supreme Court of the United States - declaring Corporation - persons. Permitting Corporation to fill campaign coffers with no limits - and all sorts of ploys that are difficult to track- Political Action Committees (PACs) - controlled by powerful and what is more - selfish, arrogant, devious - entities. Both the Democrats and the Republicans must be ashamed of themselves. While our children, our seniors, our students, our Nation was hurting - billions of dollars were spent on a charade - the last Presidential Elections. Mockery was made of Democracy - while Capitalism as we know it is DEAD - and a vacuum has been created. From the year 2008 to today - 2012 - we have seen drastic changes. All over the world and recently when I visited Italy, Austria, and Germany - I got firsthand experience of the situation in that part of the world. Many blame the United States for their poor leadership. Much as they praise the United States for their leadership after World War II. The leadership after World War II - had some compassion and the United States invested in Japan, Germany, and many of the countries that suffered from the after affects of World War II. The amount of investment was over seventy percent of our Reserves - an astounding amount. We cannot do that anymore - because we have destroyed our economy - and have no viable and sustainable Reserves. For the longest time and more starting from the late 1960s we started importing stuff from countries; wallowing on their products that we helped them produce. We use to buy Japanese products laugh at the poor quality initially until soon most of our cars, television, boom boxes, and the many other electronic and other home gadgets were Japanese. We did the same with German products. In the late 1980s we ceased slowing manufacturing in the United States and permitted: " out sourcing" - as a means to save money and sold our conscience betrayed our work force and more our Great Nation ˆ the United States of America. If you bought ten things at random- eight would be made in China in the 1990s. In the year 2000 if you bought ten things - all of them would be made in China. What does that say on any Nation - what does that say of a Super Power? What does that say of a Super Power which cannot even manufacture a pin with the America Flag? Where we cannot buy a decent pair of shoes - made in the United States? Where we bought trinkets from other Nations and inferior goods - and thought nothing of it and spent our good money over inferior goods. When the Occupy Wall Street Movement stood its ground - perhaps for the first time the American Constituent full realized - who had done us in. Those filthy Corporations - who have no soul - but what is more important to remember - are not Patriots - very arrogant and lack compassion. Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, George Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were patriots - the Congress today and the Senate - are jokers. Their actions betray their actions - and the little they do is not worth the salt. Their behavior during this interim period before settling the "Fiscal Cliff" - says it all. How can you have a Congress and permit the Supreme Court to declare Corporations ˆ persons? Time for Congress to act - and if they cannot act - the mockery made by the Supreme Court - will bring the demise of our Nation. For all practical purposes - the United States - no more can garner any influence when it come to the higher principles of monetary - execution - worth the salt. Perhaps those that knew better - the Mayans of old - were right. A drastic change in the World Order is imminent - and our United States leadership is asleep at the wheel - inebriated with fake power and bamboozled. This on change is enough to start a domino effect and bring about world chaos. More about the history of feudalism and how Capitalism brought about it own demise.

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