American Disconnect

I want to mention a few things today. First, the Stock Market fluctuations. Today, so far, things are up a bit, but, mostly we have seen a horrible downslide, despite the fact that our leaders tell us the economy is fine. For starters, the economy is not fine. It is sluggish at best. That aside, we are told that uncertainty in China and the sharp decline in oil prices are responsible. As far as China goes, we really have no idea what is going on. Western press correspondents walk on thin ice there. One wrong word and they are subject to censure, arrest, and/or deportation. All reports seem to show considerable unrest in Western China among their sizable Moslem population and it is almost certain that they cannot feed their own population. They do import a tremendous amount of food. Since they have been called a great threat, I am not sure why their failing economy should hurt us. We have other nations we can trade with. China has lent us a bunch of money but, so what? If we tighten our shipments of food, they will have deep troubles. You cannot eat food. So, I do not understand why their economic decline troubles our investors.

Sliding oil prices help the average working man. Gas is now fairly cheap and the less money you put in your car, the more you have to spend. Yet, this troubles investors. Why? Stop and think. The Middle Class, the source, for years, of much of our Nations strength, has been largely wiped out as more and more wealth is in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The poorer we are, the easier we are to control. If we start having a few extra dollars, we might start to be a force in the nation again and the Powers That Be do not want this. A strong Middle Class is their worse nightmare. Does that make sense? Not a bit, but we are dealing with a group of people who have an irrational, no, an insane lust for power. Thus, when things get better for the Average American, such as happens when gas gets cheaper, they panic. We are seeing proof that the interests of Big Business and Big Money are diametrically opposed to the interests of Americans.

In a related story, folks in Iowa are in a snit because the subsidies paid to corn growers are being threatened. Of course, nothing on two or four legs eats this corn, It is converted into ethanol and added to gas. Now, ethanol does not appreciably reduce carbon emissions, and with gas prices low, it is not needed to stretch supplies. It makes sense in a place like Brazil, where they can grow massive amounts of sugar cane and use the scraps left after the sugar is extracted to make the ethanol. Brazil makes the stuff for almost nothing, as a by-product of a cash crop. Here, we have to grow a special crop and a lot of it. This takes up a whole lot of land that could be used for other crops and we see high grocery costs. Ethanol sells for so little that we have to subsidize farmers or they would lose money on the deal. The only legitimate way to use all that corn is to call ethanol what it is, moonshine, and sell it in liquor stores. So, to sum up, we are paying farmers a bunch of money to grow an unneeded crop to make an unneeded product, and they are upset because we seem to be wising up to the deal. This is similar to paying a subsidy to tobacco farmers to grow a product that we then try desperately to get people to quit using. Is it any wonder the Nation is in such bad shape?

Last, let me mention the latest Campaign debacle. I thought Trump had reached a new low when he appeared at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University trying to win over evangelicals. The preposterous image of the Donald trying ineptly to quote scripture was one of the funniest things I have seen in years, but, that aside, what was the point? When will we quit pandering to this group? Evangelical Christians are a small, and ever-shrinking, minority in this Nation. Then, to make things worse, Trump dragged Sarah Palin away from the frozen North Land and back to the spotlight, giving her a chance to once again bray like a jackass and ramble incoherently. Is Trump that desperate? I guess so, because he is hinting that she will have a place in his administration.

I, in the sick, twisted corners of my mind, was sort of hoping that we would, one day, have a Palin-Clinton race for the White House. The thought of those two, screeching at each other like wounded Banshees during a debate would have been worth seeing. Ah well, it looks like we will have to settle for Clinton-Trump. God help us all.