Lawrence wrote:
>> I say, go shopping. It's obvious that the terrorists were intent on
>> disrupting the biggest, most powerful economy on Earth.
>
>I assume this is some kind of parody. I find it in very bad taste. The WTC
>bombing is a horrible subject for this kind of campy humor.
There was a "good news for the economy" story on the front page of the Globe
and Mail Friday. The reporter was gushing about how all the Wall Street
honchos have put aside their cut-throat self interest and will work in
unison to prop up the markets when they open Monday. Central bankers too. I
heard last night that O'Neill will ring the bell to start trading.
The PLAN is for a "patriotic rally" -- a one-day public relations wonder to
show the world that the U.S.A. is open for business and that it's business
as usual. Presumably, after the hearty back-slapping fades and the ink dries
on the headlines, the suckers will rush in to pick up the slack. Don't bet
on it. Or, maybe all the hot air and liquid cash will rush in and carburate
into an exuberant aerosol, waiting for the spark.
Yes, it is some kind of parody. But it is the kind of parody conducted with
utmost seriousness by people who see nothing funny in what they are doing.
Krugman is talking sense, though. You get what you pay for. $9 an hour for
airport security guards gets you -- well, $9 an hour airport security. What
will the central bankers' $80 billion liquidity brigade do for airport
security guards? Maybe the theory is that it will trickle down.
And it ain't just the security guards, folks. Winner-take-all income
polarization and just-in-time labour flexibility are manpower mobilization
strategies that haven't yet proven themselves in war. Same thing with golden
parachutes for generals getting paid 500 times want the grunts are making.
Or how about stock options in the mess kits instead of c-rations? Three
words: it won't work.
In the wake of the Rodney King acquittals we heard the slogan, "no justice,
no peace!" The logic of mobilizing the U.S. population for war on the scale
being contemplated by the U.S. authorities doesn't need to be chanted. That
logic is: no justice, no war.
Quid pro quo.
Tom Walker
Bowen Island, BC
604 947 2213
