August 31, 2007
by Volt Penn

There's no more mending the riggings or patching the sails on this ship of fools. Even those perched on the ladder's highest rungs may not keep their noses above drowning this time. You see pal, in this country it's still all about the economy. And for all those Consumer Units who have no bottom line, why they're winding up in the bellies of loan sharks.

With the last few years of easy credit, no interest mortgages, free balloon notes and hotdogs with prepayment penalties, our minds have been diverted, subverted and misappropriated. But now that the river of NINJA loans is drying up, the sharp rocks of reality are ready to rip apart happy homes. And there's no consolation in the fact that Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., and Wachovia Corp., can also be found gasping for air at the Fed's discount window.

Too bad that strict disciplinarian, Chief Petty Officer Fred Wood, retired 30 years ago. If the ginger-haired old salt were still around, he'd demand that we 'straighten up and pay attention'. Look, it's time to realize that we've been made to walk the plank, thinking there would be a safety net down below.  But the netting has been ripped away by BushCo. and Wall Street pirates. 

They're the ones who've keelhauled the middle class, making sure their money and assets were worth less and less each day. The greenbacks my uncle called silver certificates are tattooed like a third world currency. Roll out some loose change on a Quickie-Mart counter. Even Mr. Bob behind the cash register needs a double take. The dimes don't shine like they used to, nickels are lead tokens, eagles have flown off the quarters and one penny cost two cents to make. The Treasury's recent plan to peddle designer coins isn't working, either.

Pay as you go? Now-days it's always on the cuff. Leftover change used to be socked away in a bank, savings & loan, or the stock market, but now it can only be found between sofa cushions. Anti-hording of money has become a great American past time. Ask a man on the street to balance a checkbook and he'll say, "Checkbook, I don't need no sinking checkbook".

It doesn't take the C.I.A. or C.S.I. to figure out the Treasury is running its printing presses 24/7, but still can't keep up with Wall Street's demand. Bernanke's in charge of doling out the green stuff, but these days his lettuce wilts when it's sandwiched between a Yen and a Yuan. Maybe we should feel a little sorry for the guy who inherited the bottomless bucket from Greenspan's money well. But I don't give a salty dog damn for those Consumer Units. The one's who've maxed out their plastic, reloaded and blown the whole damn wad on more cheap Chinese sampans. 

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Captain Bernanke has given the order: 'economic engines full steam ahead'. Meanwhile this country's fiscal boat is being pounded on every side by unscrupulous mortgage brokers and stock market manipulators. Instead of giving the command for dry dock, the head of the Fed is closing his eyes as we aim into uncharted waters. Not even a Greek Siren could guide a captain with no map or depth finder. The only voice of reason is Ron Paul, up in the crow's nest, hollering, "Ice-burg ahead!" 

At one time our country's financial fleet was welded together with gold, but there's nothing in the vaults of Fort Knox these days - except lead ingots from China. Our monetary ship is patched together with tin cans, hedge funds and derivatives, yet nobody seems to notice that we're floundering in the Sea of Red Ink. How many more down-pumps in the prime interest rate can this economy tolerate before it becomes even too late for an S.O.S.?

The whole fleet including the Federal Reserve, the three branches of government and the military industrial complex must head into dry-dock. 'We the People' need to turn-to - swab the deck, then jettison all the trash and garbage from the fan-tail. It may sound improbable, but all of the world's currencies must be revalued to be equal - a dollar for a yen, for a Franc, a Euro, etc. Or how about creating a universal EURO called a GAIA NOTE?

An accurate prediction of how this perfect storm will play out is impossible considering the unknowns. Some who don't keep an eye open for the next crashing wave will be lost as another financial tempest surges over the deck. As for the rest of us, the real Americans who struggle to keep bread on the table, hard won freedoms on the books and make a decent living, we must have a currency that is backed by gold. That is the only way we'll bring big manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.A. - where they belong.

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Have Penn they'll listen. Volt Penn writes speeches for Progressive Populists and reasoned arguments for those on the left of center. He has also written speeches for anybody who has read his work. You can reach Volt Penn through his artist friend, b.b.kemp, at bbkemp@bbkemp.com

Copyright 2007, Volt Penn