Economic Downturn

Today as I was driving to the Angels' Stadium to watch the Dodgers versus the Angels I listened to an NPR show. The hosts discussed the causes of the recession-- the loan scandals of the last 7 years and the fraudulent increase of property values.

They interviewed a young punk who was particularly annoying to me. He discussed the manner in which he dealt loans to people who (and I quote) "didn't have a pot to piss in." He said that he loaned them money to buy 150 K houses. For his part, he "earned" 80 K to 100 K monthly when he graduated college. He dined at the most expensive restaurants in New York and met a host of A list celebrities.

The people who were supposed to verify the loanees' financial information lied about their credit and finances. A loanee who unwittingly participated in their scam claimed that he earned $3,000 monthly. The investigative reporter discovered that the loaners claimed that he earned 12,000 monthly.

Meanwhile, property values continued to boom while people's income continued to stagnate. People were simply shuffling papers as fabricated myths spread like manure over a moronic nation. It drove the whole economy into the ground.

So... I was going to an Angels versus Dodgers game during an absolutely gorgeous afternoon here in sunny So Cal. Each team has a winning record, and one of the teams is destined to earn a playoff spot. I anticipated that the game would be sold out -- again, two good L.A. teams were playing during a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. When I drove up to the parking fee collector I asked if they had any tickets available. He immediately responded, "OH, YEAH!"
The stadium was maybe 70% full, and only 4 people were seated in my row of 13 seats. Please remember that a couple of years ago baseball was setting attendance records. Even sub-.500 teams sold out home games during a weekend during that period.

People are hurting. It all reminded me of something that George Carlin "jokes" about: white people are terrified of the black guy who is approaching them, yet they are willing to overlook the white executive asshole who is destroying them. The white collar pricks-- who Chimp's administration have allowed to operate almost on a laissez-faire basis-- have raped us, man.