Paul Pizza
The PawPrint
Sometimes in this world, what seems surreal is actually real. One massive Ponzi scheme and cartel were all it took to plummet not only a nation into an economic disaster, but also the entire world. JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and others are the reason for where we are today. America alone faces countless problems, but why are we Americans so oblivious to them? Or is it more that we just refuse to do anything about it?
Where exactly are these problems coming from? Well, we all have our own beliefs, political affiliations, and whatever else is causing us to point the finger, but quite frankly the problem seems to be the average citizen. We all know the basic issues that stress American checkbooks. Oil prices, for example, seem to continue to go up on what seems to be a daily basis. The reason oil prices are skyrocketing and will most likely reach at least $5 a gallon by August is simple economics: supply and demand.
Everyone needs oil, and because there are virtually no innovations yet to alternative energy, oil companies can do anything they please with the price of oil. I strongly believe that Wall Street big men are in on the deal, tricking people into investing in other things besides alternative energy to maximize their own profit.
You might counter my argument by saying ethanol is a quality “alternative energy” source; however, the truth behind it is that it’s a complete joke. Not only would we have to use the majority of our agricultural resources to produce enough corn for a reasonable amount of fuel, but we also don’t realize how much energy (oil) it takes to produce that amount of corn.
It would take more energy to produce that amount of ethanol then it would actually put out itself. My point about Wall Street convincing us to invest in false resources is proven.
Another American flaw is credit cards. The idea of a credit card is to purchase now and pay later; however, credit card companies have bent the rules just perfectly enough so that when you sign up for a card, you play their game. Credit cards have the ability to raise their interest rates at any given moment and charge you the consumer, outrageous amounts for something that is irrelevant to the company. For example, say you have two credit cards, and a car payment due every month.
If you miss a payment on your car, your credit card can raise your interest to massive percentages. Their reason is because, “the consumer is more liability to the company.”
Quotes like this are understandable to a point, but when millions of people across the country have racked up record amounts of credit card debt, there is obviously a problem. Why haven’t we done anything about this? Well, unfortunately this problem isn’t so much the average citizen. Huge credit card companies, insurance companies, etc., pay huge sums of money to lawmakers and politicians to keep laws from hurting them, once again maximizing their profit.
These problems don’t end with just oil and credit card companies, the list could go on for quite awhile. Although some facts behind what’s really going on might seem “surreal,” they definitely are true. Open your eyes to what actually is going on, educate yourself, and be ready for another, potentially more catastrophic, economic downfall.
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