Saturday, February 07, 2009
Snippets of Info
I am taking 21 hours this semester. Clearly I have masochistic tendencies.
My other blog, Ramblings of a Film-Addicted Mind, has been neglected. I haven't posted anything there in months, not even the reviews I've written for Technician. As a result, I'm probably going to delete it in a few days. The RandomChatter website is being drastically re-formatted, and that should launch within the next few days, so I think I'll post all my movie-related thoughts and reviews over there from now on.
Jim and I are throwing a Singles Awareness Day party on February 14. I've never hosted a party before, so I'm hoping it turns out well.
I think it's great Obama has already banned "enhanced interrogation techniques" and plans on closing down Gitmo within the year. I do not think it's great that he continues to bail out these giant corporations. Either let these companies collapse, or nationalize them. Don't take the middle ground. The fact of the matter is, these stimulus packages aren't going to work, at least not for a few years (if we're lucky). We're in a really bad situation, and while everyone likes to pretend they have an answer, the truth is nobody really knows what the solution is. Sales of Karl Marx's Capital have risen dramatically in the past few months. You know why? Because Marx wasn't an idiot. A lot of what we're seeing today can't be blamed on a particular group of individuals - this is the result of the inherent contradictions within capitalism itself. That's the unfortunate truth that you won't hear anyone in the media talking about. We will get through this crisis eventually, but I have a feeling it will only be by:
1) Incorporating a short-term solution which will ultimately lead to another crisis years down the road (due most likely to our rising debt, both nationally and in terms of personal credit).
2) Drastically changing our economic structure. I'm not saying there will be a socialist revolution (though I don't think I'd be against that), but this concept of a "free market" that will somehow magically work itself out is bogus. The free market is part of the problem. In all likelihood, I think we'll start to see the nationalization of a lot of industries, or just tons and tons and tons of market regulations.
3) Letting the nation effectively collapse, economically speaking, for a while. Let the corporate giants fall. Let things get worse and worse and worse. Hand the mantra of "world's greatest superpower" over to China. And then, after some really really dark times, gradually start rebuilding until we're at least somewhat respectable again.
4) Some sort of combination of the above three.
In essence, what I'm trying to say is that we're screwed for at least a few years. Maybe I should consider saving up enough money to flee to China.
My other blog, Ramblings of a Film-Addicted Mind, has been neglected. I haven't posted anything there in months, not even the reviews I've written for Technician. As a result, I'm probably going to delete it in a few days. The RandomChatter website is being drastically re-formatted, and that should launch within the next few days, so I think I'll post all my movie-related thoughts and reviews over there from now on.
Jim and I are throwing a Singles Awareness Day party on February 14. I've never hosted a party before, so I'm hoping it turns out well.
I think it's great Obama has already banned "enhanced interrogation techniques" and plans on closing down Gitmo within the year. I do not think it's great that he continues to bail out these giant corporations. Either let these companies collapse, or nationalize them. Don't take the middle ground. The fact of the matter is, these stimulus packages aren't going to work, at least not for a few years (if we're lucky). We're in a really bad situation, and while everyone likes to pretend they have an answer, the truth is nobody really knows what the solution is. Sales of Karl Marx's Capital have risen dramatically in the past few months. You know why? Because Marx wasn't an idiot. A lot of what we're seeing today can't be blamed on a particular group of individuals - this is the result of the inherent contradictions within capitalism itself. That's the unfortunate truth that you won't hear anyone in the media talking about. We will get through this crisis eventually, but I have a feeling it will only be by:
1) Incorporating a short-term solution which will ultimately lead to another crisis years down the road (due most likely to our rising debt, both nationally and in terms of personal credit).
2) Drastically changing our economic structure. I'm not saying there will be a socialist revolution (though I don't think I'd be against that), but this concept of a "free market" that will somehow magically work itself out is bogus. The free market is part of the problem. In all likelihood, I think we'll start to see the nationalization of a lot of industries, or just tons and tons and tons of market regulations.
3) Letting the nation effectively collapse, economically speaking, for a while. Let the corporate giants fall. Let things get worse and worse and worse. Hand the mantra of "world's greatest superpower" over to China. And then, after some really really dark times, gradually start rebuilding until we're at least somewhat respectable again.
4) Some sort of combination of the above three.
In essence, what I'm trying to say is that we're screwed for at least a few years. Maybe I should consider saving up enough money to flee to China.
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 2/07/2009 07:40:00 PM 
