CNN, the Corporate News Network, has continuously cheerleader this terrible economic system. Titans of Wall Street and their lackeys have always inundated their shows. The occasional sane voice of reason might have been Ralph Nader. Unfortunately men and women like Nader only get 1 to 2 minutes to discuss their views while apologists for a criminal economic system get the rest of the discussion. Even their broadcasters maintain the corporate frame through what I assume is vetted questions.
Today the Corporate News Network is trying to tell Americans to save save save. These professional propagandists err ‘news’ anchors have consistently told families to teach their kids how to properly handle credit cards otherwise known as debt cards. That is not a typo. I did not mean to write debit card. In order to use a credit card you must go into debt. Corporate propaganda has taught a generation of Americans that debt cards are useful and necessary to survive in modern society. The true cost of a debt card is never discussed.
Our current account deficits are linked to our use of debt cards. In order to continue our consumer culture our government and by extension corporations rely on foreign capital. Foreign Central Banks buy T-bills and other US debt products to finance America’s current account deficit. In essence we are paying back China and other net lenders through our taxes and credit cards bills. Foreign Central Banks take part in this system to maintain a currency system known as Bretton Woods II. We are witnessing the failure of this global currency system.
The Corporate Media System (CMS) otherwise known as the Mainstream Media has consistently told Americans to leverage themselves into more debt/credit cards, home refinancing, 401ks, IRAs, and other debt or investment vehicles. The CMS was nowhere when Warren Buffet called CDOs “financial weapons of mass destruction” or when writers such as Michael Hudson, Pam Martenson, Paul Craigs Roberts, Lew Rockwell, Nouriel Roubini, and Mike Whitney were dismantling the housing bubble. The CMS has performed its job brilliantly. Corporate control over a democracy is only possible when the frame of through is narrowed into an acceptable spectrum. CNN, Fox, and MSNBC all provide a frame for society. One for the right, center, and left but all accept the corporate frame.
The CMS has continued to maintain the subprime frame despite its inadequacy. The subprime crisis has already occurred but it has morphed into a new crisis. The “shadow banking industry” is in crisis. Structured investment vehicles utilized the mortgage industry as a vehicle for profit. In order for investment banks, commercial banks, and other broker dealers to make a profit they enlisted the help of rating agencies that gave AAA ratings to junk mortgages. The fraud committed by these financial institutions and their sycophants in the media are the cause this crisis. The failure of the debtor to pay off the debt is part of the problem but it is not the cause of the problem. However, the people that overstated their income to gain a mortgage are guilty of fraud. These people should face criminal charges. Furthermore the mortgage originators should also face serious sanctions for encouraging unsustainable mortgages. This breakdown was caused by predatory lenders and predatory capitalism. The model should fail.
