Detroit Bankrupcy

Over the last three years I have received many emails from my conservative friends deriding Detroit and rust belt cities. Their favorite pictures are showing the acres of abandoned homes, in various states of disrepair.

The cons chortle about these dismal scenes, mostly I think because the blighted neighborhoods are now semi-occupied by people of color. The racism is palatable.

Their glee makes me sick!

Now, as Mitt (wit?) Romney campaigns (while riding in his Cadillacs) in Michigan, we are again reminded of another article of faith of the right wingers (right next to xenophobia and racism); the cleansing nature of bankruptcy.

Remember one of George W's "gifts" to the United States was a wholesale rewriting of bankruptcy laws, shifting the balance from the bankrupt to the creditor. And, foreclosing on a home is now possible as part of a bankruptcy; before a person could at least keep their home.

Most did not of course, liquefying the home was painful but necessary part of bankruptcy. But the cons had to be sure the home gets taken under the new law; I'm surprised they didn't push for debtor's prisons!

And the cons lied about the ultimate effects of these changes in law, promising economic benefits. There was no positive economic effect as promised. I would suggest the new bankruptcy laws will be found to have deepened the past recession and have, as usual, been another con reform that backfired; added to prison reform, welfare reform, tax reform, educational reform...you name it...

This punitive approach to misfortune is echoed in Romney's support to "Let Detroit go Bankrupt". At the time, 2008, Romney was still working for a company that specialized in bankrupting companies, selling off the assets, firing the workers, and making a huge profit in doing so; kind of parasitic?

Was Bane Capital standing to make a killing if G.M. went bankrupt? One wonders. I always smell a special interest when cons whine!

Middle class cons, have now accepted the "conventional wisdom" that bankruptcy is good, that it is cleansing, that it ultimately results in a better economy.

During the Great Depression homeless farmers, who had lost everything, hung a few bankruptcy judges. Now bankruptcy judges are seen as heroes?

The fact is bankruptcy is awful. It destroys people's lives. Sometimes it is the only thing that can be done. But, bankruptcy is not always the fault of the debtor.

The majority of bankruptcies in the country occur because of health care issues. A homeowner loses his/her job, loses health care insurance, then someone gets real sick. To pay the bills, with only unemployment (another hated benefit by cons), people take loans out on the house. Eventually this all falls apart, with bankruptcy the only recourse.

Of course the new health care law is evil...you don't want people to have any hedge against plain old bad luck....cleanse...cleanse....It is your fault if you are poor or unemployed..you are just lazy!

There is nothing clean about starving children...nothing! But they are lazy too, right...a six year old should be doing janitorial work (Newt says so).

The new bankruptcy laws are punitive, and weigh heavily in favor of banks, credit card companies, and other creditors. They combine to create a growing poor class in this country who are doomed to a lifetime of poverty.

This does not bother the cons. It is cleansing! It will ultimately work out. Detroit needs to be destroyed, the unions are evil, and ultimately working people are smucks, who deserve to be fooled, hoodwinked, and lied to.

Is it just me, but doesn't Romney remind you of the traveling salesman, who knocks on your door, and you immediately put your hand over your wallet while talking to him?

In fact, saving Detroit was a huge mistake, they say, as Romney speaks in a stadium to about 800 people; in a venue that holds 50,000. There is a message in this!

The message is maybe, just maybe the working class in this country is waking up. Maybe they will question Fox Propaganda, with their colorful sets, and short skirted hotties; and realize they are getting worked over.

The autoworkers were not the only ones who would have suffered. Millions of support personnel, ranging from parts stores to shade tree mechanics would have suffered. And, millions of consumers, who suddenly were left with a car with a warranty and no company to back it up. But what the hell...cleanse...cleanse.....

Detroit got in trouble because cons in their midst sold the idea that a big pickup would make a big profit, regardless of the fact that gas costs $100 to fill up the tank. As people cut back, as the rich got richer, they couldn't afford the gas. WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF GAS!

Don't be fooled by the fables that environmentalists are blocking access to the holy grail, that all we need to do is drill off the California coast, or in Alaska, or pipe tar sand oil in from Canada; that liberals are deliberately blocking access to the bounty that still lurks in the earth. Have you ever wondered why liberals would do that? Why would they block access to oil so they could piss off consumers who then would never vote for them. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, the world is running out of sweet crude oil? The latest projection, by the way, is the world has 40 years left at current consumption levels.

That means a baby born today will be middle aged when there is NO MORE CRUDE OIL.

Do you think, just for a minute, that is why gas prices are going up? As we argue about global warming, and refuse to conserve, the liquid gold is burning away in front of us.

Smaller cars, public transportation, solar and wind power, an actual energy policy with teeth is our only hope to continue prosperity in the country...and of course the cons scream...drill baby drill.

Obama's energy policies are bad, bad.....conservation when facing a diminishing resource is bad.

What?! President Obama has never changed his message, we must change our energy habits or die economically. It is that simple! And he is right! Drill baby drill is a recipe for disaster!

But remember, it is cleansing to make millions poor, and put our economic future in the hands of zealots who believe that running out of oil is good. It is like bankruptcy; running out of oil all at once will cleanse the world!

I suppose it is good for the soul too, which gets us the Rick Santorum (a later blog topic).