Will it be the bankers or us who emerge triumphant from this financial crisis? (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Chris/Where the Poppies Grow)

Controversial talk-show host Alex Jones implores Infowars readers to take a good look at this global financial crisis. As nations institute austerity measures, Jones believes it all comes down to this: “Is it going to be the bankers or us?” By burying the middle class in debt slavery, Jones asserts that big government and its central banks are reintroducing a feudal system in which the middle class will be too poor to be anything but serfs in service of corporate lords.

Bankers or us: a derivative mess

According to Alex Jones, when we ask whether it will be the bankers or us who survive the crisis, we must consider derivatives. These actively traded non-assets – they’re essentially volatile speculation on how a commodity will do at a future time – are costing the U.S. “over $1.5 quadrillion,” an amount that cannot conceivably be repaid. Investment bankers who speculated on derivatives using such things as the pension funds of retired Americans for payment have made austerity necessary, yet it is these same banks and bankers who received the bulk of bailout funds. Jones believes this imbalance of power, where the rich get much richer and the poor lose money hand over fist, should be any right-thinking person’s call to action. “Will it be the bankers – or us?” asks Jones.

Austerity and the power of central banks

The European Union is struggling to keep member nations from going bankrupt. A variation of this is happening in America, says Jones. Central banks, awash in taxpayer bailout funds, will continue to flourish. Average taxpaying citizens will see beneficial programs cut under austerity conditions, including wages, pensions, insurance and child health care. Challenging the Federal Reserve and private central banks, in Jones’ estimation, is the only available course for those who do not wish to become debt slaves.

A bailout Trojan horse

If the financial industry bailout was indeed a Trojan horse that ended up rewarding the same Wall Street bankers who drove the financial crisis from the beginning, Jones wants people to take a step back and re-evaluate where this train is headed. Will it be the bankers or us who will be free, or is the middle class headed for servitude?

Sources

Infowars

Wikipedia article on financial derivatives

Alex Jones’ thoughts on rejecting central banks

TARP ends Oct. 3 after getting results at a discount, but "bailout" has become the dirtiest word in politics. Image: CC Willamor Media/Flickr

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) ends Oct. 3 after accomplishing its specific objectives and costing less than originally predicted. But TARP became a symbol of big government and made “bailout” a dirty word wielded by Republicans to score political points. The fact that TARP saved Wall Street, automakers and insurance giants, yet failed to perceptibly help ordinary Americans has Democrats on the defensive over a policy enacted by the previous Republican administration.

The true cost of TARP

TARP will stop extending loans Sunday, but it will continue to collect dividends and repayments. Fortune at CNN reports that it’s been two years since Congress gave $700 billion to the Treasury Department to prevent an economic collapse. The economy is limping along, Wall Street has resumed pillaging, and TARP’s final bill is much less than originally thought. According to the Treasury, the government only lent $386 billion of the fund. That money is coming back to the government at a much higher rate than expected. This week Treasury secretary Tim Geithner said he expected the total cost of TARP to be less than $50 billion.

The toxic backlash of TARP

The Washington Post reports that the TARP money spent is a fraction of what the government allocated to save the financial system. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve have spent more than $1.5 trillion to keep the mortgage and housing markets from melting down entirely. The bailouts have also embedded the federal government deeply into the private sector. As a result, political extremists are painting economic rescue as a socialist takeover.

The twisted politics of TARP

TARP, despite meeting its intended results at a discount, has put Democrats on the spot for defending a program that was the product of the Bush administration. ABC News reports that Republicans are hoping to take advantage of TARP’s unpopularity by linking Democrats and President Obama to “bailout,” which has become the dirtiest word in politics. For example, at a press conference Aug. 10, House Republicans used the word at least seven times while badmouthing a $26 billion state fiscal aid package moving through Congress. The Republican “Pledge to America” vowed permanently to end the program, even though it has expired already on its own.