You reap what you sow

I would just like to point out that the whores in congress and their corporate masters in the banking industry have officially sunk the economy. Yes, you all knew that, but I want to connect the dots as to where and how this happened.

2005. That was when republicans had full control of congress, Bush just got relected, and they thought they could do anything, including overturning a state court's decison about a dying woman's last wish. It has been doccumented how that was essentially a payoff to the religious fanatics who ahd put Bush and the pachyderms in charge of our lives. But they also paid back their real constituents, the bankers, as well. It was called bankruptcy reform. Ink was given at the time how it would hurt the little guy, eliminating his ability to write down debts under bankruptcy, essentially giving the bnaks the ability to get hold of our money regardless of whether or not we could repay it. In What's the Matter with Kansas, Thomas Frnak refered to this as a bait and switch: you vote for prayer in schools and you get a bankruptcy bill, supporting the interests of big business agaisnt your own in the guise of voting for God. And it worked. This reform was a big deal to the banks, as at that time of heady profits bankruptcy write-downs represented one of the few signifcant areas of loss and they wanted to get rid of it. So it was the poorhouse for anybody who got sick and lost their job, too F-ing bad.

But what didn't get a lot of ink was how bankruptcy reform not only affected average joes but corporate america as well--especially retailers. In an article in this morning's New York Times the shroud has been ripped off that corpse. Bankruptcy filings are way up among retailers-- places like Levitz, Linenes and Things, and Sharper Image just to name a few. They are all over the board, in every sector of retail. As these companies fail their bankruptcies spread to other companies big and small to whom they owe money. Want to see the perfect recipe for a depression? Knock over a bunch of big retailers at once and have them write down debt to both supliers and shippers and watch the dominoes fall. Hundreds of stores are closing. Thousands of people are losing their jobs. Rents at malls are not being paid. Some companies are writing off literally millions of dollars of debt to UPS alone. And here's the worst of it. Because of the Elephant Bankruptcy Reform package, companies have much less time to pay off bank loans than they had before, and those loans now have to get paid first. Forget it if you have a gift card from a failing company. You are last in line. Forget it if you have a job with them too, because even many those companies that have filed for re-organization will find that they are not able to emerge from bankruptcy under the new laws. They will simply dissapear, along with the jobs they provided, the rents they paid, and even some of the companies to whom they owed money.

Thank you Republican Controlled Congress of 2005 for signing the economy's death warrant.

Fasten your seatbelts, passengers.