The Bailout in Plain English
Speaking in the Tongues of Brokers
By Joe Bageant
Any number of cultural historians have noted the American belief that success is a sign of God's favor. And over the past couple of decades he has had a downright love fest with the already-rich. So much so that the richest 400 Americans now have more money stashed away that the combined bottom 150 million Americans. Some $1.6 trillion bucks.
This was accomplished by selling off or shipping out ever available asset, from jobs to seaports, smashing usury and anti-monopoly laws, raiding the public coffers and manipulating the medium of exchange and blackmailing the peasantry regarding common needs such as heath care and energy to keep their asses warm -- to name a few. The ultimate coup was to convince the entire nation that the well being of the rich, meaning the well being of Wall Street, was indeed the common man's well being.


In those few sentences Sarah Palin delivered the only legitimate
populist message -- however thin -- we can expect to hear during the
entire campaign season. Never mind that it is a fraught with
contradictions. Whose life isn't? It's a political sop but it's a
heartfelt sop, true and simple enough for ordinary heartland working
folks to grasp amid the shitstorm of political jargon and crafted
messages that say exactly nothing.