Black Swans and The Future?
Written by Grant G
March 27/2020......Coronavirus is hideous, a virus that smothers one's ability to breathe, attacks the heart and leaves permanent damage on those that survive....even worse, it strikes deep fear in the aged, the already frail and there are millions of people in North America alone that fall into the vulnerable category.
A cloud of fear hangs like thick ocean fog over our entire world.
Warnings, the world had warnings in movie form, by the CDC and WHO, by health professionals around the globe....A drum beat of warnings, decades long warnings that we were not prepared for a pandemic, but here we are..
There were other warnings ignored, warnings that the government even in the midst of this current crisis refuses to acknowledge,....Economic warnings...Most people can't afford to lose even a few weeks pay without falling into financial ruin...
Governments responded to this disaster, indeed they did...First the US Fed offered Wallstreet $1.5 Trillion dollars, then they lowered interest rates for banks and Corporations to 0%....Then the world's bankers, including Canada, Europe, China offered up another $trillion for the big-boys and in this latest $2 trillion dollar rescue package making its way through the US House of Congress is another $500 billion for corporate grants...yes I said grants...Boeing alone is asking for $60 billion...and they aren't alone..Bailouts?... after Corporate North America spent hundreds of $billions in tax breaks to buy-back their own stocks, increase corporate CEO pay, and juice the stock markets to way over inflated levels....
The people are given crumbs....Creditcards have not lowered interest rates for people...Prime lending rates for people remain unchanged...Those two items alone would help out average Joe and Jane far more than short term temporary handout(weeks away and nothing for pensioners or disabled)..and nothing for millions more.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/politics/undocumented-immigrants-coronavirus-stimulus/index.html
The economy....It will bounce back if, and only if the people have money to spend when these stay in place orders/requests end...it makes no sense to even consider corporate bailouts(Socialism has suddenly become very popular among those rightwing corporate governments who scream hell-no to Socialism, eh Trump) until a semblance of normalcy..
Bailouts for the oil and gas industry? Why.....Does government bailout the people when oil goes to $100 dollars per barrel, when big oil is making huge $dollars hand over fist, and when the oil price spikes and profiteering wins the day, does big oil put money away for a rainy day..no, they merely whisper poverty and governments jump to attention....over and over again, ....Hello Alberta, and it didn't, and doesn't matter if Conservative or advertised as left leaning governments are in power, ..eh Horgan, eh Rachel Norley..eh Trudeau, eh Harper..it matters not.
There are silver linings to this pandemic but are we as a people prepared to actually acknowledge them and move forward with making the changes, will governments change course and allow progress or will the monied interests of the very few keep us in the dark ages..
Tele meeting, ...Tele working...$billions of dollars wasted every year flying politicos to gabfests, G20..G7..on all levels of government..not needed...Giant 7000 person floating petri dishes(cruise industry)....That industry will not recover, nor should it, before Coronavirus these ships were notorious for Ecoli, Norovirus and many other gastronomical breakouts..Both the airline and cruise industry want endless expansion...This can't happen...yet, that's how the money markets operate, if company X doesn't grow their value plunges, it's that dichomity that is unsustainable.
Planet Earth and all its inhabitants...When animal populations, fish populations get to large famine or disease attacks, farmed salmon is a perfect example, too many fish crowded into pens, lice, disease and mushy fish..even worse, these toxic practices destroy natural salmon...Norway, Chile and here in B.C.....Humankind is no different, eventually growth must cease and stability or less must rule the day. Unfortunately stock markets don't operate that way, money markets force growth, but that isn't sustainable..
More silver linings, the air is cleaner, sky is bluer, noticeably positive changes are already happening in the world's atmosphere...This short little blip of time decrease in economic activity has benefited the earth, and given science a chance to study the effects....and from what i've read, the earth atmosphere responds to the good rather quickly to reductions in emissions but the big question is, will our elected leaders acknowledge this fact or will they stick their collective heads firmly up corporate asses....From what i've seen and witnessed over the last month, corporate asses are still the preferred nesting areas for today's elected politicians..
An endless growth paradigm is not sustainable
With the earth's population growing exponentially, with air travel increasing, with all 4 corners of the earth merely hours and a flight away, there will be another pandemic, maybe sooner than we think.....It's time for a rethink of everything...
Many have asked me why I gone a little silent, stopped writing...Simple answer is..
With today's elected politicians...Donald Trump...Justin Trudeau..John Horgan, Jason kenney and even Rachel Notley before him.
They aren't listening, they won't change course and there is no difference who is in power...Here in Canada specifically, ...Andrew Weaver(Green) contributed nothing...John Horgan(liar), outside of a few social issues is no better than the corporate branded BC Liberals, and as for Trudeau, well, you know where he nests(TMX) ...where they all nest....
In Corporate Asses
Written by Grant G
The Straight Goods
The Straight Goods
Cheers Eyes Wide Open
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P.S.
I would like to thank all health professionals, doctors, care aids, nurses and frontline support workers, police and fireman, tellers at grocery stores and everywhere else...You are the real heroes... Thank You
