How come we aren't too big to fail?

Every number was going up except the one on our paycheck, social security check, or social services voucher. When capitalism was strong and healthy - a couple of weeks ago - we were in a perpetual state of sticker shock: at the gas station, at the supermarket, every time the credit card bill or the tax bill or the rent or the car payment came around.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG are too big to be allowed to fail. What about the 37 million of us living in official poverty, the 46 million with no health insurance, the 2 ½ million in prison, the 3 ½ million homeless - how come we aren't too big to fail? Capitalism has already failed most of us; now that it's failing the capitalists, suddenly it's a crisis.

They are telling us we should be very scared because capitalism is in danger of disintegrating. Might we be forgiven if just for a second we are tempted to say, "Bring it on!"

-Naomi Jaffe



(thanx Harjit)