Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Russia Blamed, US Taxpayers on the Hook, as Fracking Boom Collapses

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Russia Blamed, US Taxpayers on the Hook, as Fracking Boom Collapses

Click here to access article by Ben Ptashnik from TruthOut.

To be absolutely candid, I don't fully understand this issue after perusing a number of articles (like this and this) related to the subject. However, it certainly appears that the banking industry, which are worried about their loans to the oil fracking industry and their derivative bets, has sought, and apparently succeeded, in protecting themselves from losses (by dumping them on taxpayers) from the Empire's oil dumping strategy to destabilize the Russian economy.

This seems like a hugely risky ploy because another bailout would likely trigger major threats to the capitalist class. But then, it seems like all the other actions that the directors of the Empire have taken in the past several years have seemed desperate to me. Nevertheless, I urge you to use your own judgement, as always.

After last minute, heavy lobbying on the budget bill by Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and an army of 3,000 Wall Street lobbyists, it appears that once again sufficient insecurity and fear had been spread among the political class regarding destabilization of the financial markets (or withdrawal of campaign financing). They allowed a last minute amendment that killed Dodd-Frank protections, and allowed US taxpayers to be shaken down to cover Wall Street's shale gambling debacle.