On Ben Shapiro and Unnecessary Lies
Ben Shapiro is one of the most notable economic disinformation commentators in America. He has gained fortune and fame by promoting the often-disproved value of an unrestricted market economy. His disservice to our nation has been rewarded by the wealthy financial forces that need Americans to ignore the self-destructive nature of the type of economy he justifies. Yesterday he published another piece of misdirection that lamented his view that average Americans have become “risk-adverse”. According to good ole Ben, we want an economy that is risk-free. Shapiro wants us to believe that using our government, in any way, to impact our economy will lead to the end of the world. This conclusion shows that the pundit of greed and financial gambling has not kept up. His lectures on risk and reward are no longer needed. His patrons have moved us beyond his tired mantra and made him obsolete.

America is no longer risk-adverse. Through the power of political manipulation, the wealthy and financial opportunists have rigged our economy so it is risk-free. At least for a select sector of the most privileged. That would be themselves. No longer do they have to worry about the downside of bad financial decisions or reckless investments. When they screw up, they’ve got the rest of us to pick up the tab. When they crashed the economy by their housing speculations, we bailed them out. Even in a pandemic, that crushed the economy for most, they emerged wealthier than ever. In a slight of hand that would amaze Penn and Teller, they have convinced Americans that our economy must provide them this no-risk environment or we as a nation will crumble. Far from being the “risk-adverse” citizenry that Shapiro derides, we have become delusional about the consequences of removing all restraint from our most powerful financial manipulators.

If anyone is using our government to avoid risk, it is the Wall Street gang and the super-well off. In spite of continuously running our economy into a ditch, and everyone witnessing us paying off their debt with higher taxes and encumbering the future earnings of our children, we endorse this madness. Such is the appeal of this latest economic propaganda.

The fact is that the average American is trying to get out from under the fallout of those who keep dumping their risk on us. We’ve been pretty confused about why we keep sinking while about ten percent are walking away with the gold. But we’re getting close enough to figuring it out that another round of lies and scapegoating is coming our way.

To be blunt, we’d better get our heads out of our asses and figure out who is doing this to us. This is insanity and the worst of mass reverse psychology. The market system we have MUST have a downside, for everyone. An economy that carries no risk for a select few, encourages more and more speculation and encourages those who don’t make solid investment decisions. It’s a guaranteed path to economic destruction. We really do know this. We just are too afraid and awed by the money people, to demand that our government put a leash on their excesses. We’ve also been convinced that our government is inadequate to do this most critical job. We have bought the con job hook, line and sinker.

If we want a future for this nation, the path is by re-establishing financial risk for the financial sector. We also have to undo the damage their greed has done to us. The Ben Shipiro’s and his new-age progeny, need to be stripped of their influence and derided as enemies of sane economic policy. Protecting the wealthy and crippling our government’s ability to confront financial excess is the sure path to the destruction of all our hopes and dreams.

ihg 10-24-2021

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