Echo-nomics

A lot of attention is going to the economy these days, news reports are dominated by the topic:  what’s the problem, who has the answer, who doesn’t, who got us here.  I’m not an economist; I’m a sociologist. I’m not a card carrying paycheck cashing sociologist; I just majored in it and learned more about sociologists than I did people. As to course of study, I’m more naturally inclined to herstory, law and rules of verse.  I’m definitely not an economist as the paucity of my paycheck and pocketbook will verify.  Still I’m a poet so I see things, then say them. 

Today’s news is about the all of a sudden economic crisis that took about a decade to occur.   Somebody just now noticed that the kitchen is on fire.  Because I’m not an economist I don’t understand all the words and theories as to what will right it, what it was that wronged it.  The sociologist can demarcate the classes that, cultures of people who will be effected by it as the trends will verify. The poet can discern what I see. I like to keep it essential so it’s real clear what I’m looking at.

The economy has a tendency to lean toward feudalism in which wealth largely belongs to overlords and what’s left over goes to everyone else.  At some time in history other classes were added to economic hierarchy.  Periodically there is a siege on the middle class in an attempt to eradicate it.  It is the middle class that protects the working and poor classes from the tyranny of the rich.

As a younger, I once found my self walking on Wall Street during a foray to New York City.  It seemed to me that I was walking in the canyons of hell.  It wasn’t just about the very tall buildings everywhere; New York City is full of such canyons.  This one feels different, feels like hell, like a place where there’s no lightness and very little air.  This is where the underrulers are.  They’re the ones who rule out of sight, manipulating markets, economies, governments, workers worldwide.

The economy is based on a pyramid scheme, the inverse of the pyramid on the dollar bill. The people who buy in early and sell late but not too late, make lots of money; most everyone else will never realize such profit margins.  The economic realm in which we live means there is a tight limit on how much “growth” there can be before the burgeoning upper base causes the whole shebang to topple over. (I do wonder sometimes what the significance is of that pyramid symbol on the base symbol of our economy…)

Another structure associated with the economy is the hierarchy of “labor” in relation to pay.  In working class terms, there is some guy (usually) who is making multiples of millions of dollars for being a CEO who would not be a CEO of anything without the workers who make the cars.  The autoworkers are for sure making far less than the CEO.  When the corporation goes down it lays off workers; the CEO who mismanaged the company isn’t fired.  He will walk away with multiples of millions in bonuses.

One day recently during an internet surfing I came upon a list of the top fifty most influential women.  It’s a rather impressive list.  That impression unraveled a bit when I realized that four or five of the women were high execs in Walmart which has more than a few issues with mistreatment of workers.  In the years of women’s liberation, this isn’t what I meant and yet this is what feminism has become.  I think I meant that liberation is changing the structure, changing the definition of equality.

Equality doesn’t mean I can be the CEO of a company and be more valued than the workers, designers, janitors.  It doesn’t mean being able to have a chance to be a corrupt and satanic liege of underrulers. Equality is defined as all contributors being recognized as equal in the endeavor for the success of the company, its people, vision and products.  All contributors (job titles) are paid equal pay.  All means all without exception.