In 1996 I quit smoking, cold turkey. Not long after this accomplishment, I managed to put on about forty pounds. It has yet to disappear. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’m glad I quit smoking. It was a nasty habit I wished I had never picked up and I wasn’t going to let cigarettes rule my life. I’m not sure, but food certainly tastes better now and I think quitting smoking might have decreased my metabolism. It really doesn’t matter, it was a fair trade. Besides, if I was simply a little more disciplined, watched my diet and did more exercise, I’m fairly certain I could lose the extra weight. In the long run, however, I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I’m not super huge, just a little hefty, with a little pooch around the tummy. I doubt I’d be mistaken for a beached whale if I went to the seashore.
Sometimes, however, a person might really let himself go. There could be various reasons for this, but sometimes people just can’t help themselves. Perhaps some are successful at quitting smoking like I was, and others were maybe successful at business and find an appetite they didn’t know they had. Whatever the reason, their success leads to growth they didn’t expect. In extreme cases, it can be taken to grotesque proportions.
When I think of too big to fail, I think in proportions of Gilbert Grape’s mom. I think in terms of the thousand pound man laying in his bed unable to move. He has become so big that he is hardly able to function. He has to depend on others to bring him food and do the things he used to do for himself. If he doesn’t do something about his weight he is destined for an early grave. In one way he has reached the pinnacle of human potential, and yet in so many others he has utterly failed. In many ways, this is comparable to many of the business institutions we see today and the governments that support them.
There could be a concern with these large people that many would not see as a problem. They have people who love them. They have people who love them so much, in fact, that they can't imagine life without them. They don't know what they'd do without them. These people might do anything for their loved one, including breaking laws, stealing, sneaking about and doing whatever it takes to feed these behemoths and keep them alive. They would ignore the advice of others and perhaps even directly defy them to keep their beloved happy. In general, people often act funny, loose common sense and do things they wouldn't normally do when they feel one that they love is threatened.
The same is likely true with these behemoth banks and corporations that government has bailed out over the last couple of years. Government officials are likely tied into these corporations so tightly that they can't imagine what their lives would be like without them. Hence, the too big to fail meme. They can't imagine life without these corporations because it would mean they would lose out on their major campaign contributors. They would have to start seeking other ways to fund their campaigns and keep their offices. They might even have to start listening to the concerns of their constituents. Heaven forbid, they might have to start doing what is right rather than what will benefit them. They don't seem to be able to see themselves working that hard.
What the political class doesn't seem to realize is that these institutions aren't too big to fail, they are too big to succeed. The banks and corporations that were bailed out aren't going to change their ways. They don't have to. With the government's help, they have become or are quickly becoming monopoly powers. They will simply lay around lazily on their couches or beds, too fat to move, and the political elite will continue to feed them until they grow so huge that the floor beneath them collapses. That is not the recipe for success, that is the recipe for utter failure. The only way these institutions won't fail is if they are forced to stand up on their own feet to fend for themselves and find their own food. If free market competition is encouraged than perhaps these banking and other corporate behemoths will start exercising, shed some of their weight, and began making healthier, more economically sound decisions.
The political and power elite love their Federal Reserve above all others. This institution is, without a doubt, the biggest of the "too big to succeed." It has become so over bloated because it has the monopoly, like all central banks, of creating money. It has the force of law behind its money creation ponzi scheme. One doing business in this nation must accept fiat notes in exchange for goods according to legal tender laws. This institution has been fed by the laws of this nation to the point where in can hardly move, let alone get up off the couch and stand on its own.
Recently, another in a series of very unpopular laws has been passed by this congress that evidently has some sort of death wish, or at least is doing its very best to awaken the sleeping masses and force them to do something to disempower the power elite. First there was the bailouts of the super wealthy "to big to fail" banks and corporations, then the unhealthy health care bill to prop up an insurance industry that should have folded and given way to a more adept market oriented system, and now we have the immoral, unethical and unconstitutional Federal Reserve Empowerment Act, I mean the recently passed financial reform bill, to add to the list of recent congressional debacles.
It's not enough that the political elite keep feeding this behemoth that threatens to break through the floor of the economy, they love it so much that they have to bring it cake and ice cream and all manners of fattening sweetness to ensure that when it does finally crack the floor upon which it sits it does so in a manner guaranteed to crack the foundations of the house it has built around itself. They even took out Ron Paul's wildly popular and highly supported audit provision of the bill, the only healthy component in the mix. They may or may not have included some sort of audit, but no one really cares about such a worthless and fruitless gesture that is insultingly pandering to the common folk who the political elite think so poorly of.
It has become more than obvious that the political elite believe the common folk are stupid. They believe the common folk are not paying attention. Yet it was the common folks who opposed the bailouts. It was the common folks who opposed the health care bill. It was the common folks who supported and demanded government transparency and an audit of the fed. The common folk are far more intelligent and far more involved than the political and power elite give them credit for. The common folk can see what's happening and they don't appreciate that their wealth is being spent on overstuffed corporations who can't even get up to feed themselves. They are paying attention and they are getting increasingly angry. Sooner or later, something's going to break, and I can only hope the collapse happens in a peaceful, measured manner rather than with the too big to succeed kicking and screaming as they are suddenly torn asunder.
As evidence to the failing establishment, the mainstream media continues to loose viewers, listeners and readers. Independent alternative media continues to gain popularity as they bring the populace more honest reporting and objective opinion. It is up to you to support these independent outlets as we do not have the billions that the established corporate media has. Though the ball has started rolling and I am now receiving the support of a few, I still need help. I do offer a product for sale, an ebook that the corporate controlled publishers wouldn't touch. "The Ouijiers" is a horror novel available at this link. Please visit szandorblestman.com and click on the ad for the book. The first two chapters are available for free. It you aren't interested in horror novels, you can still support my efforts by clicking on the donate button. Donations are greatly appreciated. Hopefully together we can get these behemoths that have been coddled for too long by the power and political elite to get up and start moving. Hopefully we can encourage them to shed the fat and allow for competition that will make them healthier and help create a more stable economy and a more free and peaceful society.
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