The Truth about the Economy

By: Karen Fiala
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:23:56
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This morning, and in fact every morning for the past few weeks, one of the first news stories has been the state of the economy.

It seems that the stock market is falling and many people are worried about this. I, on the other hand, actually see this as a good thing.

So, how can I be so optimistic when everyone else is spreading doom and gloom?

First, let me tell you about another news story which I heard today. The headlines say “Unemployment levels fall. More people have jobs in Australia”.

At first, you would think this was a very good thing - that is, until you understand that the Australian Government has been systematically harassing and hounding people off the ‘official’ unemployment programs such as the dole. Here's an example:

I have a friend who is a single female who’s nearly 60 years old. Instead of understanding her situation (after all, who is realistically going to hire this lady?) the ‘system’ has been reworked so she is going to be forced to do 15 hours a week of either part time work or voluntary work. The lady tells me that she can scarcely afford to live on the unemployment payment and to use her car to get to voluntary work would put her over the edge, financially. As for part-time work, don’t you think she would snap up the offer, if it was available? Of course she would. This lady has kept on doing courses and upgrading her skills, yet no-one will employ her. She has applied for many jobs but the competition is fierce and 100 people, or more, are vying for the same job.

Anyhow, as I was saying, you would think that a low unemployment figure would be good news. So many more people with jobs but the reality is, most of those jobs are either casual (with no long-term security) and they’re part time (which hardly feeds a household of one, let alone a family).

You would also think that the stock market would react favorably to a low unemployment figure but no, those greedy, selfish corporate types see this as ‘more people with disposable income which could lead to more spending. This means the government will say ‘people are spending too much’ and they will raise interest rates in order to stop the spending spree. Since most people have mortgages and credit card debt, when the interest rates are increased yet again, this leaves us regular folks with even less available money.

So, the whole thing is a vicious cycle.

It’s OK for those who are wealthy. They don’t feel a thing. In fact, they have extra money to invest, so the fact that interest rates have gone up makes them even richer. They’re laughing all the way to the bank - at the expense of the rest of us. Of course they are the ‘elite’ of the planet and their friends are in the governments or corporations of the world. We, on the other hand, are the ‘other’ six and a half billion people who are living virtually on the poverty line – or below!

So, back to my original question, “How can we be optimistic when the stock markets are falling?” The answer is simple. All the large corporations and multi-nationals, and also some smaller ones, are trading their shares on the stock markets of the world. These are the same guys who tell us what to eat, drink, wear, watch on TV, what movies we’ll see, what we should read and what information we can readily access. They're the ones who offer us the low paying jobs and expect us to be grateful! These corporate types manipulated our world, and our governments, till we were all their puppets – thinking and acting the way they want us to.

This is WRONG – so very wrong!

If these stock markets begin to fall and never recover we are led to believe that there will be a worldwide economic recession or depression. Well I’ve got news for you, we’ve been in one since the 1980’s or 90s. For any of us who have had to live from ‘hand to mouth’ with barely enough money to survive, it is already that way. For anyone who has had no work or very little hours or has to work two or three jobs a day – you’re already in a depression. If you get paid between 8 and 10 dollars per hour, you are living on a subsistence wage. If you are in debt because the wage doesn’t cover your expenses – you are in your own economic hell. So, that’s why I believe that the crash of the stock market would be a fantastic thing. It would end world dominance of our financial markets. It would see the rapid decline of the corporate capitalist system and it could herald a completely new way of living – one which would be fair and just and equitable for all – and not just a privileged few.

If (or should we say, ‘when’) the stock market finally crashes it will be up to us, the individuals to come together in a show of united Positive People Power, and make a new system for living. The old way is a dinosaur. It trampled over the small and the weak and the helpless. It roared and we cowered. Well, NO MORE!

We can – and we will – bring in community consultation, so we get a say in the way things are done.
We can implement local economies.
We can barter.
We can make our own food, build our own houses, grow our own vegetables, rediscover the joys of small, local businesses and build an economy from the ground up.
We will take control, in a positive way.
We will shape the present and the future.

Oh how different this will be, to the system we have now.

So, why wait? I am ready to start now! Do you want to join me?

Karen Fiala N.D and George W. Fiala B.Com (Economics) are the Founders of the AlterQuest Organization which aims to change the way society thinks and acts and is showing people how to take control over the factors in their community, their country and their world. Karen's new book "AlterQuest - the Alternative Quest for Answers" is about to be released and will revolutionize the way individuals and communities exist. It aims to unite humanity in a practical way which has never been done before, using lateral thinking combined with practical solutions which can be applied to your situation for the best possible outcome. See http://www.alterquest.org to order an advance copy of this amazing book.

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