Capitalism?

A couple weeks ago I went to the War in Iraq 6th year anniversary protest, in San Francisco. I was there strictly as a photographer this time, with no intent to join the protest. I got some amazing shots, I saw a man that looked like a hippie Jesus, I saw another claiming Obama was a Marxist. I was particularly fond of the man dressed as a wall street banker, throwing blood-soaked money at police. My favorite thing all day was probably the giant Obama effigy, dressed as Uncle Sam and asking for "you" to die for him in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I was at the protest I saw something that was somewhat depressing for the radical in me, something I can only describe as "the end of Capitalism."



I was amused by the juxtaposition of the person selling peace beads surrounded by people calling for the heads of wall street bankers. At the same time though, we're in America, we're capitalists here. So what's to stop the anti-war hippie from selling their peace beads? Beads which were undoubtedly made by Chinese sweat shop labor, for a fraction of the cost they are being sold at. Simply put, there is nothing to stop that hippie, they have the right to rip off their compatriots, though I feel it's somewhat counter productive.

Counter productivity seems to be the ever increasing norm of capitalism today. I look at the wall street banks that engaged in risky lending, of questionably legality. I have to wonder, did they think that would help their long term business? In the short term they have record profits, but at the cost of alienating some of their clients in the long term, and overall hurting their business. As a country, we could invest in new technologies that would make things easier and cheaper, like cellulosic ethanol. Instead, we are suckered into fallacies like clean coal. Americans are greenwashed into following whatever they are told is for the best. Very few people truly question the nature of facts anymore, I'm saddened by the demise of the Socractic method.

I highly recommend that everyone watches the Southpark episode Bailout!, a.k.a. Margaritaville, in the current season. Thanks to contractual obligations, it won't be online again until April 25th, but on the 25th it will be available again legally and for free here. I feel this episode of Southpark aptly demonstrates the kind of ridiculous monetary practices have been going on, and how confusing the legality of it has became. This episode not only takes on banks, it also addresses the issue of how easy it is for someone to get a credit card these days. Kyle, one of the four main characters of Southpark, all children in elementary school, obtains a platinum credit card without a limit. This is pretty unrealistic, but at the same time based in truth. The credit card companies are trying to get them young these days, like the tobacco industry. I saw an ad on Myspace, the other day, for a Myspace Visa card, and I almost choked. My step-niece is in the 8th grade and has had a Myspace page for about four years, which means she probably got it when she was around 8 or 9. I personally have a problem with kids a decade too young to even own a credit card being exposed to the corrupting influence of credit cards. The proliferation of credit cards has lead directly to the proliferation of debt in this country, and I have a problem with that. Especially when responsible taxpayers, like my mom and myself, will have to pay for these debts in the end. I still do not own a single credit card in my name, only one my mother gave me to pay for school expenses, and emergencies.

My main opposition to credit cards is because of the shocking example of my father. My dad has a half dozen credit cards and thousands of dollars in debt, I think that is ridiculous. There is no reason for someone to have that many cards, and to be allowed to get that deep in the hole. It's really his own fault, there is no denying that. Debt starts when someone is forced to live outside their means, either by spending frivolously or by not being paid a livable wage. My father's case is a combination of the two, he is 73 and on social security, but he still works. Despite this it is not enough for him to live, so he ends up charging a lot of his expenses to his credit cards.

In contrast to people like my father, we have people in this country that feel they have enough money to spend $20 on a plastic bottle of water. The very premise of H2O Bling is disgusting, like all bottled water. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of mineral water, like San Pellegrino. Morally, I think the idea of selling someone normal water for outrageous prices is repugnant. It's a matter of extremes, selling a bottle of water for 50 cents or a dollar might be reasonable, but there is no way to say $20 for a bottle of water is reasonable.