There was an excellent and thought provoking 1953 science fiction film entitled, "Forbidden Planet", in which the core theme goes to the very heart of our present economic dilemma.

The film's story line dealt with an Earth spaceship in search of a missing party of scientists, sent out earlier to study the remains a million year old civilization, known as the Krell.

The answer as it turned out, was that the Krell had achieved the ultimate state of technological advance - the power of creation by thought: but had neglected the power of the - ID.

The ID being the subconscious area of the evolving brain that retains the essence of the beast from which that race of beings evolved. So when the Krell gained the power to create by thought, unwittingly, they afforded the same power to that long forgotten beast that dwelled within them - and in the end sowed the seeds of their own destruction.

Have we possibly, from the point of economic growth mechanics, not accomplished the same destructive end, by failing to recognize Greed for what it is? In America's case, our power to create can be referred to as the lynchpin of Greed - Unregulated Free Market Capitalism.

It's the Economy, But Who's Stupid?

Who out there really understands - the science of economics? The answer is a resounding - no one! And the reason for this vacuum in such an important field of social stability is that, quite simply, there is no - Real Science' of Economics.

The field of Economics has always been (like psychology) a 'speculative' field at best, for in real science, everyone's theory cannot be right. And to a large degree the very language of Finance as relates to Economics is itself comprehensively murky, utterly confusing to those not professionally steeped in it, and polluted with speculation masquerading as exact knowledge. And did I forget to mention, all of its proclaimed experts are in their estimation - correct.

If you face to face question their skills, what you will more often than not get in reply is the smug answer - you just don't understand, or it's above your educational capabilities. That of course is - professional crap!

I can breakdown the essence of chemistry to the understanding capability of a child, as can a physicist the astronomer or mathematician, because we are dealing with - 'real science.'

In a nutshell, the dubiously titled 'science of economics', bolstered by complex mathematical models and derived via the extensive application of the mathematical science of Calculus, in the end presents one with, at best - an approximated close educated guess based upon past odds.

This is exactly the same as the proverbial 'throw of the dice' at the hands of the purported lucky player. But be aware that his skill does not derive from any innate ability to beat the odds, but from the fact that he gambles every day and his losses are limited by the fixed denominations of the dice. He is not competing against the ups and down of a world market place.

In reality, the economists guess is just slightly below the accuracy of the skilled weather forecaster. The advantage it has is that, during times when the economy is going reasonably well of its own volition, it appears to be accurate.

Plain and simple, the stock market is - Las Vegas for everyone, and all of its investment packages are, for want of a better term - gambling: and stock brokers are - professional gamblers. The big difference is they don't gamble with their money, for their profits are taken off the top at the beginning of the gambling session: often referred to as - investing. So in the end they gamble with your money, your 401K, your children's college education, your life savings and your financial future.

In short, I have nothing against gamblers, be they back alley, Las Vegas gaming tables or Wall Street professionals. But I do insist that they represent themselves as what they are - Gamblers.

FOX News: Epicenter of Economic Disinformation

There was a time when I thought that the Conservative based news network did, indeed, come upon us like a breath of fresh air unto what had been a news world governed as (to quote the late Wm. F. Buckley) virtually a - Liberal Dictatorship. Unfortunately, that has not been the case of late.

FOX is the network that has done their level best to convince the viewing public to believe that 'high taxation' of the wealthy amounted to - Taxing Success. And under the same umbrella of self imposed delusion, they have continuously derided the idea of a 'windfall profits tax' on energy companies. I make this note particularly when speaking of FOX News's deliberate consorting to disseminate disingenuous information and reporting.

In fact, without actually coming out in a straight forward definitive statement, they have managed to editorially execute a skillful Fred Astair/Ginger Rogers around the issue, to spread the message that the super wealthy should be taxed less - and for what reason? :

The Fox News Theory - so they might reinvest those profits in the nation's manufacturing and financial infrastructure - to the good of the American common citizen.

To which claim I am obligated to inquire of the FOX people - then why has the IRS been able to get wind of so many hidden American held accounts (suspected of amounting to billions of dollars) in Cayman Island and Swiss bank accounts? Are they planning to invest in the Cayman Islands or Switzerland? I think not!

They do so for the same reasons American owned lucrative cruise lines (earning billions per year in total) register their ships and companies in foreign ports - to avoid full U.S. taxation rates.

What the Fox propagandists for the wealthy fail to recognize is that the super wealthy became so because of the largess of the open opportunities of this great country - and on the backs of its people. They owe to the United States of America - full taxation at the highest rate allowable by law - and they should be made to pay it - in full.

The Essence of Controls and Limits

In the world of science it has long been established that all systems require limits, so that they do not run wild and remain in control.

After all, what engineer or rocket-scientist would build an automobile or spaceship in which its operation is initiated by throwing a switch to its highest level and simply - letting it rip! That would be equivalent to building an elevator that only goes up.

Common sense would dictate that eventually one of two events would take place with that automobile or spaceship: a crash when the device ran out of fuel, or when it came to a stop by impacting with something.

Unfortunately for America, we have cultured a deadly financial concept that not only allows this sort of thinking, but actually encourages it and often worships at the altar of its base premise - Unregulated Free Market Capitalism.

On the backs of this debacle we have allowed the CEO's and Money Men of the finance and banking world to make ridiculous salaries, enhanced by incredibly lucrative perks, so extensive in fact, that many will allow the that individual to keep their hands in the public's pocket - long after they have 'Golden Parachuted' from the burning organization.

No American CEO is likely to be worth more than ten percent above the mean average of the company heads of all the major corporations in the world - with particular reference to the one's that are successful.

We have allowed a corporate culture to develop where those at the top win handsomely when they succeed and, sometimes, even more handsomely when they lose. In other words, financially, they can never lose regardless of how much financial carnage they leave in their wake. To my way of thinking, this is tantamount to declaring them - Gods.

By taking this stance we, like the mythical Krell, have loosened the beast within our financial system - and it seeks to devourer and destroys us.

Humans and Greed: A Long Relationship

For humans - Greed is an infection for which there is no cure. We have suffered its incursion into our psyches from the time the first caveman of a clan decided he wanted two servings of community food - even though the first serving had satisfactorily sated his hunger. And from that time on, Greed became the inner craving for that which was beyond physical hunger namely - power.

At best, all we can do is moderate Greed in our financial systems and, buffer its spread when the infection tends to get out of control. Unfortunately, in the present crisis it would appear to even the least introspective eye - neither of these options were exercised or put into play during the last 30 years.

Does Greed exist in the corporate world? Absolutely! Side by side with corruption! Why else would anyone need to make thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions or billions of dollars more than they require to live the best and most lavish lifestyle that can be conceived? Power - plain and simple!

When one has obtained all they can materially, the only remaining conquest is power over those below them. Sound familiar? And it was just this sort of rule by the whims of kings, queens and princes that the founders of America sought to overcome, by empowering the common citizen with a - Constitutional Democratic Republic.

Well it worked for almost two hundred years, but started to crumble in intent when the common citizen reached for a fairer piece of the progress pie. He and she were evaluated and found to be too costly, so first they were downsized and, when this alone did not sate the hunger of the bottom line, their jobs were shipped off to foreign lands and the skills of cheap labor.

And to respectfully paraphrase the late Paul Harvey, "Now America, you have suffered the rest of the story."

We Must Stop Deluding Ourselves

Americans have always tended to believe their own press about themselves as a nation, rather than accept it for what it really is - Home Grown Fiction!

The prideful battle cry of "Remember the Alamo!" is an ode to our stealing a very large piece of Mexico from the Mexican people. The wholesale massacre of the American Indian was our way of 'liberating' people from their rightful lands, and making American citizens of them - against their will. The famous 'gunfight at the OK Corral', was actually up the street from the OK Corral, and involved a long-running highly questionable monetary feud between two groups of cowboys - one of which just happen to have lawmen status. And for the record the glorious Texas Rangers, before they became glorious, were a vicious band of bloodthirsty 'just barely legal' renegade lawmen.

Maybe its time we rewrote our history books to reflect more of these facts, because how we relate our history appears to have played a great part in the acquired blindness to home-grown evil we have developed.

Yes, I too love the 'tall tales' of America's glorious and colorful past, but it is this habitual and heroic diversion from fact that has allowed us to ever increasingly elect to high office, the intellectually inept, corrupt and socially delusional individuals we do.

During the last 30 years, we have developed a powerful and decided tendency to willfully confuse patriotism with political partisanship. And on a daily basis to delude ourselves as to the lofty goals of those to whom the almighty dollar or radical social reconstruction agenda is paramount over what is best for the long-term good of the people, morality or common sense.

How else can we even begin to explain the election of either George W. Bush or Barack Hussein Obama to the presidency of the United States - at this critical juncture in our history? Absolute Madness!

We as a nation have come to see things and people as we want them to be, not as they are. And by accepting these 'delusions of reality' we have allowed ourselves to become a nation that is now, like it or not, socially corrupt and morally bankrupt.

Should anyone feel that I am way off the mark, I ask that they step back and take a lean hard look at the daily roster of vicious crimes committed by our youth. The list includes rape, infanticide, patricide and just plain homicide: often perpetrated by youthful felons of high school age - or less. Now tell me that I am wrong! I don't think so!

This present Financial Crisis too has roots that go far deeper than most Americans are willing to come to grips with. But we as a people had better do so - and soon, because - the life we save may be America's.

Your comments - The voices of our readers

Hi, cool site, good writing. Poonia Brurnot, Norfolk Island, Australia   I did not want to think so but it has become most apparent OBAMA is OneBadAssMistakeAmerica! He is not a leader, he is all just "Jive Talk". It is worse then business as usual. OUR government and all the politicians within are on a heyday to bankrupt our country. G.R., Fort Lauderdale, FL .