Rumblings from the Left--They're not buying Obama/Geithner either

The Atlantic Monthly boasts a loooong tradition as a linchpin of the East Coast Liberal Establishment. How interesting then, to see the editors feature this article by Simon Johnson, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.

His conclusion is sobering, namely that we are on the way to becoming a banana republic (and I don't mean the hip retailer), characterized by an unholy alliance between the political leadership and the heads of the banking establishment.

(Have we noticed that our President had a friendly sit-down the with heads of the banks on Friday, and fired the CEO of GM on Sunday? Have we even wrapped our heads around the fact the the President of the United States fired the CEO of General Motors?)

It isn't just the so-called 'right-wing-nut-cases' saying this. Those guys can easily be dismissed, if one is in the mood not to listen. Simon Johnson, you can't dismiss; he's been there, done that, and has the chilling tales to tell.

In my mis-spent youth, I worked in a banana republic(a country south of here, not the retailer). I was shocked daily by the grinding poverty of so many, the flaunted wealth of so few, the families in the middle running full tilt just to stay in place, and the rampant cynical corruption that permeated the entire society.

The IMF had to be called in when things totally broke down, as did our Treasury. The cost of meltdown was deemed to be too high, and the proverbial Day of Judgement was postponed for about fifteen years(in other words, until now).

Trust me, we don't want to live that way. The article is worth the time you'll spend reading it.

Again, it's not about a weak economy driving culture astray; it's about cultural decay driving the economy over the cliff. It's the only place a decayed culture can drive an economy.