Corporate Conspiracy against the American Consumer

For many years, Lewis Black has been one of my favorite comedians. I have watched his HBO special many times, to the point I can repeat verbatim. This Sunday morning I awoke and granted it wasn’t my first thought of the day, but after being awake for an hour and sipping on my second cup of coffee, I thought of our economy.

Our economy is based on credit and the success of economy is based on the success of the credit markets. That to me is very unnerving. How can you build an economy on credit? We virtually have an economy based on money that we borrow and don’t actually have. Scary. No wonder we have economic issues.

In Lewis Black’s HBO special he talked about water-the essence of life. As a child water was clean and we could drink from the spigot. Now our water that comes from the spigot is not very clean and many buy they water bottled. This example has nothing to do with water, but big business. Make the water dirty that comes from our spigots so we will be encouraged to BUY water from the grocery store. Water, like other natural things (love) should be free. But we will spend a hefty price for both.

Consumers spend what you earn. Well, the average salaries have not kept up with inflation so many people cannot get by on just what they earn. They need credit. We need credit. Let me reiterate, by keeping salaries below inflation rates, encourages people to buy on credit. Making water undrinkable that comes from you tap, encourages you to buy bottled water. In my crazy, rebellious mind, this is a corporate conspiracy against the American people. And thank you Lewis Black, I am not the only one to see this.

The question goes out for the American consumer. Are we satisfied being patsies in a corporate conspiracy? I like many would love to spend only what I earn. I do not want to depend on the disingenuous hand of the credit lender. But what are we going to do? If we don’t use this credit, this will reflect poorly on our credit score which would make it difficult for us to get more credit when we truly need it.

Pay in Full

“Whoever has the most stuff at the end, wins.”

And I bet the credit card companies are hoping to be winners come the end of time. Do they expect St. Peter will be handing out blue ribbons at the pearly gates? They drink from gold chalices filled with champagne as we debtors live in eternity in the pits of hell. I doubt the white fluffy clouds of heaven can hold the weight of the fat cats of the credit industry.

As many debtors anxiously await legislation to take effect in 2010, I wonder what will happen December 21, 2012 when some prophesies predict doomsday. Will creditors collect our debt in full with long spiny fingers? The Grim Reaper goes by many names-Chase, Citi and B of A. Heck they still try to collect from folks who pass away. I can’t imagine what they will do to collect their money during Doomsday.

But what happens if 2012 is not the end of days, but a change in the paradigm as some philosophers predict. What the heck does that mean? Well, hopefully we will learn lessons of humanity, which have nothing to do with greed and materialism. What a Utopian ideal-humanity would not have to depend on the soiled hands of credit lenders. What if we learn the value lesson of spending what we earn?

Perhaps in the end, we can hope it means the end of corruption and greed. If we’re lucky, it would be the end of a system that rewards those who prey on the misfortune of others. What if the mass majority of debtors shout, “No way, we won’t pay!” What if we protest our identity being assigned by a three digit number by the credit bureau? What if we say, take your FICO system and shove it? What if big brother isn’t the government, but corporate CEO’s brandishing our human identity in a numbered system in which they can make greater profit?

Some may say this blog promotes a dangerous agenda of defying credit lenders and even our own debts. It is not the debts I deny, it is humanity I question. What does the current credit and FICO system speak for humanity and individuality? When we are all dust in the wind, what will history speak of us; a free people driven by materialism and greed, or an imprisoned society twisted in a web of corporate corruption? It is for our generation to decide our fate. The outcome rests solely on our combined shoulders.