My preference for understanding why the U.S. economic system is melting down and the social fabric along with it tends to lay in Economic social media rather than Main Stream. One must look at the roots of cause and effect. I respect a hand full of individuals that understand economic theory and flaws in the creation and control of money. Alan Greenspan, the most noted Economist and Central Banker of the 20th admitted flaws in the financial system at the onset of the economic crisis in 2008.
I highly recommend you read the entire article where Alan Greenspan is being questioned by Henry Waxman about the 'flaw' and why Greenspan only takes partial accountability his own involvement to the 'flaw' in the financial model. The financial system 'model' referred to in Greenspan's testimony is the Federal Reserve System, a private corporation that creates the paper and credit money system and is in charge of the banking system in the United States, also known as the Central Bank model. Those little known facts are not as pertinent for something deeper that is both terrifying and hopefully more long-term liberating as we go off the cliff and the rocky floor rushes up to meet us.
But the reason yourself or (anybody else for that matter) can't wake up the majority of your friends, family or neighbors to completely save the United States from further ruin, fear and temporary oppression is the same reason a large majority of those reading this piece won't bother reading Greenspan's 'flaw' testimony to Waxman. I will even be insulting about it in an attempt to wake you up myself by stating again that the majority of you WON'T BOTHER reading what may be the reason you personally face total financial ruination and why those taking the time reading the Greenspan testimony are already probably well hedged and prepared to weather the storm. By this time, you're probably wondering if I am trying to sell you some kind of Wall St. securities or gold. Nope.
Now I am going to provide a diagram in a moment that is seen everywhere as a pyramid on a dollar bill and the physical pyramids seen all over the world. It explains why almost a quarter of the Greenspan testimony to Waxman seemed like ideological babble that Greenspan couldn't put his finger on himself or was hesitant to try to discuss in a short economic testimony on monetary culpability.
It will also show why you can't wake your neighbors up to do something to all jump up and fix the United States (at least not quickly) or why the massive emerging global problems are creating such fear and panic.
The diagram below is also why the Central Bankers around the world themselves can't figure out how to fix this 'flaw' quickly that melts down every economy it is initiated in, is now global and unfortunately for us, interconnected to all nations on earth. Are all Central Bankers evil, elites not sharing an ancient but profound secret to not let the United States financially heal itself? I don't think a one size fits all answer suffices but in general, no.
What you are seeing is twofold. One, this is mankind's current management paradigm and how complex organizations such as governments and businesses operate from the top down. You might have heard the terms Trickle-Down Economics. Or, have you ever thought you understood the complexities of your business far better than your boss? You probably do. The other general thing you are seeing if you take away the lines in the pyramid and the text to the right of it is how every mind operates. It is how we THINK and make decisions.
So what does this have to do why you can't wake up your loved ones to fix the government or economic system? When a nation begins it starts small and concepts such as Truth, Freedom and Justice are well understood. The Roman Empire, Chinese Dynasties, The Babylonian Empire, The Egyptian Empire, the Mayans, are well studied nations that ascended into massive empires that failed causing mass misery.
As a nation matures, the people drift away from the core anchor concepts except for those born as a Conceptual Level Thinkers. Please do not confuse Concepts with Religion although Religions contain many core concepts. Conceptual Level Thinkers stay at the top or rise to the top and are in a minority while the rest settle into the strata of the organizational pyramid. The Conceptual Level Thinkers understand all three strata while the Issue Level Thinkers understand the bottom two but not the Concepts. In general, The Conceptual Level Thinkers will control what information or resources trickle down to the bottom.
Your loved ones can't wake up in a hurry and fix things with you on what seems like such common sense because as a Conceptual Level Thinker, you’re in the minority that has to attempt to educate a massive majority that focuses on Issues and Details.
Consider how politics work and the constant inference to the Issues and the Details below them? That is reinforcing the current strata of the society of the "Status Quo". Wealth flows to the Conceptual Level Thinkers even if they happen to be a crop of well-intended political or business leadership.
As a nation matures less information and resources reach the bottom when a crop of Conceptual Level Thinkers utilize their abilities to accelerate the flow of wealth and information up the base of the pyramid. Remember, as the nation is maturing the original but small population of Conceptual Level Thinkers is shrinking. This becomes easier and easier as bad crops rotate in during the process at the top.
Most people these days hear a majority complaint of Intellectual Elites robbing them blind while they push more Issues also known as Wedge Issues or Divide and Conquer politics downward. At a tipping point of critical mass of concentrated wealth, the bottom two strata of society economically collapse completely first. In the chaos, the top of the strata go into defense mode to survive the calamity and hence issue measures of attempted control which are most often extremely oppressive.
Well-meaning Conceptual Level Thinkers and Central Bankers cannot prevent the collapse if they are outnumbered by ill-intended counterparts. The 'flaw' in the political-economic model can be solved (at least in theory) which is the bright side of this article.
The next three articles of this four part series entitled 'The Flaw' will focus on what has been done towards the fix as it expands well past the fields of Economics and math and other topics of research such as if mankind can race to stave off global economic collapse, trade wars which precede physical wars that ignited into WWI and WW2 and the best forum for the fast arriving coming global raging debate.
In the meantime, Issue and Detail Level Thinkers can begin to consider what the concepts of Truth, Freedom and Justice mean when compared to Wedge Issues and Details that are pushed down to them from above in the crescendo of blame shifting. Use common sense and as the light bulbs go off, use that computer for it's original purpose and vast expanse of knowledge.
While The Flaw cliffhanger series continues and is debated, it is my cautious audacity to hope all mankind can fit the final pieces of the puzzle together at all strata of society before impact on that rocky canyon floor.
About the Author: Jason Rines is the founder of Raging Debate, LLP. A developing social media news platform designed to understand the critical issues of our time, promote collaborative research on a global scale and begin conducting rigorous debate to solve problems, mitigate losses and renew the growth cycle in this difficult period of time.
Disclosure: "No Positions"