On the Current State of Affairs

Financial deregulation is an ill-conceived plan to spur economic growth through paper speculation, and it has been nothing short of disastrous. Inflation is a direct result of this, leading to the implementation of controls on the real economy, which in turn causes unemployment. To make matters worse, employment standards are lowered to counteract the high unemployment rate, resulting in unstable job creation and further inflation, culminating in sky-high interest rates. John Ralston Saul sums it up perfectly in Voltaire’s Bastards: the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to combat inflation, while the majority of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, resulting in an upward transfer of wealth to the wealthy elite, who are the ones responsible for the crisis in the first place. This is an outrageously unfair situation that must be rectified immediately.

The world is held under an oppressive thumb of pedantic authority. Whether this force is natural or symbiotic, it requires an immense strength of character to survive such suffering. When Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men live in quiet desperation”, was he referring to the modern 21st century economy? Not only in America are citizens struggling to make ends meet, but the gap between the wealthy and the poor is widening. Not only are the arts and humanities being removed from schools, but people are becoming less creative. This begs the question: do life experiences strip away the youthful exuberance of a poet? Does it prevent us from questioning our leaders? “One must still have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star”, yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the courage to do so. It is clear that this oppressive force is having a detrimental effect on society, and it is time to take a stand against it.

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