January 6, 2009 -It has been reported that the global economic meltdown has a label, "MADE IN THE USA." Sub-prime loans were issued in gay abandon. The bubble burst. There began the Housing Crisis. Millions of Americans lost their homes.

Recently, a Congressional Financial Services Committee reported that between 2000 and 2008 mortgage fraud was up 1200%!!! Everyone today has blamed most things on the "greed" of Wall Street people. Some years ago, if you referred to the "greed" of business people you would become a subject for insult, and would be pilloried for it. In those United States today, the description has become normal and is used even by business people, especially Republicans, in effect to describe themselves.

From my notes I recorded the following TABLE OF TROUBLE. It comprises the most important institutions to collapse. It is not an exhaustive list:

1. BEAR STEARN fell into early trouble consequent to the credit crunch. It was rescued.
2. FANNIE MAY, and (3), FREDIE MARK collapsed under enormous losses. Share prices sank stone-like to no return. Government decided to extend to them unlimited credit. Even that proved futile. Government nationalized them.
3. INDY MAC, a major bank, crashed. Government took it over. Last week a group of investors paid Government some US$16b for INDY MAC.
4. Small businesses by then began finding it difficult to get loans and were going bankrupt.
5. LEHMAN BROTHERS, another massive bank, wrote down billions of bad property-related assets and itself came down.
6. MERRIL LYNCH, the biggest corporation in the world in what it does, allowed itself to be taken over by Bank of America, to remove the threat of insolvency or bankruptcy.
7. AIG, Insurance giant, was reported in serious trouble. Government nationalized it. We understand that a couple of well-known insurance companies operating in Dominica are subsidiaries of AIG. The nationalism by the US Government, in fact, saved those Dominicans insured with those companies. So, if you believe that we are insulated from the greed of Wall Street, New York, think again.
8. MORGAN STANLEY, another huge bank was struck by the plague. Shares sank.
9. "BAIL OUT" became a popular word in Washington and New York. Government determined to rescue the market from the disaster of its own making. The die-hard capitalists in CONGRESS uttered a cry of horror: "LET THEM GO BANKRUPT…THAT IS CAPITALISM. GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE OF THIS NATURE WILL LEAD DOWN THE ROAD TO SOCIALISM."
10. WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK collapsed. President Bush proposed a US$700 billion bail-out. It passed Congress even in a more elaborate form. Clearly, Wall Street had already humbled itself to Washington.
11. The 3 big automobile companies went begging for help in Washington. Congress said No. Mr. Bush helped them, because the industry employs 3 million people. But some say he has simply put them on life-support. They will go bankrupt.
12. They say the US steel industry will meet the same fate.
13. It has been reported that in October 2008 alone, unemployment in the US jumped by 500,000; and the value of the wealth of those who hold shares, internationally, dropped somewhere between 10% and 40% in 2008.
14. Add to that, Mr. Bernard Madoff was arrested on allegations that he was involved in a US$50 billion fraud of many people and institutions, many of them Jewish as himself.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States received 29 warnings against Madoff's methods; some of those were very authoritative and sophisticated tips. The SEC did not act, bust has now called upon the Inspector-General of SEC to investigate the SEC.

Capitalism is not dead; but like the Palestinians, it is bazoudie, traumatized and wounded; though at a different dimension.

At (8) above, you must have taken more than a hint that Dominicans are not immune to the international happenings. Add the barrel economy and remittances from abroad and say goodbye to insulation. Remember my hopes of many years ago: we can declare food independence by falling back into our own backyard and planting some food.

Some years ago, there was introduced the Dominica Unit Trust. One bad investment and it run into jeopardy. It seems, we, aided and abetted by the ECCB, allowed it to die for a couple million EC dollars. Capitalism or no capitalism, see how the government of the USA is attempting to rescue its own - even where there was evidence of fraud.

Allan Williams, PhD, has massive academic and "real world" credentials. I recall when he lost patience with the absurdity, if gospel, that government should never interfere, but should leave the price mechanism - the invisible hand - to right all things in the economy.

Allan responded: "Until one day you wake up and find the invisible hand up in your ass."

This has befallen owners and employees of all those corporations that we have outlined above.