Fundamentals

17 Feb 2012

In 2008, the US economy crashed, bringing much of the world economy with it. The bulk of the crash was blamed on the housing markets, but really, it was about concentration of wealth. If incomes for the majority of the population remain stagnant for thirty years, but the median cost of a house increased tenfold and health care costs have gone through the roof, then is it any surprise that the economy crashed?

What is worrying is that nothing fundamental has changed about our economy. There are no new safeguards for consumers and wealth is still percolating to the top. Still people are starting to talk about recovery. But a recovery based on what? The idea that things will get better without some sort of fundamental change is naive at best. If you want to see what it looks like when you try to force things to get better without actually fixing the problem, I suggest you look towards Greece.

I don’t like it, but the more I pay attention to the news, the more I think that John Robb may be right, perhaps we are turning into a hollow state, after all. If you’re wondering what all of this has to do with writing, this is the sort of thing that is on my mind when I write things like Uprising and Soapbox (which I will start adding to again later in the month).