Posted 5:30 PM by Gene

For the last twenty-five years our superiors have believed economies can glitz their way to prosperity. The Reagans and Thatchers believed if society created enough investment bankers and other hyperrich parasites who created enough screwloose schemes and paid themselves idiotic sums for said schemes their wealth would trickle down to the little people they wouldn't want to know. The Clintons and Dubyas believed if society spent zillions on a highly-controlled strictly technocratic EHDYUKAYSHUN and created a generation of Dilberts we'd have permanent prosperity through computering. There are variations: the RENDELLISTS believe in spending zillions on health care and EHDYUKAYSHUN and building casinos and convention centers and stadiums and movee studios and hoping the millions put out of work can get menial jobs therein. FDR II believes we can create shiny clouds of non-existent money and spend them to the same effect. But they too believe in glitz. We've had twenty-five years of glitz, and all that fake stardust hasn't amounted to too many specks of dust.