[url=http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=17214]Michael Hudson wrote:[/url]
There are two economies – and the extractive FIRE sector dominates the “real” economyWhen listening to the State of the Union speech, one should ask just which economy Mr. Obama means when he talks about recovery. Most wage earners and taxpayers will think of the “real” economy of production and consumption. But Mr. Obama believes that this “Economy #1” is dependent on that of Wall Street. His major campaign contributors and “wealth creators” are in the FIRE sector – Economy #2, wrapped around the “real” Economy #1.
Economy #2 is the “balance sheet” economy of property and debt. The wealthiest 10% lend out their savings to become debts owed by the bottom 90%. A rising share of gains are made in extractive ways, by charging rent and interest, by financial speculation (“capital gains”), and by shifting taxes off itself onto the “real” Economy #1.
The parasite has taken over the host's brain. America has descended totally and hopelessly into financial oligarchy.