Optimists on the Titanic
By Michael Kleen

As we blindly sail farther into the twenty first century, we are just beginning to witness the unraveling of our economic foundations.  Like the fabled HMS Titanic, the U.S. economy was thought to be invincible.  And like the Titanic, our economy has drifted into dangerous waters and has mired itself on an iceberg.  As long as nothing too large battered its hull—as long as American consumers continued to consume—it promised to sail amid luxurious comfort and extravagance.  As the passengers laughed and played, none suspected that danger lurked just beneath the surface.  Even as the mighty ship slowly sank, many were convinced that the end was not at hand, and its precious few lifeboats were launched half empty.  Like the Titanic’s unfortunate passengers, we too may be left floating in icy waters. 
   
It was, of course, our fault for taking the ride.
   
Along with our bloated, centralized and bureaucratic social regime, we inherited from the Progressive Era an economy in which the greased up hands of the local, state, and Federal governments have replaced Adam Smith’s invisible hand.  Rather than alleviating the excesses of business, unwarranted government meddling has created a new kind of monopoly capitalism administered by a class of cheerful robots who work for a handful of executives who simply sit in boardrooms and collect checks without any loyalty to our country, their employees, or even their own companies.
   
These behemoths are not spread out over the entire nation, rather, their headquarters are concentrated in one or two major cities, doing violence to a nation hungry for jobs, not to mention freedom of speech and expression.  When the majority of publishing companies, cable television stations, and record labels are centered in one city, such as New York, and owned by the same three parent companies, it would be naïve to believe that freedom of expression is not threatened.
   
Furthermore, the failings of our centralized economy have become all the more apparent in the wake of the recent financial crisis wherein banks and corporations proclaimed “too big to fail” tottered on the brink of collapse.  In September 2008 mortgage companies that have been around for generations disappeared almost overnight.  Because the bad assets that led to their failure were held by a meager three or four conglomerates, two of which were already owned and operated by the Federal Government, their downfall has affected markets all over the world.
   
But our money isn’t the only thing endangered by centralization.  Our food supply is also put at risk.  Early in 2008 we bore witness to the largest beef recall in history.  Because one slaughterhouse provided all the beef to thousands of products and millions of Americans, its closure sent a shockwave through the entire food market, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in waste.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, over 174.3 million pounds of meat and poultry have been lost to recalls since February 2007.
   
In February 2008, three underwater Internet cables broke, plunging most of Asia and the Middle East back into the 1970s in terms of digital communication. 
   
All of this adds up to one thing: we would be much better off with a locally oriented, diversified and decentralized economy.  There is no reason why all sectors of the economy could not be localized, thus significantly increasing freedom of expression while reducing the impact of something like a bank failure, beef recall, power outage, or Internet outage.  Additionally, it would be easier to hold business owners accountable if something goes wrong.
   
That kind of market economy, when placed on an even competitive field and managed by private hands, would benefit the whole community and not just a few moneyed capitalists who care not whether their workers live in Bangladesh or their money comes from China. 
   
Let’s get this ship back on course.

This short opinion piece is by no means authoritative, but is simply meant to be an introduction to this issue.

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