THE WALL ST CRASH OF !928 v. THE CRASH OF 2008

1928, the bankers, they threw themselves out of windows.
This time round, they’re throwing themselves into their putting at the country club.

1928, it was all baleful looks.

2008, it’s all about baling out.

1928, they went without shoes.

This time, they’re waiting for the other one to fall.

1928, the atmosphere was leaden.

This time, it’s golden parachutes.

1928, until the last minute, the bankers were pie in the sky.

2008, until the last minute, Alan “Ace” Greenberg, chairman of Bear Stearns for more than 20 years, had his head in the sand.

But for hundreds of thousands of regular folk, 2008 is looking, and feeling, exactly like 1928 (just as Iraq is looking, and feeling, exactly like Viet Nam). These are the men, women and children who were foreclosed, lost their homes., and now sleep in automobiles, hostels, and makeshift rentals.

Their only crime; they believed the mortgage lenders, AKA Bear Stearns (est. 1924) & all the others along Wall Street.

Their other crime; they weren’t born bankers. Bankers, the more inept the better, don’t get foreclosed, they get bailed out.

Meantime, most of those ordinary folk’s homes stand empty, deteriorating, like the banks that repossessed them.

Meantime, those that now live in their automobiles can’t even move them. The price of gas is going balistic, just like the profits at Big Oil.

Meantime, those that now live in automobiles are going hungry. The price of a loaf of sliced white has skyrocketed thanks to Bush’s ethanol fiasco.

Meantime, Wall Street waits for the other shoe to fall.

When it does, thousands more will be forced to sleep in their automobiles.

You can bet your bottom, worthless, dollar it won’t be the bankers.