The Dems are trying to push through the humongous “stimulus” bill in a desperate attempt to slow the economic collapse. For once, Republicans are making some sense on this issue – although their new-found opposition to deficit spending would be easier to embrace if they had applied the same logic to the credit card-financed war in Iraq.

I suppose the people expect Obama and the Dems to “do something” in response to rising fears of the unfolding Great Depression II, so the politicians may as well give it their best shot. We might even benefit from rising (false) hopes for a few months.

The essential problem is in trying to fix a debt-based problem by using more debt. If the old economic model represented a giant Ponzi scheme, and we are facing collapse because we reached fundamental limits of further expansion, how will floating another trillion or so in treasury debt make any difference? Soon we shall see the Treasury holding a bond auction where no buyers show up. This is a Global Depression – you have to love the egalitarian implications in that. The Saudis and Chinese are running for cover like everyone else - who in the world has the cash to fund another US bailout?. The reign of the almighty Dollar will soon be over. The Fed will have finance government operations by purchasing Treasury bonds, which means printing money without restriction. Eventually Social Security and other government payouts will be threatened, or else we could consider adopting the Zimbabwe economic model.

In reality, no one in power is yet willing to admit the truth at this point. That will come much later. Paradigm shifts are always so hard to acknowledge in high places. Besides, Obama has surrounded himself with the same crew that created the problem, so don't look for a sudden predilection for transparency. The present game is about covering up and stalling for time.

So what should be done?

If it were my call, I would let the big banks choke on their toxic debt, and just fail. Just get out of the way. The unregulated orgy of derivative trading has left immense piles of toxic debt that dwarf the entire global GDP. The PTB must surely know that a $700B TARP bailout won’t scratch the surface – the entire strategy appears to be about forestalling the inevitable. Buying a little extra time might spell the difference between erasing some tracks and easing into that offshore haven or getting caught in the act of looting the nation’s wealth, which accurately describes what has occurred.

A depression is inevitable at this point. Get over it. The public would be best served by official acknowledgement of that reality. Congress should then turn attention toward what steps can be taken to alleviate suffering in the short term.

Rather than a pork-filled “stimulus” bill that encourages debt-strapped consumers to buy more toys, focus on extending unemployment & food stamp benefits, and helping the states maintain the most basic safety nets. Vast areas of the economy are crumbing and will collapse, and nothing can be done to prevent that. Our strategy must become one of passing through these dark days and looking ahead to what lies on the other side.

Stop home foreclosures, and require mortgages to be dramatically revised to keep people in their homes. This only makes sense, since the alternative is to inevitably have most real estate fall into bank ownership. Then, after the banks are failed and gone, who will own America?

One benefit of the coming dollar collapse will be to render moot most forms of indebtedness. It will be almost like “Jubilee” year in ancient Israel, with a level playing field and fresh start for the common folk.

We must face the reality that our predatory form of capitalism has saturated nearly every market. For many years, retail space has been expanded at 5 times the rate of population growth. Now we must deal with ghost malls and empty retail strips, and vast high-rise buildings where millions once labored in cubes while producing nothing. We have been programmed that we need more of this and that, and have sacrificed our emotional and spiritual lives in an effort to get it. We need to confront the truth that our system was not sustainable, and never had a chance to be. It was only a matter of time, and that time has happened now. This is something that all must begin to adjust to. Don’t try to revive the old system or bring it back.

There is enough material wealth in this nation to allow everyone to survive rather comfortably, if evenly distributed, once our obsession with “more” is dispelled. A depression does nothing to eliminate the means of production. It's more of a psychological phenomenon than anything tangible - not like a nuke attack took out our production facilities. Everything is still intact, except for the large chunk of our manufacturing base that has been shipped overseas, but we can begin to restore the parts that make sense. If the people can be successfully guided into a new way of thinking, without imploding into class warfare on the streets, then there is considerable hope. The recent and ongoing energy shift, noticed by sensitives all over the world, will help stir a raising of consciousness.

Herein the danger lies – once Obama throws every possible solution at the “crisis”, and despite this we move on anyway into the “catastrophe” stage, people are going to become very disappointed, angry, and then filled with rage. History shows that the outcome at that stage tends not to be pleasant. The PTB appear to accept the inevitability of this – they are stalling for enough time to find safe haven, and then plan let the masses suffer the consequences on their own.

If paradigm shift can be broached sooner, rather than later, there is hope. Depending on how much of civilization we can salvage over the next 5 years, we could manage to squeak through rather well.

If technology can be preserved and applied in a Green-conscious approach to improve this planet, this is preferable over an abrupt return to primitive conditions. If the best and brightest aspects of our culture and civilization can be preserved, rather than a return to stone-age existence, then we will be most fortunate.

It has been suggested that if our technological civilization were to be abruptly wiped out, not only would population plummet by at least 95%, but none of the easily obtainable oil and raw materials would be available for the next civilization to discover. Thus, our present attempt at civilization will have been a one-time experiment. Of course, a soft landing would be much preferred.

I write about the ongoing and unfolding paradigm shift, because I believe that a hopeful outcome is possible. We need to understand the process that is unfolding, and catch the next wave (or be swamped by it).

-Darkwave