老美看美国：资本主义死了！

股票市场得救了，资本主义死了！

作者：罗杰    (October 13, 2008)       译者： 丹奇

过去六个月我们已经看到我们的经济发生了翻天覆地的变化。资本主义世界的“圣杯”（纽约证券交易所）及其共生的自由市场变成了人类历史上最大的社会主义行为。所有这一切就发生在世界上最大的资本主义经济（或其他此类经济）的老巢 --美利坚合众国！

为何华尔街今天如此高兴（2008年10月13日星期一）？喔，考虑到上个星期是股票市场历史上最糟糕的一个星期，总共损失了市值三万亿美元（对，是“万亿”）。在周末，这些“自由世界”经济的领袖们在华盛顿首府相会。欧盟决定对他们的银行系统注入两万三千亿美元---华尔街总算有点什么值得庆贺的事情。政府已准备赎他们出来---用劳动阶级的钱包和肩膀。

现在，我觉得不仅仅是有点讽刺意味了。归根结底，正是这帮“华尔街”人多年来述说我们应该对有需要人们的开支进行削减：教育计划，就业计划，以及对那些没有保险的人们，尤其是孩童提供的健保计划方面。“让自由市场自我调节”是他们叫嚣的口号。对华尔街富翁们来说，社会主义和政府救市的事只会发生在别人身上。当要求他们“投降“时，他们借口说经济状况良好。多么讽刺！难道不正是这帮华尔街人群一开始就搞得一团糟吗？ 现在他们把整个美国和欧洲的银行系统整垮了，把亚洲置于比1998年金融风暴更大的压力下，却来摇尾乞怜，要求特殊待遇？不但是特殊待遇，而且是提出了任何地方历史上最大的“救救我”的要求！就在昨天，十月十二日星期天，一家日本银行为摩根斯坦利注入了九十亿美元来保住它不倒闭。摩根斯坦利拿着这笔钱干啥？他们准备把比他们更小的竞争者买下来，以减少玩家。然后他们要干什么？然后他们就可以更容易地把手伸到我们的后袋里。因为现在竞争对手减少了。有些人永远也不会吸取教训。

我有万千个理由反对救市。但最主要的理由是救赎这么多溺水的人，最后救人者由于疲劳自己也会溺水。美国劳动阶级就像你从未看见过的汽车上的部件。正是汽车部件使汽车能跑动。汽车可以看上去很亮堂，很新，但如果你从来没有给汽车换过机油，灌满汽油，它就不会动弹。我们已经没有汽油了。你看不见的部件（工人阶级）经过长时间的过多的负荷已经生锈并不会动弹了。（十万亿国债以及过去三十年一直追赶不过通货膨胀的工资）。现在，汽车需要全面的检修（社会主义制度改革，政府注资和市场干预）这样这辆闪闪发光的车子才能开的动。

股票市场和银行可能已经得救了。华尔街的家伙们可以保住他们的饭碗和在汉普顿的大房子了。但是，资本主义死了----死于自己的手中。自杀，由于贪婪。

列宁曾经说过，“我们可以卖给资本家上吊用的绳子”。他可谓千真万确。我们自己制作了这根绳子。（完）

(译者注：作者为译者美国夫婿，浸淫美国金融市场二十多年的经济学专家，对美国的现状痛心不已）

英语原文：

THE STOCK MARKET WAS SAVED

BUT CAPITALISM DIED

                                Roger S. (October 13, 2008)

What a turn of events in the past 6 months we have seen in our economy. The holy grail of the capitalistic world ( the New York Stock Exchange ) and its commensurate free market has been turned into the largest socialistic action in the history of the human race and it all happened in the home of the largest capitalistic economy ( or any other economy for that matter ) in the world – the UNITED STATES !

Why is Wall Street so happy today ( Monday October 13, 2008 )? Well, considering that last week was the worst in the history of the stock market with a total loss of value of nearly $3 Trillion ( yes, Trillian with a T ) in market value and over the weekend the leaders of the “free world” economies met in Washington D.C. and the European Union decided to inject up to $2.3 Trillion U.S. dollars into their banking system – Wall Street had something to finally cheer about. The governments were going to bail them out – on the backs and wallets of the working class.

Now, I find this more than a little ironic. After all, it’s the “Wall Street” crowd that for years has said we should cut back spending on people in need, on education, on jobs programs, health care programs for the uninsured and health care for children specifically. “The free markets work well when left alone” was their battle cry. For the “rich” crowd on Wall Street socialism or government bailouts is something that happens to other people. When it’s them that needs a “hand up” it’s sound economic policy, they reason. How ironic. Isn’t it the “Wall Street” crowd that made this mess in the first place? And now that they’ve so messed up the entire banking system in the U.S. and Europe and put strain on Asia greater than the 1998 financial problems they come with their hat in hand begging for special deals? Not just special deals but the largest “help me out” request in history, anywhere ! Just yesterday, Sunday October 12th, a Japanese bank injected $9billion into Morgan Stanley to keep them from failing. What’s Morgan Stanley going to do with the money? Their going to buy their smaller competitors to reduce the playing field so they can do what? So they can get in our back pocket again easier than before because now the competition is reduced. Some people never learned.

I was against the bailout for a myriad of reasons but mostly because saving so many  drowning people will ultimately make the rescuer tired and he too eventually shall drown. The working class in America is like the parts of a car that you never see. It’s the part of the car that makes it run. The car can look new and shiny, but if you haven’t changed the oil and kept gas in it the car won’t go. We’ve run out of gas and the parts you don’t see ( the working class )  have become rusted and worn down from too many burdens over time ( $10Trillion national debt and wages that haven’t kept up with inflation in the past 30 years ) and now the car needs a complete overhaul ( socialistic regulatory reform and government injection and intervention in the markets ) so that shiny car will work again.

The Stock Exchange and the banks may have been saved. The Wall Street guys will keep their jobs and big houses in the Hamptons. But, Capitalism died – and it died by its own hand. Suicide, by greed.

Lenin once said “we will sell the capitalist the rope with which to hang them”. He was almost right. We made the rope ourselves.