Tomorrow is the official Independence Day holiday, but today is a Federal holiday in the U.S. Happy Fourth of July! If you're in New York, you can even visit the crown of the Statue of Liberty, closed since September 11, 2001. (photo, National Park Service).
But most of the attention instead appears to be focused on the Pacific coast, where what has to be the world's largest concentration of journalists and hysterical sycophants since the death of Lady Di has gathered to follow the minutiae surrounding Michael Jackson's sudden demise.
Writer James Howard Kunstler sees disturbing parallels between the late Jackson and his country ("bankrupt," "has-been"), as the State of California's travails remind us. But will the thousands of info-tainment reporters camped outside Neverland use some of their Jackson down-time to cover the story behind California's fiscal crisis? Don't count on it. The audiences back home which lap up every detail about Jackson might be bored by a bit of real reporting about real people in the US.
Like the kind pictured standing behind California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as he does battle with budget and banks. As Jennifer Steinhauer reported for the New York Times,
It was unclear whether the i.o.u.’s, known as warrants, would be accepted by all of the banks in California, which were caught off guard by the move and seemed hesitant to entrust the state to repay the them — at an interest rate of 3.75 percent — in October, as promised.
Now, these would be the same banks that themselves have been receiving billions in government bailout money, some of which comes from those California taxpayers pictured behind the Governor.
I.O.U.s - reminds you of that wonderful rebranding of bailed-out "AIG" into "AIU" (what were they thinking?) - and the haughty attitude of banks in general were on my mind this morning as I sat in a stifling lobby marveling at the (lone) teller behind the glass of her air conditioned space. On the wall behind her was a poster asking people why - if they owned a computer - they didn't conduct their banking business over the internet?
As it happened, the transaction I needed to accomplish couldn't be done either over the web or at the ATMs arrayed outside this branch. Otherwise I can assure you I wouldn't have sat a minute more in that sauna. But why do we have banks? Have they completely forgotten where their money comes from? But I digress, sort of.
Back to the US. On July 4, 1776, representatives of the thirteen colonies signed the Declaration of Independence and set off the process that led to the founding of the United States of America. They had had it with the "long train of abuses and usurpations" by a distant ruler.
California has often been a trend setter or harbinger for things good and bad. If banks start biting the hand - government - that feeds them, then it won't be long before taxpayers will act on the resentment against the financial class that has been building up after bailouts, bonuses, Madoff, Stanford...
California banks: better take those State warrants, if you know what's good for you. Remember who issues your license. Hint: "I'll be back."
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