RSA Animate – Crisis of Capitalism

As an American I'll limit my perspective to America and its vast depth to either lead or contaminate the rest of the world with how capitalism is executed and implimented... and how a Debt Vortex was created. For our first 205 years as a nation since 1776 we were a balanced trade nation, or actually somewhat in net surplus, even a decade after 1971's 'Nixon Shock', defaulting on 1944 Bretton Woods obligations to balance our accounts with the rest of the trading world. We were exporting more than we imported, more so than less. An economic policy of a rising tide of trade lifting all boats. And we 'only' accumulated $1 Trillion in total National Debt after 205 years, hitting that benchmark in 1981.

1981's Benchmarks:
Trade: Net Surplus Trading Nation!!
National Debt: $1.0 Trillion total... after 205 yrs. 

But then the Conservative Revolution hit America with the arrival of Ronald Reagan, taking office in 1981. Reagan got there in good part by demonizing the hell out of Carter's budget deficits, promising no more deficits by 1984. Fair enough, if truly principled and intended. But Bush Sr had called Reaganomics "Voodoo Economics" for good reason. Zombie economies can only result after so much voodoo, no?  Small budget deficits, Carter's were in retrospect, and maybe the last true fiscal conservative to inhabit the White House. And Carter's America was a net surplus trading nation, EARNING our national prosperity, with a prosperous middle class and modest income disparities. America's standard of living at its core medium was vibrant, healthy, and growing.

Long story short, Reagan not only reneged on his priority to make America deficit free by 1984 -- Reagan went 180 degrees the opposite direction at Hyper Speed, expanding deficits to THREE fronts, possibly pulling in its vortex many other nations "leading by example".  Reagan set America, "the great world example" on a course of massive Triple Deficits in 1.) budget, 2.) trade, and 3.) regulatory oversight. A moon shot economic trajectory for the next 3 decades of: 30 yrs, 30x, $30 TRILLION in MASSIVE trade & budget deficit P&I costs alone, vastly contrasting our first 205 years as a nation of only amassing $1 Trillion in red ink.  30 straight years of Current Account trade deficits since 1981's last trade surplus, Carter's last budget year, totaling $8 TRILLION in trade deficits since 1981, representing "borrowed prosperity on an epic scale" according to Reagan's own OMB director, no longer EARNING our national prosperity. AND... $22 Trillion in additional National Debt P&I in the last 30 years alone. All represeting massive scale generatinal embezzlement, with feel good GOPers transfering costs to future generations via love for greedy tax cuts and hostile "starve the beast" fiscal policies in regards to national sustainablility. And FREE TRADE snuffed-out Fair Trade.

Reagan's own Office of Management & Budget (OMB) director David Stockman said all that and much more in his August 1, 2010 NY Times op-ed "Four Deformations of the Apocalypse: How My Republican Party Destroyed the American Economy". The cliff notes to his book: "The Triumph of Politics: How the Reagan Revolution Failed" can be found in the NY Times book reviewed by Michael Kinsley from May 11, 1986 "In the Land of the Magic Asterisk", a must read on how Reagan made sausage out of the American economy and packaged it for consumption. Of course that was preceded by one of the classic cover stories of all time in poli-economics: Dec 1981's Atlantic Monthly bombshell cover story: "The Education of David Stockman". Which need's it's own precursor of a read up on August 15, 1971's "Nixon Shock".  And tying all that economic sausage-making together was William Greider's book "The Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country" that spanned looks at the 60's, 70's and mid 80's, focusing on Paul Volcker's tenure at the Fed and its interaction with fiscal policy makers in the White House & congress. 

That would make for quite an annimated storytelling narrative & visual of America's twisted deformations of Capitalism in the modern economic era: Triple Deficits: 30 yrs, 30x, $30 Trillion. The rest of the world just got caught up in the Debt Vortex and the unleashing of a "Den of Thieves" at a "Predator's Ball" with a "License to Steal" in the 1980's by telltale Wall Street authors James B. Stewart, Connie Bruck, and Benjamin J. Stein respectively

I don't normally do this however I read a article on the huffington post about how unemployment was lowering to lift expectancy of people here in America.  Being employed for over a year it made me question the whole system of capitalism.  So I googled capitalism on the internet.  I really didn't know what I was looking for however I'm glad that I found this video.  It explain what happen better than anything I found so far.  And I searched through 14 pages of suggestions on google.  Thank you   

Very useful you possess lots of understanding on this subject.

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The starting point of capitalism is more in fourteenhundretsomewhat, when control over capital moved from political powers to private financiers.

Which, combined with interest make it so one sided in the long run. You don't have to give up market to drop capitalism, a fact that obviously many commentators don't understand when they comment as if the only alternative would be communism.

This is fabulous! Who did the cartooning? Surely Harvey would want the person recognized.