Astrology Explored

September 26, 2008

The gathering of the major players of both political parties found little common ground in packaging a bail out of the financial markets, leaving all the players a little bruised and bloodied. In the mean time, JP Morgan Chase scooped up another financial institution after the government seized its assets. Known affectionately (or not so) known as WaMu (Washington Mutual) was bought at the bargain price of 1.9 billion. This now makes JPMorgan Chase the second largest bank in the United States. Who says the free enterprise systems doesn’t work? Well, its not working for WaMu’s investors who had all their assets wiped out in the deal. And this is the sort of thing that has both the Republicans and the Democrats skittish about the proposed 700 billion dollar bailout.

The plan’s centerpiece still is for the government to buy the toxic, mortgage-based assets of shaky financial institutions in a bid to keep them from going under and setting off a cascade of ruinous events, including wiped-out retirement savings, rising home foreclosures, closed businesses, and lost jobs.

But:

Late Thursday, McCain’s campaign issued a statement saying, “the plan that has been put forth by the administration does not enjoy the confidence of the American people as it will not protect the taxpayers and will sacrifice Main Street in favor of Wall Street.”

The proposal then, is that the government has the false money supply of the debt markets shifted from the private sector to the public sector, letting the banks keep the healthier parts of their business. But is this enough to shore up the economy? As we know and have seen from Bush, Sr.’s and Ronald Regan’s tenure in office, government debt has its own toxic effect on the economy, as the banks eventually need the money back that the government borrows from them. Also, no matter how strong we make the private sector, we’ve all seen that contrary to Ronald Regan’s assertion, the “trickle down” theory does not work.

Currently the government, in its desperation to head off a Depression, as in the example with JPMorgan Chase, is seizing assets and selling them to the most willing bidder. All this is doing is stealing money from investors of the seized banks and transferring assets to the buyer. Mind you that such a deal at any other time would have received extremely close scrutiny to avoid companies like Chase from securing a monopoly in the market. This “fire sale” along with the proposed 700 billion buyout does little for the American Public while giving a wink and a nod to the bigger fish feeding off the smaller.

Pluto in the last throws of its sojourn in Sagittarius is looking for fire sales and bailouts, but with Mercury in Retrograde, nothing is likely to pan out or hold. With the Saturn/Uranus opposition private markets are pitted against public concerns. With the Sun in Libra, everyone wants to get along, but in challenge aspect to Pluto, the power dynamics of the proposals put forth are just plain scary.

As any astrologer will tell you, its best not to make deals during the retrograde phase of Mercury. Better to wait three weeks and come up with a better plan and implement it quickly.
But why listen to the astrologers. The government and the private sector has made so many good decisions on its own. Yeah, right.

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