The Economy - A Poem by Joel V Benjamin

I bought a computer with which to play;
It was not made in the U.S.A.
But in some place a world away
By children working 14 hours a day
In terrible conditions for their pay

It was not always this way
Unions used to have their say
And kept jobs from going away.

Businesses wanted wages low
So their jobs had to go

To other continents like Asia
To nations like China and Malaysia

How could we let this occur
Without so much as a stir?

Corporations gave politicians cash
To stuff workers’ rights in the trash

While the pols tell voters lies
The press fools all but the wise

As workers here saw their jobs flee
CEOs pocketed bonuses with glee

For cleverly cutting their cost
Never mind what else was lost

Fired workers searched classified pages
To find jobs with lower wages

Some found work; others did not
Americans’ savings dropped a lot

Consumers used credit instead of money
The economy continued to look sunny

Financial regulators looked the other way
As banks made borrowers their prey

The news media played their part
Letting bankers practice the art

Of bundling bad loans
That floated like stones

News consumers did not learn
Of financial fires that started to burn

Until the house of cards went up in smoke
And everyone from their dreams awoke

To the horror of an economy in collapse
Then the journalists could play taps

When brokerages bundled bad loans to their clients
Banking regulators didn’t worry about compliance

No one made the simple deduction
That financial instruments of mass destruction

Would cost tax payers many trillions
As individual speculators each made millions

Our government chose to give their thanks
By rescuing those predatory banks

While giving no such monetary relief
To those who suffered the grief

Of having their homes taken
And their whole lives shaken.

While we were stressed to the max
We saw the wealthy pay less tax

What’s wrong with this picture?
As we grew poorer, the rich got richer.

Politicians and judges should go to jail
For taking bribes to make the system fail

Bankers and brokers should pay their price
For taking our money and rolling the dice

Fire the financial regulators who let crooks
Take our money and cook the books.

When there’s true equality before the law;
The rich will be treated as are the poor.

Where is all the rage?
When will we engage

In a fight to save our land
And finally make a stand

Against the arrogance and greed
Of those who refuse to heed

The plea of workers everywhere:
“Give us our fair share

Of profits we helped you earn
You grew rich, now give us a turn.”