And now for something completely different...

This "economic downturn" has really messed up my life. I know I'm not the only one, and I know that there are many who have been affected in worse ways than me, but it has been very tough to handle. MILLIONS of lost jobs, MILLIONS of foreclosed homes, and it looks like things are going to get worse before they start getting better. God help us.

I don't know about you, but I like to know how things happen. I want to understand so I can do my part to help others understand, and so I can use my knowledge to make my life and the lives of people I care about better in the future. If you want to understand how we got into this mess, I recommend two articles written by Matt Taibbi, Contributing Editor for Rolling Stone Magazine. They will piss you off, but you will understand how this all came about.

The first article is in RS Issue 1075 dated April 2, 2009. The title is "The Big Takeover" and the subtitle is "The global economic crisis isn't about money-it's about power. How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution." To make his point, Taibbi first lays out the history of America's economic system from The Great Depression to this current recession. This article will teach you more than you probably ever wanted to know about economics and the financial industry, but the main lesson it teaches us is that failing to effectively regulate greedy people who will without conscience destroy the lives of people and blow up the country's financial infrastructure in their quest for obscene and irrational personal wealth can eventually destroy America. As it turns out, the unregulated greedy bastards are the very people who have been running the financial show in America for as long as all of us have been alive.

The second article is in RS Issue 1082 dated July 9, 2009. The title is "The Great American Bubble Machine" and the subtitle is From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since The Great Depression-and they're about to do it again." The economic "bubbles" Taibbi is referring to are:

1. The Great Depression
2. The Tech Stock Craze of the 90's
3. The Mortgage Madness
4. $4 a Gallon Gas
5. The Recent Bailout of a Privileged Few in the Financial Industry
6. Global Warming

The first five already occurred and they devastated the lives and financial security of millions of American citizens and taxpayers. And yet, they made Goldman Sachs executives richer than any of us can ever dream of being, much less ever hope to be. They represent intentional manipulations of markets with the purposeful intent to make a very small group of people filthy rich at the expense of millions of hardworking and unsuspecting Americans, not to mention the financial health of the nation. Number six is in the works and Goldman Sachs has the infrastructure in place to once again reap billions, if not trillions, in profit off the backs of American taxpayers. 

I should point out that I am the kind of person who scoffs at conspiracy nuts. The information in these articles is not unsubstantiated rants aimed at one political philosophy or another These articles are extremely well-researched and packed with sources, dates, and factual substantiation. That's what makes them so maddening. They expose massive greed and corruption at the highest levels of the financial industry with the aid and cooperation of government officials from both parties. 

You may be asking, "Why is this relevant on a blog dedicated to radio and advertising? Do I need to point out all the ways that Wall Street has damaged our beloved radio industry? The second we made ourselves subject to the analysts and speculators, radio ceased being about delivering quality content to our listeners and measurable results to our advertising clients. Instead, it became all about serving the spreadsheet mentality of people who have never even set foot in a radio station. These financial jerks wouldn't know good programming if it walked up and slapped them in the face and they don't have a clue about how and why advertising works. They just know that if you lay people off, voice track as many shifts as possible, and cut back on essential support expenses like training you can grow margin in the short term, which is all they need to temporarily prop up stock prices. That way they can take their bonuses and their commissions and to hell with the rest of us.

Some people want to blame radio's woes on iPods, satellite radio, and the internet. That is utter rubbish. Wall Street has been sucking the soul out of radio since the late 90's and that is why radio is struggling today. Thank God for the privately owned and independent operators, especially in medium to small markets. Right now, they are radio's last line of defense against Wall Street's destructive influence. They are struggling as much as the public companies in this economy, but their battle plan is to rely on radio's greatest strengths, rather than getting into bed with the enemy. They are proving that we can still recapture our greatness by super-serving local listeners and advertisers. Radio has always drawn national strength from the combined local focus of individual stations. Without localism, radio is just one more faceless and soulless audio stream. We cannot survive in that arena.  

It is up to each of us to make sure we become and remain informed. We must make our voice heard in every way possible. These greedy bastards rely on ignorance and apathy to do their dirty work.  We have to join together as part of a grass roots uprising of Americans demanding a fair shot at the American dream and a playing field where no one is exempt from the rules of fair play. We may not be able to completely defeat the greedy bastards, but we must be more than sheep being ignorantly led to slaughter. Those of us in radio must fight for the soul of our medium. Our future depends on it.

Knowledge is power. Power to the people! Happy Independence Day weekend.