I’m getting the irregular newsletter of mutual credit advocate Thomas Greco, here is his take on the Obama election.

Thomas Greco:

“Irrational exuberance” is a phrase that has become stuck in the public mind ever since Alan Greenspan used it to describe the stock market boom of a few years ago. The exuberance attendant to Barack Obama’s election to the presidency may not be irrational, but it is almost certainly based on false premises and unrealistic expectations. Like most of my friends, I was pleased with the outcome of the presidential election, not because I expect Obama to implement the kinds of deep changes that are needed, but because (1) it showed the willingness of Americans to put aside considerations of race and choose a black man to lead the country, and (2) because it may indicate that the majority of the American people are snapping out of the delusion that caused them to previously choose leaders who, putting on the mask of righteous religiosity and appealing to people’s fears, have taken the country to the brink of fascist dictatorship and financial ruin. As Sinclair Lewis was supposed to have said, “When fascism comes to America it will come wrapped in the flag and carrying a Bible.”

Virtually all of the foreigners I encounter are also pleased with the election outcome, hoping that it will bring about a change from the way the United States has thrown it weight around in recent years to a more respectful and cooperative foreign policy. I’m hopeful of that too, but lets not be too sanguine about this recent turn. Sure, we might prefer the manner of the “good cop” (Obama) to that of the “bad cop” (Bush), but do not doubt for a minute that the overall agenda remains the same. Obama is not our savior. At best, he might throttle back some of the wholesale looting that has been going on for the past 8 years, and he might allow a few more crumbs to fall to the masses from the oligarchs’ table. But did he not vote in favor of bailing out the banks instead of helping the people whom they lured into the usury trap? And, like Nixon before him who promised to end the war in Vietnam, Obama’s rhetoric about ending the Iraq war will probably prove to be just as hollow.

One thing should be perfectly obvious by now, one does not get to be a viable candidate for the office of President without being approved, even “groomed” for it, by the elite group that runs the world. Just look at Obama’s list of advisors and his list of major funders. Long-time friend and associate, Jeff Smith, in his online newsletter, The Progress Report, has made us aware of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) whose role is to “follow the money” and track its influence on American government.

Just within the past few days Obama has announced the appointment of Congressman Rahm Emanuel to be his Chief of Staff. CRP reports that:

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman who was an aide in the Clinton White House, was the top House recipient in the 2008 election cycle of contributions from hedge funds, private equity firms and the larger securities/investment industry–not the most popular of industries in the current economy. Since being elected to Congress in 2002, after working as an investment banker, Emanuel has received more money from individuals and PACs in the securities and investment business than any other industry

It also points out that “Emanuel and Obama have more than just Chicago in common; investment bank UBS, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are among both men’s lists of top donors.” You can read the full story here.

Rabbi Michael Lerner, in a November 7 newsletter, said he was “shocked and deeply disappointed” at the news of Emanuel’s appointment, and that because of it, those who have a “commitment to single-payer universal health care, carbon taxes for environmental protection, a Homeland Security strategy based on generosity and implemented through a Global Marshall Plan, will be unlikely to get a serious hearing in the White House.” Rabbi Lerner, who is editor of Tikkun Magazine, and is chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, is a respected voice of reason and compassion and someone who is acutely aware of political realities.

Am I saying that we should stop working at the political level and not try to influence Obama and the new administration? Not at all, but we need to acknowledge the reality of the situation, which is that there is no easy way out. We cannot rely on any political leader, no matter how charismatic, to fix things for us. Virtually all top level politicians are beholden to the moneyed interests and there is no way ordinary people can outspend those who have control of the very source from which money is emitted. They are in power to maintain the debt-money power system, which, as I’ve said before, forces accelerating expansion of debt and unsustainable economic growth (the debt imperative and the growth imperative).

We need to look to ourselves and to each other. To repeat what I said in my last newsletter, we need to nurture our communities and form new ones. This requires more than neighborhood coffee klatches and barter exchanges. We need to lessen our dependence upon the failing structures and institutions and apply our talents and resources to creating new ones that can better satisfy the needs of all. We need to organize as whole communities, creating mutual support networks, including credit clearing associations and non-political currencies that are based on the productive capacity of local and regional businesses. “