Where is Emperor Bismarck when we need him?

Where is Emperor Bismarck when we need him

fiction
Edward w Pritchard

Ranting as per protocol:


What do we do after a good nights sleep when we wake up at 3AM? Why we read and study the balance sheets, income statements and cash flow information on sinking America companies in the Coal and Molybdenum industries. With level head and stout heart I watch our countries strategic assets become deflated to zero.

The stocks of American companies in the coal and Molybdenum sectors are trading at alarming lows.
Too much debt, too little cash flow. Perhaps some of our foreign associates will notice and intervene to save America's strategic assets. With a long term outlook perhaps Coal will become important again someday.

The market will solve the problem say the free market guys. Bankruptcy to reorganize and re-enrich current management, a sale to an overseas company and the company is revitalized. Stock holder equity disappears and current debt responsibilities dissolves as junk bonds sexually entice foreign raiders.

America is a quasi socialist country in reference to domestic programs and issues but other than providing a helping hand to the wealthy in terms of subsidizing sacred cow industries our Government seems obsessed with short term domestic issues.

But what do I know, I wasn't privy to an Ivy league education. I only know what yahoo news and finance spoon feeds me.

Perhaps Companies deemed legitimately strategically important [ not solar energy or vitamin manufacturers] should be able to borrow from the government at less than Junk bond rates to conserve American ownership of America's strategic assets. In return part of the strategic resource becomes socialized and is owned by the country with a say in the future dispersement of said strategic assets. Of course we must also be realists and enrich current senior management and various hedge funds and Gold-man's and those guys if politically a deal of this sort is to fly. It's part of those unwritten rules of Wall Street and good old boy inside workings of business and government that those of us in the Midwest don't understand.

It's all so complicated. Maybe we have a coherent and well thought out long term strategic policy to protect America's strategic assets that we appropriated from the Native America's and Mexico in centuries past and  I am too ignorant of politics too know and understand it. Perhaps programs already exist but we must avoid the fall into socialist thinking and not let Government protect strategic assets by getting too involved in the Marketplace.

Or, perhaps it's just time for me to stop worrying and listen to old music on the you tube.

Where's Emperor Bismarck [ German head of state known for shrewd statesmanship and practical mercantilism in politics] when we need him? He used to do the thinking while his citizenry listened to music over you tube on the internet. Anachronism intended.

Or, maybe it's like this. " The River of No Return" now playing on you tube is a great American movie from the 1950's with Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, directed by Otto Preminger, and based on a book written by Louis Lantz.

" River of no Return" was inspired by the Italian film " the Bicycle Thief" by Luigi Bartolini. Both are great movies based on the same theme; someone owns something, loses it to a thief and then after struggling to get it back within the law try's to steals it back.

That's how it is with America's strategic reserves of coal, molybdenum  and oil. Who  really owns it anyway? Hey, that's what the Native Americans always said in the broken treaty scenes in the old western movies; those native Americans always said: " How can anyone own part of the Earth and Sky that the Great spirit endowed us with for use within our lifetimes"? Go figure, how do you list that on a balance sheet or cash flow statement?