Economic Depression Redux (Financial Armageddon)

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Note: The following poem, satirical in nature, is not the typical type of poetry I generally write - so please excuse the rhyming scheme. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by jr paruolo

As the world slips into a global recession,
Quite possibly even a financial Armageddon,
The OPEC cartel collapses so fast
that oil reaches levels only seen in the past -
But unfortunately they can't be enjoyed
as millions of people become unemployed

The American Dream's on the brink of extinction
As thousands of homes go into foreclosure
And banks begin boarding up the windows and doors
and putting the owners out on the street
with nowhere to go and with nothing to eat -

As the investment firms
Hold out their corporate begging cups
stating - We're about to go belly up!
Instead of making them squirm
The government acts like an ATM -
And spews out cash with no stipulation on return-
In God We Trust - Amen

And you can hardly blame Detroit's Big Three
For failing to produce vehicles with better MPG -
When the public was clamoring for more SUVs
Packed with luxurious high tech accessories
To shuttle around town with their families.

The solution proposed seems a little bit funny -
It's based on appropriating money
to banks and corporations in need of fast cash
before they go bankrupt and crash -
But as has anyone even bothered to ask -
Whatever happened to their own private stash?

And where are all these dollars coming from?
It's not hard to guess -
Do they think we're that dumb?
They're hot off the Treasury's printing press -
They may as well be counterfeit -the ink is still wet.

And when the economic bubble abruptly burst
the outgoing President could have been the first
to help all of those who were hurt the worst:
All the employees who got it up the ass!
Instead of the CEOs with their hands in the cash -

Yes, the world's in a knot...
And by any one's guess
It will take years and years
to untangle this mess
and who knows what
if anything will change
For human nature being what it is –
Good intentions are short lived
and the more things change
the more they stay the same

So when that 401k statement comes in the mail
And you look at the remaining bottom line
And turn a ghostly shade of pale
Just join in and sing a song from another time:
"Buddy can you spare a dime?:
or "Life can be so sweet on the sunny side of the street."
And everything will be fine!

And I'm sure it won't be too long
Till someone sings that old Depression song -
Buddy Can You Spare A Dime?
And you see millions of the unemployed
standing in long soup kitchen lines -
Their hopes and futures suddenly destroyed.