Money silences voices…

In my humble opinion one of the most bemusing occurrences over the past year or so (apart from the all-too-regular gaffe from “Dubya” or Comrade Julius) was the socialist-style practices implemented by the USA in order to save its teetering free-market empire. Clearly nobody saw this as contradictory or hypocritical or anything of the sort because thankfully we had the Washington spin machine explaining how it was in our best interests that this was being done. Did anyone really buy that?

But then again this kind of (confusing) occurrence is far from irregular these days. We are sold the story about free-market capitalism is the way to go and the story doesn’t change when the fairytale (sand) castle starts crumbling. And, when (someone) turns out huge profits just months after requiring a bail-out then that success is somehow supposed to be evidence of the advantages of the system. Surely our memories can’t be that short.

The reason I’m bringing this up is that according to a recent article in the “Cape Argus” it seems a wild-wild-west of sorts has arrived in South Africa just in time for the World Cup in 2010. plane ticket prices are going through the roof and it seems the airlines, as well as that privately run airports who “tax” us, are going to make a killing. Bottom lines will most likely be healthier than ever until the bonuses and incentives get paid. When it all hits the fan, as it invariably does from time to time, the recipients of those bonuses will resign and move on leaving an array of red numbers in their wake. And it’ll be up to average Joe and Josephine to foot the bill of someone’s highly visible and pubic, yet somehow unaccountable mismanagement.

Call me cynical, I guess I am, but this doesn’t make sense to me. sure, I know we live in a world where money is power (aka ‘might’) and might is right but we also live in a world where we are told time and time again that we have a right to make our voices heard. It’s funny though how a little money here or there ensures that those voices never really get heard…