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[I am re-posting this from last December in honor of the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Black Monday, 2/5/2017]
It’s one of the oldest stories of human association — a viral meme, if you will, that predates Facebook. Things are going well in the camp/village/pueblo/kingdom, and the family/clan/tribe is prospering. Before long, somebody — a priest/shaman/elder/king — takes credit for the good times. “Yes,” he/she/it says demurely, “It’s all my doing. I control the weather/game/crops, and if you want the good times to continue, you’d better keep me happy.”
It starts with a few extra sandwiches from a few dubious neighbors — “what the hell, just in case, what could it hurt” — and if the weather holds, proceeds rapidly to absolute power, virgin sacrifices, massive demonstrations of loyalty, and crushing taxes for the multitude to provide unimaginable luxury for the top guy.
But then, in every single version of the story that exists, the weather turns, the crop fails, the game vanishes, hard times return, and the natives insert the erstwhile prophet into the nearest active volcano.
Which is why I exult inside every time I hear Donald Trump take credit for the soaring stock market.
What a hoot! HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL!
I guess you’re saying that, at some point, the market will fall and Trump will be left the blame. I don’t think such an occurrence would bother the Don at all. Without missing a beat he’ll simply blame Obama, the Dems in congress, Hillary, the media, the Chinese, various ‘bad dudes’…you name it.
He’ll slide into home plate safe. The guy’s a sociopath, not an idiot.
No, he’s an idiot. If he knew anything t all about history he would know how dangerous the game is that he’s playing. When the mob understands what he’s done, they will come for him, one way or another.
In all due respect, sir, Donald Trump IS ‘the mob’; he has made it his own. Hitler, Mencken and Jesus all recognized that the desperate masses will believe the big lie more readily than the lesser one. “My people swallow a camel, but choke on a gnat”, Observed JC. Trump’s shotgun approach to lying has enlivened his followers and stymied his opponents.
No, I don’t claim that he’s a genius. But he is clever, and surely a madman.
The Donald takes credit for everything and anything good, but takes blame nor responsibility for nothing bad. And do not expect the natives to insert him into any volcanoes. We The Stupid (collectively, don’t blame me) put him into office.