Denver Direct: Jabbering Children

Opinion by Gerald Trumbule

Like children building sand castles on the beach, Denver’s City Council moved forward last night (and early this morning) toward the goal of finding places to put the smelly homeless people so we don’t have to “step over” them on our way to work or play. This growing underclass is causing damage to our City’s image as a world-class city and must be dealt with, don’t ya know.

What struck me most was their lack of understanding of the big picture. Because the systemic “big-bank problem” – derivatives, has not been dealt with (can you say quadrillion?), today’s wave of homeless is just the beginning. No one at the “courtesy” hearing seemed able to lift their eyes from the beach in front of them past the first, second and third waves to the giant tsunami 100 ft tall that is bearing down on all of us.

“We have found 200 new beds and two new outreach workers.” Council members said proudly. Wow! Sorry, but I’m not impressed. Get prepared for 2,000 new beds, or maybe 20,000. Get prepared for $6 gasoline and food shortages. Get prepared for “dancing” in the streets.

If the banks, who caused the economic crises with debt leverage of 50 or even 100 to 1 (and insatiable greed) are not broken up, their zombie inventory not dealt with, and the kiting scheme not stopped, the tsunami will continue to grow higher, and the devastation it causes will grow more powerful, so that when it finally does crash on the beach it will not only destroy the sand castles, but carry away the jabbering children as well.