Melançon Enterprises • a multidivision multinational since 1980

As NPR's "global pool of money" explanation made pretty clear (without them ever actually saying so) the driver for the problem, the reason there was so much money looking for an outlet that got turned into the subprime loans, is the inequality– lots of wealth in few hands and it's too much trouble to get that wealth into productive uses, that is, available to those who aren't filthy rich and so have useful things to do with money (and furthermore cannot, generally, promise a 10 to 20 percent "return on investment"). The irrationality of a relative few – irrationality driven by the inequality itself: the otherwise unnecessary and dysfunctional rent/interest extracting structures supported by and supporting extreme and unfair inequality – can royally mess things up for everyone.

Originally posted to Jay Rosen's note of appreciation for the clarity and understanding brought by "Global Pool of Money", I wrote:

The main thing they left out is WHO the giant pool of money actually represents. People representing every other step along the chain was profiled in the excellent piece, but no names or personalities were attached to this magically appearing pool of money.

Hint: it ain't you or me. Most of us have a pretty good idea what to do with our money.

It's vast inequality that caused the desperate search for ways to make unearned dividends.

C. E. Ayres, author of "The Divine Right of Capital", pointed out the unfortunate effects of too much money in too few hands and not enough of it with everyone else, where it could be put to good use ... [he made this argument] 80 years ago.