The Illuminati masters who actually run the world from an underground command center hidden within the tunnels beneath DIA have apparently lost their knack for coordinating global crises. Gasoline prices are tumbling to lows not seen since the ’80s just as COVID-19 prevents us from traveling. While there is considerable entertainment value in watching a price war that pits Russian petroleum oligarchs against Saudi Arabian sheikhs, relief at the pump is, at least in part, a consequence of the fracking revolution right here at home. Enjoying the strongest economy in the world during the past half century we have been willing to pay OPEC a premium for oil imports in order to keep our wheels spinning.

Now that America has become a net exporter of hydrocarbons, what looks like a nasty squabble between equally venal extortionists may actually be a wink-wink conspiracy to break the back of our highly leveraged oil and gas operators. An indicator of this likelihood is the fact that barely 30 days into social distancing, we are suddenly hearing appeals for a federal bailout from the oil patch. Producers will find themselves, hardhats in hand, marooned in a long line of corporate mendicants unwilling to let a public health crisis go to waste. Airlines, cruise operators, the hospitality industry writ large, as well as hedge funds and private equity firms that keep them afloat are now elbowing one another to secure spots at the front of the line for handouts from Congress. Comforting the comfortable is a boutique form of socialism designed to assure the rich remain rich.

They will soon be jostled, however, by a domino collapse of public services. The New York City subway system is already making noises about requiring an immediate $4 billion cash infusion to keep the trains running. Transit properties across the country are facing similar shortfalls, including Colorado’s own RTD. Public colleges and universities, even K-12 schools, fear the potential cancellation of the 2020-21 school year. A second wave of infection in the fall could also threaten the ski industry. What began as a public health emergency seems destined to expose inherent fault lines in both society and a service-centered economy. White House attempts to suppress unemployment reports will fool no one. Desperation is difficult to hide.

The imminent collapse of financial markets reveals the shortcomings of casino capitalism, and it is not a pretty picture. (Casino owners Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn would also appreciate some help from taxpayers.) Too big to fail may soon be replaced with too big to rescue. Most American companies have little or no cash reserves, swiftly funneling quarterly profits to shareholders only surviving on cash flow. Worse yet, many are heavily indebted. It is doubtful we are anywhere near reaching the bottom in terms of stock prices. Propping up every business and everyone that will be negatively impacted by COVID-19 is simply beyond the fiscal capacity of the federal government without a colossal run up of the national debt. That will usher in runaway inflation that discounts the dollars we use to pay our bills.

It doesn’t inspire much confidence when we learn that members of Congress acted on reports of looming economic disaster to dump stocks in their personal portfolios and load up, I presume, on funeral homes and medical equipment suppliers. Tips of what was coming to their major campaign donors may not be technically illegal but display a loathsome and despicable breach of honor, ethics and public trust. It is encouraging that Gov. Polis has assembled an economic advisory council to develop a rescue plan for the state’s small businesses. Chaired by former Denver Mayor Federico Peña who knows as well as anyone that it is neighborhood retailers, restaurants, salons and gyms that have provided the jobs and economic backbone for local economies. They need to be protected and the entrepreneurs who operate them deserve a second chance.

Council members will need to think outside the box, otherwise many owners may choose to simply walk away from their losses. These existing spaces will have to be repurposed once our lives return to normal. All this will take lots of money. Colorado will not emerge the same as it was before. We have accepted, even ignored, needless deaths from school shootings, far too many opioid overdoses and a broken health care system. This tolerance will be sorely tested if virus victims are being hauled away in National Guard trucks.

Neither can we predict where national politics are headed. If the corona virus spins out of control here, as it has in Italy and Spain, and thousands of Americans begin to die each day, it’s entirely possible Donald Trump might be unelectable by convention time. It’s not clear whether the Republican party remains sufficiently intact to provide voters a credible alternative.

Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant and a former legislator. He can be reached at mnhwriter@msn.com.