In describing economics as the "dismal science", Thomas Carlyle
in his 1849 tract, "Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question,"
argued for the reintroduction of slavery in the West Indies
as a means to regulate the labor market.
I'm an Outlaw
I'm an outlaw, but don't get me wrong
I don't do strongarm, but
I'll follow you down grocery store aisles
as I manufacture boxes of corporate sludge
with a sugarbox smile, then giggle like the joker
when you woof down bowls soaked with
arteryclogging salt and "preservatives."
I'll sneak up behind you at the gas station
I'll pump your paycheck away
of course, I promise cheaper gas
on the next highway
because, after all, prices are regulated
on the international freeway
aaaaand sometimes I'm a dentist
yes, I charge 1300 bucks for a new tooth
(five times the international average)
then, triple that price to implant, plus xrays
I go for profits big time, I admit
but see, I got this 80 K Porsche in my garage
so I have bills to pay! (I need new tires too)
and when my patients complain that a tooth
costs more than a fancy computer, I say, hey dude,
---talk to the insurance companies
let them explain how the system works
ask them why a tooth is called a crown! lol
sometimes I'm a lawyer, I charge 700 an hour
but I'm on Wilshire Avenue, I'm worth every penny
if you knew my clientele list in LA
if you saw how much work my secretary has to do
to prepare my briefs, you'd charge too
'cause paying on a Malibu Mortgage ain't cheap!
aaaand sometimes I'm a CEO, sure
I make 300, even 400 times more
than those poor slobs tending registers in Mudville Mall
but I'm human, I feel guilt, and I know enough
of philosophy to feel solace by ole Monsieur Camus
---guilt cannot be separated from the human story
and the thing is, I'll give back, sure
I'll cut a check to a status college one day
standing at a podium with the college president if
they name the biz building for me
now, please understand, I'm not some common thief
I don't do 711's, jewelry stores, or petty shit
such robberies are for the desperate and needy
who only give the police victims to roll
no, I'm more likely to linger in the shadows of Wall Street
and in the back rooms of banks
in America's "best places to live"
no one can accuse me of being a hick!
my manners are totally uptown!
and, of course, my accent...posh
yes, I'm a wellbred legal thief
which is the only way to steal
in a system of our paradigm
which caters to the one percent hill of cash
and leaves suckers stranded on the shore
but let's get real, let's just say it!
that's how fortunes are often made
'cause Balzac didn't deny it when he wrote:
"Behind every fortune, there lurks a crime"
in his 1849 tract, "Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question,"
argued for the reintroduction of slavery in the West Indies
as a means to regulate the labor market.
I'm an Outlaw
I'm an outlaw, but don't get me wrong
I don't do strongarm, but
I'll follow you down grocery store aisles
as I manufacture boxes of corporate sludge
with a sugarbox smile, then giggle like the joker
when you woof down bowls soaked with
arteryclogging salt and "preservatives."
I'll sneak up behind you at the gas station
I'll pump your paycheck away
of course, I promise cheaper gas
on the next highway
because, after all, prices are regulated
on the international freeway
aaaaand sometimes I'm a dentist
yes, I charge 1300 bucks for a new tooth
(five times the international average)
then, triple that price to implant, plus xrays
I go for profits big time, I admit
but see, I got this 80 K Porsche in my garage
so I have bills to pay! (I need new tires too)
and when my patients complain that a tooth
costs more than a fancy computer, I say, hey dude,
---talk to the insurance companies
let them explain how the system works
ask them why a tooth is called a crown! lol
sometimes I'm a lawyer, I charge 700 an hour
but I'm on Wilshire Avenue, I'm worth every penny
if you knew my clientele list in LA
if you saw how much work my secretary has to do
to prepare my briefs, you'd charge too
'cause paying on a Malibu Mortgage ain't cheap!
aaaand sometimes I'm a CEO, sure
I make 300, even 400 times more
than those poor slobs tending registers in Mudville Mall
but I'm human, I feel guilt, and I know enough
of philosophy to feel solace by ole Monsieur Camus
---guilt cannot be separated from the human story
and the thing is, I'll give back, sure
I'll cut a check to a status college one day
standing at a podium with the college president if
they name the biz building for me
now, please understand, I'm not some common thief
I don't do 711's, jewelry stores, or petty shit
such robberies are for the desperate and needy
who only give the police victims to roll
no, I'm more likely to linger in the shadows of Wall Street
and in the back rooms of banks
in America's "best places to live"
no one can accuse me of being a hick!
my manners are totally uptown!
and, of course, my accent...posh
yes, I'm a wellbred legal thief
which is the only way to steal
in a system of our paradigm
which caters to the one percent hill of cash
and leaves suckers stranded on the shore
but let's get real, let's just say it!
that's how fortunes are often made
'cause Balzac didn't deny it when he wrote:
"Behind every fortune, there lurks a crime"
