Obama and the future of capitalism.

I feel that Obama has been dealt a tough hand. One that he must make the most of!

Only time will tell whether or not he (and America) can succeed, but I already see positive change. The moronic policies of the worst administration in our history are being unraveled. The end of Git'mo is in sight, along with the travesties of justice it represented. The Iraq War and the stupidity with which we've approached it will (at the very least) be re-examined, if not ended altogether. Yes, it's very nice to have adults in charge again.

One issue, however, will much more difficult for Obama to tackle. It's the economy....stupid! The cause? Well, it's easy to pin the blame on the out of control government spending or lax regulation. Or, on the risk taking exceedingly irresponsible financial institutions. Or, on those in the general public who have lived (or perhaps still are living) far beyond their means. Regardless of where you decide to pin the blame, here we are. Standing on the edge of a cliff. Wondering how we let things get this bad.

In my opinion, it call comes down to one simple fact. Without a strong middle class, capitalism as a system fails. Period. Policies that attack the middle class or diminish the importance of them, then, are akin to shooting yourself (or the economy) in the foot. The policies of the last 20-30 years have attacked and exploited the middle class (to the benefit of very few) and we, as a whole, are paying the price for this stupidity. These policies need to be reversed if our democracy is to survive.

Here's to hoping that Obama can get this ball rolling in the right direction. He has to. We have to. Any other outcome is just too scary!

Obama's "inexperience".

While experience is important, it's certainly not the most important trait of good leaders. Also keep in mind that while McCain has lots of political experience, he has less executive experience than Obama.

Here's a quote from my father that conveys my feelings exactly....using history as a guide (March 6, 2008):

"This afternoon on the way back from the polling place, I was thinking that another Illinois lad ran for president. He had some experience in the state legislature, but only two years in Congress. Not only that, he disparaged the military, opposed a war(Mexican War) and was opposed within his party by a man with substantial legislative and executive experience. Still, he wasn't half bad as a president. The capitol of Nebraska is named after him today."

For those of you who are geographically impaired, the capitol of Nebraska is Lincoln, as in Abraham Lincoln.

2008: Start of the "Mother of all Depressions".

Whoever gets elected (looks like Obama) will have to deal with this horrible turn of events to start his presidency.

There's blame aplenty, but placing it squarely on one man's or one administration's shoulders is out of line. The past few administrations were just following policies put in place in the late 70s and early 80s. Policies and tools that were meant to curb the out of control inflation of the 60s and 70s, not the out of control credit of the past 20 years.

Oh, criminal negligence (on the part of government officials), corruption, and irrational salary explosion (especially at the top) hasn't helped...

I'm sure my Ron Paul supporting, fiscally conservative brother will chime in with more, so that's all I have to say, for now.

And so it begins...

...or ends.

If there was any doubt that the US's dominance in this world was coming to an end, the (poor/lack of) management in the sub-prime lending scandal and its culmination (for now) in the Bailout Abomination should erase whatever's left.

And Paulson has wasted no time in bringing a Goldman Sach's buddy into the fray.

Look for more cronyism, and very little in the way of substantive reform...in the short term. And hold onto your pants (if you still have them). We're in for a rough ride!

Bailout Abomination!

I was hoping that Congress would implement some oversight measures to ensure that Paulson's $250bil "slush fund for buddies" is used properly. Instead, the Senate adds tons of irrelevant (and wasteful) "pork"! The only good thing about the Senate re-jiggered bill is that it increases the FDIC limit from $100k to $250k.

Jeez! Congress's moment to shine and they end up looking no better than the Wall Street criminals that got us in this mess... Nice!