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We& #39;re counting on unimaginative people, with no relevant connection to the plight of regular folks, to come up with solutions to a suddenly serious economic crisis.
The sum of their brilliance is, "Hey, let& #39;s spend a lot of money." But when you only know wealthy, politically powerful elites, the solutions you dream up favor wealthy, politically powerful elites.
It& #39;s a perverse "trickle down" theory.
It& #39;s a perverse "trickle down" theory.
On what Bizzaro World planet can you shut down a nation& #39;s economy and expect to pay for a $2T (actually $6T) bailout plan funded by tax revenues that you can& #39;t possibly expect to collect when NO ONE IS WORKING?
The knee-jerk response this--and every other Congress in my lifetime--is to SPEND money we don& #39;t have to solve problems that are either created or exacerbated by the very government we (foolishly) rely on to protect us and our interests.
Moments like these *should* be opportunities to rethink business as usual in Washington. How many times do they have to fail us in spectacularly expensive and devastating fashion before we wake up to their selfish incompetence?
After 9-11-01 the nation was united in a way we hadn& #39;t been since 12-7-41. We had an opportunity to rethink our foreign policy and national security strategy. What we got was endless war and more, expensive bureaucracy.
After the financial crisis of & #39;08 our eyes were opened to the ills of a financial sector that had spent a lot of money for special rules and regulations that were obviously flawed and gutted the middle class.
What we got was a rescue for those who were at fault, more special rules for the privileged, and double freedom rockets to the middle class from inside the beltway.
What has bailed America out EVERY TIME, and in spite of incompetence of the political class, is the indomitable optimism and spirit of regular Americans. We always find a way.
Unfortunately, the people who are smart enough to succeed despite Washington& #39;s best efforts to derail us, are also smart enough to not seek political office.
And so, with a few exceptions, we are stuck with a Congress constituted of selfish, incompetent louts who seem bent on working against the people they are elected to serve.
We have an another opportunity NOW to demand meaningful political reforms, like term limits, and domestic and foreign policies that reflect our great potential rather than exploit our great power for the benefit of a few.
Will we do it?
Will we do it?
On this matter, I am not so optimistic.
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