Sound economic foundational principles are now defined as "protectionism".
Don't buy that. The crowd chanting protectionism is the crowd who shipped your job overseas because it is so much cheaper to have children working 12 hours a day for diddly squat.
It's all about greed.
A cursory review of American History demonstrates clearly how always chasing profits and growth undermines economic and social stability.
Is Paulson et al saying one word about how those who have conservatively saved and paid their bills are to be protected? Who is to be first in line to receive their FDIC payments if their bank fails? It had better be those with no debt and perfect credit scores!
With sound foundational economic principles in play, a healthy consumerism could be detached from a political philosophy. America has to produce hard commodities smaller than a bread box to have an economic foundation. History has taught this lesson clearly. When countries move from production fueled economies to financial service fueled economies, real people suffer while the few on top let them clean and cook for them.
Sadly, our economy crashed at the exact moment in time that Bush gave tax relief to the wealthy in 2000 and started a war 200?.
When we became a nation of grasshoppers (consumers) instead of ants (product producers and savers) believing that somehow outsourcing labor would create the good life for all, we cracked the foundation of our economy and national security.
One night, I suspect, while Greenspan et al were wondering how to cover their irresponsible arses they cooked up the housing scheme. I can send you a history of this debacle I have complied. In short, the internet was the last piece of the scheme puzzle that made it possible to bundle and trade MBS CBS. We got the S & L brainstorm on steroids.
My big concern today is people who have followed a conservative economic path unable to access their deposits/CDs and losing their collateral investments in their homes. How can they be protected? I don't hear anyone talking about that!
The FDIC could allow debt free responsible citizens a 'first in line' position to receive their deposits before all others in the case of any bank failures. This would be fair and equitable.
Well, I could blather all day. I ponder this a great deal. Two years ago I was asking my bankers "how can people making $50,000 afford $300,000 homes?"
The housing market, my opinion, needs to downward adjust approx. $100,000 from it's peak per unit to accommodate "real wages"/reasonable mortgage payment ability. If those who made fortunes didn't save some, they will learn a tough lesson.
Yes, when the sun shines, make hay; however, always bale and store some for hard times.
Remember, child labor in America was banned less than 100 years ago!
Copyright October, 2008