As EBetty tries to fully grasp the current financial meltdown into her rapidly thinning grey matter, one thought only comes to mind. Osama bin Ladin has won.
This, as she recalls, is exactly what bin Ladin had in mind when he sent 19 determined fanatics hurtling into the Twin Towers. First he hits the symbolic financial heart of the US, and then he lets our own government and corporations and media do the rest. He is not a stupid man. All he needed to do was sit in his cave and send out little care packages once in while the frighten the bejeezus out of everybody. Bush and Co. raise the terror alert and start a drum beat to go to war with Iraq and keep our minds riveted away from the malfeasance, cronyism, greed and mendacity controlling and gutting the country. Osama is on his knees right now praising Allah, for his benevolence, but it didn't really take a higher power like Allah or God or Jesus to do this. It was a culture of debt, easy credit, consumerism, a buy now and pay later mentality, and a citizenry oblivious to the moral and financial hazards of the mortgages and other risks they were getting into. And it was a media culture that lost its moral compass of serving the citizenry and instead became the propaganda machine of the government and of corporations. That propaganda took our eyes of what Wall Street was doing. And though Wall Street deserves a lionshare of blame, we citizens bought into it, or were suckered into it, due to ignorance of the risk. Ignorance doesn't exempt us from responsibility, though. Responsibility means being accountable for our actions as well as holding others accountable for theirs. And our newfound responsibility should take a good hard look as these proposed "bailouts".
We are asked to take on a bailout of "firms to be named later" to a tune of 700 billion+. It seems the Treasury Secretary will have little or no oversight if passed as written. In effect, Secretary Paulson will have near or absolute dictatory powers in assuming and managing the debt, but we will have to bear the cost over what?--generations? EBetty asks where is the democracy in all of this? Will Congress roll over again like it did with the run up to the Iraq War? Given the incompetence with which that war has been run, shouldn't we really question what Paulson has in mind about what he intends to do with his new found powers, if he is given them (which EBetty believes, he shouldn't, but what does EBetty know--she is a mere voice crying in the wilderness.) This plan seems highly suspect and since it comes with the Bush seal of approval even more so. EBetty believes that it is time for Americans (herself included) to gain a bit more literacy in the state of our economy, personal, statewide, and national/global. We need to understand, really understand what we are getting into. And if we as tax payers are to bear all the risk with out the gain (out of the goodness of our little hearts) then we need to have oversight and accountablity, and we need to demand it, and not be cajoled, bullied, or tempted by any snake oil Wall Street Saleman, Lobbyist or otherwise thief of our common welfare and good.
The stealth bombing of our financial markets Osama bin Ladin has clearly won, but if we do not radically change individual, corporate and governmental behavior through regulation and discipline, he will win the war. And we won't have a warm cozy cave like he has, we'll be on the street.