As I sit here, late afternoon , in the fabulous Nong Boonmak heat , I can't rap my head around some stuff going on back home. It is hard for me to bitch about the economy- I am on vacation. Granted, I am visiting in laws , deep frying sausage and enjoying ant salad , but I am still on vacation. Our neighbor, On , makes a killer ant salad. We are getting ready for dinner and I am trying to make sense of what is going on back home.
It isn't easy, between the BBC and Thai news the coverage on minute details is nil, which may make things seem better.
I must admit, limited internet and no 24 hour news has a very calming effect on the mind, body and soul.
I still have some economic opinions and that seems to be all the rage-so here you go, Rob the Welder will give an op ed on the economy.
I am slightly perplexed by the buying of toxic assets but the plan sounds good for investors . From what I understand the government will pay $7 , the investor will pay $7 and then the government will loan $86 for the purchase of these bad loans.
Of course, investors will buy at the reduced price, but it may get money moving-more specifically if regulated properly, it may save some people in their early 60's from having no retirement .We are being criticized around the globe for the economic plan, based on history and stupidity. Not being in full on news watching mode, I have to go from the gut.
Historians, like Ben Bernake , who tout being experts on the depression have missed some things they seem to only know the corporate side of the depressionnot the workers side.
A huge part of the depression was SEPARATION of WEALTH. That in many views expressed around the world is the key thing not being addressed. You can't have 1% of the people controlling 95% of the wealth and not 'Trickling' any of it down. It defeats the premise of supply side/ trickle down economics .
My father in law asks why Americans think credit is wealth-and I have to agree. The illusion of the Reagan Doctrine is that credit is wealth-and it is, unfortunately not the borrowers . It is wealth redistribution or even the government sanctioned mining of the poor' money, whatever you choose to call it , it is not wealth for the borrower .
Many people here feel the world needs a change-a fair distribution of wealth , so all can eat and have a roof over their head. Poverty changes perspective.
Obama's plan seems like a decent start to get the economy moving, but changing it will take an open mind-and that means turning off the Corporate Media and thinking. We are buying all their bad decisions , and if the private investment is regulated enough maybe some people who lost so much of their retirement can get some back . This is real change, if the buying of these toxic assets is regulated. Of course any regulation will be met by filibusters by the Rush Limabugh crowd.
If we can address the real elephant in the street , the only way to permanently fix the economy is to fix the separation of wealth . If we are truly going to go for a global economy , we have to make sure the world moves to our standard and we don't move down to theirs.
Obama is planting the seeds of change from what I can tell. Without Fox News it is impossible to tell just how good he is doing. As a current outsider looking in I have to use the parts of history the Fed Chairmen isn't looking at :
fix the separation of wealth with regulation or our economy will take longer to turn around completely . We will not get behind a World War 3, we have been lied to about Iraq, Afghanistan , Israel and so many other things by our last unelected president that war won't thin out the poor again.
Wow, I have to go. I think eel is for dinner tonight which means I am headed to the city of Korat for KFC or McDonlads . I hate eel. By the way, why don't we have pork burgers at McD's in the US ?
In closing-I have been hanging out with a couple of monks and I will share those conversations once I soak them in. I hope you are well and I think the reinvestment thing Obama is doing has some hidden and misunderstood greatness in it.
Peace