In recording the life of Julius Caesar, the Roman historian Suetonius observed:
Caesar thus became the one reliable source of help to all who were in legal difficulties, or in debt, or living beyond their means; and refused help only to those whose criminal record was so black, or whose purse so empty, or whose tastes so expensive, that even he could do nothing for them. He frankly told such people: "What you need is a civil war."
Such advice seems applicable to the American public in late September 2008 as Wall Street teeters on the verge of an old-fashioned market-bust, and the financial system as a whole teeters on the verge of an old-fashioned panic. Perhaps our crimes are not dark enough yet, and our purses aren't quite so empty (although our extravagances are at record levels), but I'm suspecting that there's more than a grain of truth in Caesar's prescription. The funny thing is that I just can't get that scandalized about the whole situation.
My colleagues of the "center-left" are now showing the proper indignation about the excesses of capitalism. It's about time, folks! Those representing the most conservative jurisdictions of America are absolutely over-the-top about preventing a government "bail-out" of Wall Street . . . a bail-out that would end in that ultimate dystopia for conservatives: socialism. My instincts tell me that it's really simple: nationalize the banks and brokerages, and draft their directorates and management into the Army (at an E3's salary!). The problem is that such a solution is very unlikely in capitalism's "Promised Land."
The insurance giant AIG is making noise about going under, the Merrill Lynch sale to Bank of America announced this morning and the rejection of emergency funds requested by Lehman Brothers over the weekend which has caused them to file bankruptcy, when stacked with the recent failures of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns, et al has made it clear that the economic policies of the Republicans and the Bush Treasury department are so many chickens coming home to roost.
Folks, this election should be about our economy and the financial drain that is the Iraq War. Tax cut and spend "fiscal conservatives" have had a fine time raping our economy for 8 years and our Democrats in Congress have largely gone along with it. When it comes to big money Wall Street issues there is truly only one party in our country.
We need serious financial markets reform and we need it now. The fact that there has never been regulation of the financial derivatives markets, and the bundling of mortgages into financial instruments sold countless times to investors which has caused the real estate bubble to burst paired with the goofy policies of the US Treasury under Bush has caused the once vaunted US ecomony to tank should be our top argument for electing Democrats to Congress and Barack Obama to the office of President.
So where are the D's? Mostly silent. A few people have been working dili9gently behind the scenes to bail water out of the dinghy, like Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and in the House Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and John Larson (D-CT), but most of the Democrats running for Congress in Indiana have not been speaking much about the issue of our time that makes all other issues pale, save for Baron Hill. If we don't save our economy soon this whole grand experiment of the last 232 years could come crashing down around us.
If you have money in the markets, give serious consideration to cashing in and put your money in something safe like precious metals or even a simple savings account. If we as a nation decide to elect John McSame as president we are definitely going down the tubes financially. This is a man who has already admitted to not knowing much about economics. This fact alone ought to disqualify him for the office, and if Obama doesn't start hammering him on this point and soon we will miss the greatest argument we can make to the voters.
Thirty plus years ago, a character named Howard Beale made a permanent mark on American cinema in the movie "Network." What Beale promoted and prophesized was so relevant and ahead of it's time, that as we sit here awash in the mind-numbing excess of Reality TV and the media/corporations/wall street/government sharing in one big capitalistic orgy, one wonders when someone is going to be "mad as hell, and not going to take it anymore."
This scene from Network is one of the most powerful and honest explanations of how we have evolved from a democracy to a corporation. Ned Beatty as Arthur Jensen delivers a powerful and evangelical speech that is as chilling as it is truthful. And Jensen also understands the power of television in shaping our views.
William Greider writes in The Nation about "America's Economics Free Fall" and documents and details how Washington worked in an incredible show of bi-partisian effort to completely cave in to the interests of Wall Street and excuse and reward the incompetency of failing institutions and, even worse, proposed plans that will continue to encourage this reckless behavior by Wall Street at the expense of all Americans.
ALL Indiana Congressional Representatives should be forced to explain why they keep bailing out these financial institutions without consequence!
My friend Stephen Edds has a great post up today at the Crazyman website about the massive bailout extended to Wall Street brokerages, investment banks and other financial titans that is intended to shore up the economy but really is just shoring up Bu$h'$ Ba$e.
So, we're paying OUR taxes for loans to private Wall Street brokerage firms who made bad investments with OUR money in order to keep them from losing OUR money and keep their salaries?
Wall Street is out of control and they're double-dipping from the American people.
TE Scott and I will be attending and will find out if Rep. Burton is willing to address the issues of the commodites market and how they're adversly affecting Hoosiers. Finding new energy is one thing, speculators driving up prices and making millions based on this insecurity is something else.
Here's the press release from Congressman Burton's office:
(Washington, D.C.) - Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN-5) announced today that he would be holding a District Hearing on Energy. He has invited a number of energy experts, community leaders and media personalities to discuss the current energy crisis and how we can work to solve these problems in both the short and long term. The conference is open to the public and is scheduled for Monday, July 28 at 1 p.m.
...then we as a state and country are seriously asleep at the wheel.
The Wall Street Journal's James Grant asks the question "Why No Outrage" at the behavior of Wall Street. With hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers with 401k's and all Hoosiers paying igher tazes at the pump, this isn't just a "not my problem" issue:
*Every day, you read and hear about how
the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)
and Standard & Poor's (S&P 500® is
used in reference not only to the index
but also to the 500 actual companies, the
stocks of which are included in the index)
performed for the day with the
information sometimes leading the nightly news.
It is hyped, promoted, obsessed over and
followed passionately, but let me ask you
a question:
Friday night, we hosted a hospitality suite at the Indiana Democratic State Convention where delegates and media members had an opportunity to meet TE Scott and hear about "Crazyman's Economics." We met a lot of wonderful people who share our vision to address the negative impact of the stock market and commodities market on average Hoosiers and Americans.
As we've stated, our goal is to build a grassroots coalition to take on Wall Street. This isn't necessarily a partisian issue as it is a issue affecting all Americans. Our goal isn't politcal, but philosophical.
But we feel the Democrats have the ability to take this issue and promote it as part of a plan to help working-class Americans restore their faith that their government is looking out for them.
One state senator stopped by the suite and in the course of the conversation with T.E. asked what he could do as a state senator on a national issue?
I told him, as I will tell all of the readers of Smaller Indiana, you have a bully pulpit. If you tell your constituents, friends, family, neighbors and co-workers about T.E. Scott and "Crazyman's Economics," we can begin a debate that will stretch across the country and eventually land in Washington, D.C.
And let's face it, for everyone who met T.E. Scott, wouldn't it be fun to see him in front of a Congressional Committee in his overalls taking on Congress on behalf of the American people?
Tomorrow, we will be on "Abdul in the Morning" on WXNT-AM 1490 in Indianapolis from 8AM-9AM. On July 2, we will launch our updated website at http://www.crazymanseconomics.... We are already taking heat from those who want to maintain the status quo, so more than ever, your help is needed.
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