No Soup For You!
The bailout is off, at least for now. I do not know if the measure would have stabilized our economy, or ruined it. I do know that a 110 page crap shoot is not leadership.
Nothing makes up for lack of preparation -- not money, not smarts, not even luck. I don't know how many times we have to sit through that lesson (think: 9/11, Katrina, Afghanistan, any Sarah Palin interview) but obviously we have not learned it yet. In the face of copious writing on the wall, this administration and this Congress (I'm looking at you, Pelosi) are guilty of a total failure to anticipate a massive domestic crisis or brace for its consequences, which affect us all. They are willing to drive our country straight into the ground, and it makes me so angry I don't know where to begin. Or whether I even want to begin.
Has the world gone crazy? Is anyone driving the bus anymore? From McCain's 22 hour journey to Washington, to Bush's Iraq-esqe speech at the White House, to the utterly impotent Democratic leadership in Congress (whose boldest move toward a solution has been to roll over and believe the Executive's tales of gloom and doom if we don't grant it unbridled discretion now, now, now . . . ) the whole thing is surreal. Absolutely surreal.
Nothing makes up for lack of preparation -- not money, not smarts, not even luck. I don't know how many times we have to sit through that lesson (think: 9/11, Katrina, Afghanistan, any Sarah Palin interview) but obviously we have not learned it yet. In the face of copious writing on the wall, this administration and this Congress (I'm looking at you, Pelosi) are guilty of a total failure to anticipate a massive domestic crisis or brace for its consequences, which affect us all. They are willing to drive our country straight into the ground, and it makes me so angry I don't know where to begin. Or whether I even want to begin.
Has the world gone crazy? Is anyone driving the bus anymore? From McCain's 22 hour journey to Washington, to Bush's Iraq-esqe speech at the White House, to the utterly impotent Democratic leadership in Congress (whose boldest move toward a solution has been to roll over and believe the Executive's tales of gloom and doom if we don't grant it unbridled discretion now, now, now . . . ) the whole thing is surreal. Absolutely surreal.
Labels: Rabid Conservatives, Rabid Liberals
posted by Patrick Bageant at 12:46 PM
6 Comments:
I stand by the fact that there is NO WAY that congress could fix the economy better than the treasury dept. Which is more scary, that we have to trust the treasury to save the economy, or that congress thinks it knows better?
I believe that the crisis is our fault, not their fault (whoever "they" may be). We continued to consume too much, we trusted a government which has shown itself to be inept over and over, the writings about over-financed bad debts were all over the walls, and we as the electors of our leaders did nothing about it.
To our credit (har har), I believe that we've been distracted. All the time. The emergence of the (shudder) blogosphere, the rise of Drudge, and the competitive infotainment market in the last 3 years or so has meant the public's attention has flitted from one manufactured political or social crisis to the next, with topic shifts occurring fast enough to make even an ADHD 5 year old want for more consistency. Too many in-fights, too many tempests in teacups, and too much signal in the system to be able to get a clear reading on the actual needs of the country.
This is not the gilded era where the average citizen was sorely undereducated and greatly misinformed. We had access to the information, despite the distractions of our information distribution system. Do not blame our leadership; they are the extensions of our will. Contrary to the current ideology of accepting information as entertainment, more access to information should mean a greater responsibility to think critically about that information.
Considering our modern entitlements, the fault here lies with every member of our society who did not speak up to a representative about their concerns about our economy.
I share your sentiment, 7:42, but I (respectfully) do not share your conclusion.
How are the President and this Congress (who are far, far down the list of people I would choose to run the country) expressions of my will? Why would speaking up to a representative (who will not listen to me) abrogate my fault, assuming I had any to begin with?
The truth is that this is way beyond my control, or your control, or the control of the individuals whose collective bad habits have overextend key portions our economy and put us into this mess. The purpose of the government (whose leaders just as plugged into the information age as you and me, by the way) is to help us overcome those very types of collective action problems, by providing for social stability and control.
Instead of putting their ear to the ground, our "leadership" fell asleep on it watch. Whether I read the news, consume information, telephone the legislature, or vote for any of these clowns seems irrelevant to the fact that they have completely failed their duty our country. And the fact that I (not having the options I really wanted) actually voted for some of them makes me feel more disgusted, not less.
They are expressions of your will as long as you believe in the voting process. Just like Carter was...own up to a bad call, but it was still OUR call.
By the news reporting of the reasons why the bailout failed, it appears that some representatives did listen to the majority of their constituents: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080930/meltdown_tough_votes.html?.v=1.
Natch: make that "vocal majorities"
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