Top Down or Bottom Up?

Ben Stein—the lawyer, economist turned deadpan actor—asks the question, "Why not fix the economy by starting at the bottom" (my words, not precisely his)? If bad mortgages are a root cause of the problems now referred to as the Wall Street implosion, then why not give taxpayers a fix on those mortgages? The government is already a landlord (see "government housing"), and the Bush administration has already tried two stimulus packages. (Remember that check you got this summer? It was the second one Bush gave you, in case you forgot.)

A lot of people have been asking this question everywhere but at the highest level of government. The answer seems to be that the cost of this sort of bailout would likely far exceed the current $700 billion being sought.

There are, of course, other reasons. Obviously, the Bush administration wants to bailout its closest allies, and none of them are regular taxpayers, living in small town America. Half of all Americans who voted in the last two elections may have voted for the Dude, but none of you are his real constituency. Bush has always represented big oil and the northeastern banking community. Even if the man himself didn't know that.

The Democrats, on the other hand, have their own rational in this endeavor. They want controls in place over Wall Street and its bankers. No doubt, they have a point, but it remains unclear whether any controls they may be able to employ will much benefit the taxpayer.

As a result of growing up in the oil industry, The Dude demonstrates his capacity to explain the problem with imported oil: "It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas." — George W. Bush, Beaverton, Oregon, September 2000.

P. S. Free Marketeers as a matter of principle press for high office holders to be either incompetent or corrupt.

With that in mind, did you happen to see The Daily Show episode featuring Tony Blair? The former prime minister who helped furnish felonious evidence in the run up to the Iraq war is still insisting that invading Iraq was necessary and justified. His rational seemed to hinge on a repetition of "I believe … I believe …." Herr Tony is a devout Roman Catholic. Jon Stuart, who generally seems to be easily star struck, softly quizzed the former British pol, whose career seems to have hinged on his Tom Cruise-like smile, offering repeated opportunities for reassessment, but darling Tony only grinned and repeated his "belief" statement.

Note: I have no idea whether or not Tony Blair was in any way corrupt. But he sure has a nice smile, doesn't he? And he can appear incredibly sincere.

Bailout Sounding More and More Like Iraq War:

Sec. Paulson's bailout proposal of Wall Street has one big troubling factor: no one seems to know what he wants the taxpayers to buy. Or how much any of the stuff that's being sold is actually worth. (See The New York Times' Vikas Bajaj's story.)

The first word was that everything was going at bargain basement prices. This was the deal of a lifetime. The taxpayers, we were told, would end up owning a bunch of stuff that we could turn around and sell at a yard sale or put on eBay and make a killing from, creating instant solvency for a bankrupt nation.

Ooopsie! It could very well be that Paulson is simply pushing the administration's plan to further bankrupt the nation, a process that has been going on for seven and a half years at this point.

The Bush administration is the most corrupt and incompetent administration in U. S. history; can taxpayers believe anything it says? Even former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (a firmly established free marketeer) is screaming "Wait just a minute" on this one.

Remember the run up to the Iraq war, when the administration told us the sky was falling and manufactured lies about yellow cake and al Qaeda. Their real purpose was good old fashioned war profiteering.

The Dude went on TV last night to urge the nation to back Paulson's bailout plan. Watching him deliver the speech, it wasn't clear whether he'd had a chance to read it prior to going on the air. Obviously, he didn't write it himself, and considering the way he read it, it certainly wasn't clear he understood it. (See The Washington Post story.)

The Dude on Iraq: "I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is—my point is, threre's a strong will for democracy." — George W. Bush to Wolf Blitzer on CNN, Sept. 24, 2006. (Note: Immediately following the fall of Bagdad, the Iraqi people began setting up there own democratic organizations and holding elections. The Americans moved quickly to cancel these elections and to hand pick the people they wanted in charge in Iraq. The Bush administration was in fact terrified of democracy emerging in Iraq and moved at every step to undermine it.)

Senior White House Officials Involved in Approving Torture:

While the news is dominated by the current economic crisis, information indicating that Condoleezza Rice, John Ashcroft, and Don Rumsfield were all envolved in meetings where approval of "harsh interrogation techniques," better known as torture, by the C.I.A. were approved. (See The New York Times story.) The administration has consistantly denied the use of torture, based solely on renaming the activity. (I wonder if this defense would have worked at Nuremberg. "It's not 'torture' 'cause we don't call it that.")

Another Part of the Plot To Steal the Next Election:

Here's a twist: millions of people have lost their homes this year, but they are registered to vote at the addresses of the homes they've been kicked out of. That means their votes can be tossed out unless they re-register. No one can know how each of these voters might vote in advance, but it's a safe bet that many, perhaps most, would vote for a change of party in the White House, considering how angry they must feel. (See The New York Times story.)

Sen. McCain Tries New Stratedgy:

John McCain is running a little behind in the polls, and he really hasn't a clue about how the American economy works. John, you see, has lived a socialist's life. His father was a career naval officer. John was a career naval officer, and he's been a government employee for many decades. In fact, John's first hand knowledge of capitalism comes from having married money. John never had any reason to understand the economy. But that's okay, as long as he's never in control of it.

Now with the economy ready to come crashing down the bottom 90 percent of American's ears, folks have to be concerned about the possibility of him become the leader of the free world. The stratedgy is to go running back to Washington, surround himself with folks who are easily identifiable as economic advisers, and to sound really tough.

And, oh, yes, duck out on the debates. John has never been very good at those anyway. (See The New York Times story.)

Why $700 Billion?

Answer: No one knows. Apparently, Paulson simply made a wild guess and tried to make the figure sound very big in the hope that the world market would be impressed. (NPR carries a story on this subject.)

Where Should I Invest My Money?

The average total cost for a family's health care coverage now stands at $12,680 per year. Do the math, and you'll realize all of the big money is in health care. If you're going to spend it there, you might as well invest it there. (See The New York Times story.)

Sec. Paulson Wants To Be Your Daddy:

David Brooks of The New York Times explains how Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson intends to become your daddy, at least for the next few months. The "trust me, and don't watch" bailout plan put forward by Paulson and backed by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke allows no room for oversight or transparency of any sort.

Critics have pointed out that the current bum rush to act is highly reminiscent of the lead up to the Iraq war, which was based on blatant lies and the purpose of which, we now know, was simply to enrich Bush/Cheney cronies through massive privatization at taxpayers' expense.

Brooks, a conservative Republican, points out that "[t]he market for credit-default swaps alone has exploded to $45.5 trillion, up from $900 billion in 2001."

Anil K Kashyap and Jeremy C Stein provide some insightful speculation on how the Paulson process might play out. The most positive outlook seems to be that the Fed will be buying cheap and eventually selling dear, which will, in the long run, enrich the federal coffers, thus repaying the American taxpayer. However, the Bushites have had a long standing policy of giving away much of the American government to privateers, who inturn become fabulously wealthy at the expense of the American taxpayers, while services become restricted to only those wealthy enough to afford them.

The Dude explains his economic policy: "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." — George W. Bush, Trenton, New Jersey, Sep. 23, 2002.

More, Please!

There is no lack of vampires.

Everybody hates socialism until it comes time to feed at the trough. This morning's lead story in The New York Times features the lobbying by the financial industry to widen the $700 billion bailout. It's a time to further profit off the taxpayer. ($700 billion = $2,000 for every man, woman and child in America. How soon can you cough your share up?)

The head vampire, in this case, is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, whose plan amounts, as Paul Krugman points out, to providing himself with virtually dictatorial powers, a bailout without any penalties or responsibilities on the part of those being bailed out. And no oversight.

Keep in mind, this administration is the one that has been hell bent on gutting the federal government, selling off services to privateers at bargain basement prices, leaving citizens and taxpayers to rot. (See New Orleans and Katrina.) Disasters, as the Bush administration sees it, or simply opportunities for privateers.

The Dude warns the voters about politicians who stretch the truth: "America better beware of a candidate who is willing to stretch reality in order to win points." — George W. Bush aboard his campaign plane in 2000.

Finding Solvency the Swedish Way:

About sixteen years ago, Sweden faced the same banking problems that Americans are now confronted with. How did the Swedes solve their problem? The key, according to The New York Times, lies in requiring banks "to write down losses and issue warrants to the government." The key word is "equity."

And the key point is that no one in Washington is considering the Swedish way at all. Not in either party. Naturally, we shouldn't forget that the Bush family is so tied up with the bankers, especially the northeastern banking group, that it's impoosible to believe the current administration would do anything that wouldn't benefit the banks.

Now you know why the administration is crying panic and demanding immediate action. If Washington moves slowly, the bailout will end up looking a lot differently.

Bush to Bailout Irresponsible Financial Institutions by Borrowing $700 Billion:

Question: Once the Bush administration buys out the incompetently run financial institutions with all of this borrowed money, will he turn around and sell it back to them at bargain basement prices? This has been the policy around the world during the Bush administration, and it's been the policy of the so called "free market" folks for most of the past half century. If you want to understand the mess that is Iraq, this is the principle you need to grasp.

In order to make the buyout, the government will need to increase the national debt to $11.3 trillion—that's "trillion," with a "t"—; remember Bush's promises at the beginning of his reign? When Clinton (another free marketer) left office, we were moving towards solvency as a nation. Yes, I know, 9/11 changed everything. It provided those who would destroy this nation with their best opportunity to do so.

By the way, while you and I and our children and our children's children will be paying off this debt, the CEOs who created this problem will be walking away with 100s of millions of dollars. Bush's solution: lower taxes for the super wealthy, of which he and his family are members.

In rationalizing the bailout, Bush said yesterday that "over time, we're going to get a lot of the money back." Who is the "we" he's talking about?

(See today's New York Times for a look at the bailout. See Steve McGourty's look at the national debt since the end of World War II.)

Who Will Pay the Bill?

Whoever is running the executive branch of the federal government—at this point, no one is quite sure, but it certainly isn't George W. Bush (he of the M.B.A. degree)—has decided to bail out the economy, at a cost equal to the Pentagon budget and quite possibly even more. (See The Washington Post story.)

This is the cost of the Bush doctrine, the notion that a hollowed out government, which serves as nothing more than a vehicle to transfer tax dollars to private speculators' hands, is the best of all possible governments.

Notice, you haven't heard much out of Tricky Dick Cheney during the economic crisis. The Veep has done quite well with his disaster businesses and can't imagine what all the fuss is about. He and his cronies have gone from being super rich to even more super rich.

In the meantime, after seven years of war in Afghanistan, the Taliban, the folks that helped make 9/11 possible, have grown far stronger and more sophisticated. (See The Washington Post story.)

George W. Bush illustrates the value of an M.B.A. from Yale University:

1. "The best way to relieve families from time is to let them keep some of their own money."
2. "A tax cut is really one of the anecdotes to coming out of an economic illness."
3. "I'm confident we can work with Congress to come up with an economic stimulus package that will send a clear signal to the risk takers and capital fromators of our country."
4. "I glance at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves."

Let's add one more: I will drive this square peg into that round hole even if it kills you.

Who Does She Remind You Of?

It will come as no surprise that a New York Times story on Sarah Palin paints a less than positive picture of the governor and would be vice president, but the question needs to be asked, who does Gov. Palin remind you of?

Especially as John McCain is 72 and has had major health issues in the recent past, we need to know what the person who would step into his shoes might be like. From the description provided by the Times' writers, it seems like she most closely resembles the current occupant of the White House. Someone who hires friends regardless of qualifications, refuses to listen to criticism, and spends most of her time on vacation. And knows absolutely nothing about foreign affairs. Perhaps she's a quick study.

Making the World a More Violent Place:

For my money Ronald Reagan was one of the worst presidents this country has ever had, but old wooden head did get one thing right. He moved the world toward the reduction of nuclear weapons. Reagan was appalled by the idea that either one of two nations could kill off every living soul on the planet several times over.

Currently, the Republican party likes to claim Ronny as their godfather, the man in whose image they all claim to be made. If that's the case, you gotta ask yourself why is it that the Bush administration is pushing for ever increasing arms sales? (See The New York Times' story.) America will sell $32 billion in arms to foreign countries this year, up from just $12 billion in 2005.

The Dude explains it all: "I will have a foreign-handed foreign policy." — George W. Bush, Redwood, CA, September 2000. (And he surely has.)

Signs of the Times:

State lottery ticket sales around the U. S. are setting records. Today's New York Times reports that many state lotteries are experiencing increased sales at folks watch their incomes being eaten away by high energy costs, inflation, and weekly paychecks that stagnated for thirty years.

The numbers racket has always thrived in the poorest neighborhoods where people who see no other way out of their desperate financial situation gamble what little money they have against long shot odds that make a fixed horse race look like a sure bet.

Here's a hint: your odds of winning the state lottery are far worse than any odds Las Vegas will give you. You've got a better chance of winning if you play the slots.

Freedom Is Just another Word:

For your friendly secret police spying on you. That's right, the FBI has been given the legal capacity to spy on you when their is no evidence that you have done anything wrong. Not a problem, right, as long as you never do anything illegal? That's what people thought during the Nixon administration too. (See The New York Times' article on the new Bush executive order increasing the FBI's powers.)

When the Right Hand Doesn't Know Where the Left Hand Is:

Quick! What's the world's biggest suicide bomber?

Answer: The United States.

Staggers the mind, right? We've lived with this fellow for a half century. He calls himself "The Nuclear Umbrella." (Words truly are wonderful.) The nuclear umbrella is the policy of developing a nuclear "defense system," which consists of nuclear weapons sufficient to kill every person on the planet about six times over. As with all suicide bombers, the problem with him is that once you use him you can never use him again. But, oh, the delicious thrill of his threat!

Unfortunately, the armed forces seem to have run into difficulties in controlling this big fellow. Today's New York Times reports on the Air Force's "stewardship of its nuclear arsenal" and "'the lack of unity of command and not having one person or organization accountable for the overall mission'" in Defense Secretary Gates' words. You've heard the term, "loose cannon," right?

Worst case scenario—you won't be around to say, "Ooopsie!" Even a president suffering with Alzheimers understood this.

Ooopsie!

Remember back prior to 2003, back before Bush invaded Iraq based on lies and deceit. Saddam Hussein was trying to sell the massive oil reserves the country sits on top of to Russia and other non U. S. oil folks, for Euros and other currencies that were not U. S. dollars. Back then Exxon Mobil was not the richest company in the world.

Then Herr Bush trumped up a slug fest of lies (or he was gullible enough to swallow ones handed him by others) and led the U. S. into a bombing spree and invasion, creating havoc and a lot of dead folks, otherwise known as a disaster. The next step was to give away portions of the country. In this case Saddam's nationalized oil industry.

What followed was a bunch of no-bid contracts to Cheney cronies. Western oil companies were supposed to get cheap access to that oil, or at least its production. But yesterday it appears the deals were canceled, according to The New York Times. Apparently, scrutiny by the American congress was bringing too much attention to the shenanigans.

Sex, Drugs and Graft: It's Business as Usual at the Interior Department:

The Interior Department is the agency that collects royalties from the oil companies when they drill on our (government) land. Following the model of the Bush administration generally, the department is embroiled in a major scandal. Hey, it's just rock-n-roll, right? (See The New York Times' story.)

Note to the Dude: Yes, history will judge your administration—the most corrupt, incompetent administration in American history.

The Dude explains the difficulty of being top dog: "You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." — George W. Bush in an interview with Katie Couric on CBS News, Sep. 6, 2006.

Cheney Shakes Fist in Russia's Face:

With no hint of irony, Tricky Dick Cheney told the Russians, "We know that if one country is allowed to unilaterally redraw the borders of another, it will happen and it will happen again" (qtd. Steven Lee Myers in The New York Times). Is it any wonder that John McCain is fully at ease with proclaiming he can lead the country as an agent of change?

Way back in 2000, the Dude explained the Republican party's mission this way: "We'll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers." — George W. Bush, Houston, Texas, 2000. (Well, he was speaking to Texans.)

Bush Economic Strategy Is Success; More People Out of Work:

The Bush free trade policy is all about low taxes for business, achieving productivity through slave labor, destroying unions whenever possible, moving business to countries that employ child labor, and laying off workers at home.

Yesterday, the Bush administration received wonderful news. Since 2003, the year the Bush administration declared war on Iraq based on lies and general misinformation, the unemployment rate has been steadily rising in the U.S. As of Friday, it had reached its highest level in that five year period—6.1 percent.

The Bush McCain response to labor's complaints: you're all a bunch of whiners! We got ours, so shut up!

Milton Friedman would have been proud.

Put a nincompoop in charge of the government and unfettered capitalism can turn the world into a giant sweat shop. (You're doin' a great job, Brownie!)

The Dude addresses the health care issue: "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country." — George W. Bush, Poplar Bluff, MO, September 2004.

Palin Promises to Chase Liberals Out of White House:

Sarah Palin, governor of the biggest welfare state in the country—Alaskans pay fewer federal taxes and receive more federal aid per capita than any other state—promised to change things in Washington, D.C. last night. She and John McCain plan to chase the good old boys out of the nation's capital. Evidently, her first act as vice president will be to stage a coup and throw McCain out if he's elected president.

But wait! Could I be missing something here? Nixon was a Republican, Ford was a Republican, Carter was a conservative Democrat, Reagan was an ultra conservative Republican, Daddy Bush was a Republican, Junior Bush is a Republican. Oh, I see, Sarah Palin is actually a liberal Democrat! Now I get it.

I'll betcha if the next prez gives every person in America $1,200 that his ratings will be high too.

You gotta love the quip about pit bulls wearing lipstick. Now that's policy that can get our economy back on the right track!

Speaking about policy, here's the Dude back in 2003: "Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace." — George W. Bush, Pittsburgh, PA, July 2003. (No wonder Palin wants to change things.)

Republicans Channel Hurricane for Success at Polls:

Will Gustav put McCain in the White House? Most Americans think Katrina pointed out the weaknesses in the Bush administration. His favorable numbers plummeted three years ago after Katrina, bringing to light what many thought were the weaknesses in his policies. (See today's New York Times' "Storm Politics Present Risks and Rewards.")

Just keep in mind that, while Dick Cheney has been working hard to restore the "Imperial Presidency," the Republican party's ultimate policy is to privatize as many government services as possible. Having government function incompetently is part of their strategic plan, using that as an excuse to "sell off" government services to monopolists who will then profit à la Black Water.

(See Christopher Buckley's mock schedule for the Republican National Convention.)

"How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are stranded and homeless?!" — a shopper at the Ferragamo store in New York City to Condoleezza Rice, several days after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans, September 1, 2005.

The Dude flies over the stricken city: "It's totally wiped out …. It's devastating—it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground." — George W. Bush in Air Force One above New Orleans, August 31, 2005.

Today in history: on September 1, 1939, German forces invaded Poland, beginning World War II.