A Political Rant

Two years ago, I would have found it hard to believe that, just a fews days before the midterm elections, the Democrats would find themselves in danger of losing both houses of Congress. They had just swept the national elections, and had elected a new, dynamic leader, who appeared (to me) to be the bold, intelligent leader we so desperately needed.

The Republican Party, on the other hand, seemed destined for hard times. They had presided over the worst economic debacle since the great depression and had lied their way into an unpopular and economically disastrous war in Iraq. Fewer jobs were produced during the Bush Administration than in any other administration since the Hoover Administration. The average American Family had found itself poorer at the end of the Bush Administration than they had at the beginning. When Bush had taken office, America was enjoying budget surpluses. By the time, Bush left office, we were facing record budget deficits. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, these deficits are largely attributed to three factors: the cost of the Iraqi War, the Bush tax cuts, and the great recession. (The great recession was, in turn, caused by the failure to properly regulate financial institutions, and the failure of the legal and accounting professions, more on this in subsequent posts). While Average Americans were suffering, the Bush Administration and the Federal Reserve bailed out the very same same corrupt financial institutions whose malfeasance had caused the financial crisis in the first place. Those corrupt financial institutions promptly turned around and used some of their bailout money to pay enormous bonuses to the very same individuals who had designed and implemented these schemes .

Sadly, the Democrats have squandered their chance to lead, and as a result we are threatened with Government by rabid Mob. By Rabid Mob, I mean the Tea Party. The tea-baggers, as they have chose to call themselves, are mad, and they are not going to take it anymore. By “it” they seem to mean government spending, bailouts for the unemployed, and people with too much melanin (especially those who live in a big white house in Washington D.C. or know some Spanish). I don't understand. There is plenty to be angry about. But this anger is misplaced. Excessive Government spending and over regulation is not what caused this massive unemployment, nor was it caused by brown people. It was caused by a failure to regulate the financial industry.

And who blocked the efforts to regulate the financial industry?

I Can't Help Myself

I just have to link to Professor Krugman.

Well, I’m back, with a new version of an old, unsuccessful blog. I figure if Wall Street and the politicians can keep spewing out the same, old nonse

Well, I’m back, with a new version of an old, unsuccessful blog. I figure if Wall Street and the politicians can keep spewing out the same, old nonsense year-after-year, Why not me?

Anyway, the new Fineline will be quite different from the old. It will cover a wider range of topics. I will also do most of my posting on the weekends, since I am so busy during the week. I encourage my readership, and I mean both of you, to participate, to challenge my assumptions, to educate me and, of course most importantly, to provide frequent praise and adoration.

I'm back with a new, even worse attempt at blogging.