Plunder

Rep. Peter Defazio, D, Oregon (above)

Paul Krugman

A free market bailout via Freakonomics.

Outside the mainstream news, there are those such as Danny Schechter who have been writing about the imminent collapse of the American economy. How did he see this coming? The same way he foresaw the Iraq War debacle in "Weapons of Mass Deception," his previous book, by focusing on facts and issues that mainstream media ignores. Richard Power has also been foretelling our economic issues for some time.

But, did you not see it coming yourself?

We have a vice president who says, "Reagan proved that the national debt is unimportant." Industry focuses on short-term profits and refuses to make long-term investments, so Ford and GM think they need $25 billion of federal credit to retool. We have a trillion dollar war paid for on credit. We had a housing boom, paid for on credit. We have increasing income inequality, so, except for the very rich, no one has money to pay for higher housing prices. After a while, as Republicans used to understand, you have to pay the money back, and if wages are not keeping pace, this becomes impossible.

The issue is not about Wall Street, though, in 1999, lobbyists convinced Senator Phil Gramm to eliminate the regulations that would have forestalled the collapse and they deserve their credit. (Credit was a very poor choice of words, was it not?) The issue is the sustainability of the economy as a whole. Some short-term action is justified. But, can a bailout really make the economy more sustainable?

Update:9/26/08: Danny Schecter

A small business bailout. (Also, I still think companies with more than $1 billion dollars profit should face tax consequences that cause them to split into smaller companies. History says they will create more jobs and require less government assistance than their larger counterparts.)

Update:10/04/08:Enron foretold our misfortune, a former executive tells the truth Congress would have heard if it had bothered to listen