This is a fantastic piece. The end of the American empire is upon us and there is nothing we can do but watch it unravel. Too bad Obama will be left holding the bag. I think he really was a genuine, well-meaning, intelligent person who offered great promise and hope to the United States. Instead, he will be blamed for so much of the calamity that is to come.
As many historians and social scientists have noted, all great empires come to an end. The interesting thing about America’s fall is that we’ll probably accelerate it through deep split between right wing extremists and misguided liberals. Meanwhile, the rampant and rapacious greed on Wall Street, in the health insurance and pharmaceutical industry, and among the lobbyists of K Street, will strip ordinary working-class and middle-class Americans (anyone making between $40,000 and $200,000 per year) of all wealth and opportunity for the future. Yes, a new form of bondage and indentured servitude will arrive.
Frightening times ahead.
Guest Post: How Did America Fall So Fast? « naked capitalism.
Let’s not forget Colin Powell’s uncomfortable departure and subsequent distancing from the Bush camp. And Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson, though not Bush cabinet members, were part of his intelligence community and were hung out to dry for speaking the truth about the concocted fable of WMDs in Iraq.
ANOTHER BUSH INSIDER TELLS THE TRUTH – James Quinn — Seeking Alpha.
Until we have complete failure of the American financial system–or complete change at the top of government and private industry–we will not get reform that is needed. I don’t know when it’s going to come, nor what form it will take, but people who think we’re in recovery, or that “the recession” is over, etc, are either delusional, incompetent, or spreading lies. This epoch in American history cuts to the very core of our existence and stature in the geo-political and world economic landscape. I just wonder who is going to step into the breech and provide a way forward that preserves the fundamental tenets of our original framers. The lunatic fringe has spread like a cancer on the right, turning conservatives into fear mongering demagogues, and the left is so disconnected from reality they are foundering and can’t sieze the moment to galvanize disenfranchised and defeated middle class and working class Americans. Independents and Libertarians like Ron Paul have been come polemicists and are only fanning the flames of fear and uncertainty. People have seemingly lost the capacity for reasonable discourse and have become subservient to spoon fed pablum that keeps them ignorant of what is happening all around them.
While I admire Obama’s intellect and seemingly sincere concern, it’s clear that he has surrounded himself with the same breed of advisors as the Bush administration had. We’re going nowhere good, fast.
is Obama heading for an Hooverian legacy? I think so and unfortunately the stakes are much higher and the populous today is much less educated and more polemicized. It’s going to get ugly before it gets better.
This article speaks for itself. Mish Shedlock is, again, right on target. A great open letter to the President that lays bare the inconsistencies and failures of the administration to truly grasp our problem.
Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis: Dear Mr. President, With All Due Respect …..
Here are some of the better excerpts, but I urge you to read the whole article. On the twisted logic of getting the banks to lend:
With all due respect Mr. President, you and Congress want to force banks to lend when banks (by not lending) are acting responsibly for the first time in a decade. Mr, President can you please tell us who banks are supposed to lend to? Do we need any more Home Depots? Pizza Huts? Strip malls? Nail salons? Auto dealerships? What Mr. President? What? And why should banks be lending when unemployment is rising and lending risks right along with it?
And on our military budget:
With all due respect Mr. President, The United States spends more on its military budget than the next 45 highest spending countries in the world combined; The United States accounts for 48 percent of the world’s total military spending; The United States spends on its military 5.8 times more than China, 10.2 times more than Russia, and 98.6 times more than Iran. Isn’t that enough Mr. President?
And the one observation I think is most critical, because it gets to the root of the problem with the Obama administration:
With all due respect Mr. President, Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke are offering the same policies as President Bush and Secretary Paulson. Those policies are to bail out banks regardless of cost to taxpayers. Mr. President, it’s hard enough to overlook Geithner’s tax indiscretions. Mr. President, it is harder still. if not impossible, to ignore the fact that neither Geithner nor Bernanke saw this coming. Yet amazingly they are both cock sure of the solution. Even more amazing is the fact that solution changes every day.
I’ve heard rumblings of this for years, but this article is the first to really offer specifics. Is it really that far-fetched to believe there was such fraud and theft by American contractors and senior military brass in Iraq? The NYTimes did report on the comptroller’s arrest and conviction for fraud, but there is scant attention here.
A ‘fraud’ bigger than Madoff – Americas, World – The Independent.
Wow! Wow! I can’t say I’m a big fan of Microsoft, but my respect for Steve Ballmer has just gone through the roof. I haven’t heard a Fortune 500 CEO lay it out so clearly and concisely as Ballmer. And the fact that he has such a command of financial History is doubly impressive.
Ballmer has gotten it right. I wonder where he came by his knowledge of the past US financial crises? His argument is precisely in line with everything this blog stands for, including his final comment that this crisis presents us with an unprecendented opportunity to get on the right track.
Bravo to Mr. Ballmer. I only hope some of the Congressional democrats he was speaking to really listened.
Ballmer likens economy to depressions of 1837, 1873, and 1929 | Politics and Law – CNET News.
This is a must read. I wish I could say it as succinctly as Roger. In my humble opinion, his analysis is spot on. The whole article is here:
Information Arbitrage: I Just Don’t Get It.
I’ve excerpted the last paragraph. He gets right down to business:
“Just maybe the Fed can push rates to zero and China and Japan will continue buying Treasuries. Just maybe fear will keep the dollar strong while we run multi-trillion dollar deficits and keep rates across the curve low. Just maybe Citigroup and Bank of America can be bailed out without trashing common shareholders and certain debtholders, and cost US taxpayers less than if they were taken over and worked out. Just maybe millions will get back to work because low rates will help banks rebuild their balance sheets, enable businesses to borrow and invest, create a massive mortgage refinancing windfall and get consumers spending again. Just maybe we don’t need an upgrading of our physical and technology infrastructures; it’s good enough. Just maybe all of our dreams really will come true.”
If you haven’t already noticed, George Bush’s last days in office were atypical compared to his predecessor. Unlike Clinton, who pardoned almost 500 people–with 140 of them coming in the last hours! of his presidency, Bush 43 pardoned less than 200 people. I applaud him for showing restraint and not abusing the power of the office (for once). I am especially encouraged that he did not pardon Scooter Libby–despite Cheney’s clear disagreement. Though I think History will judge the Bush/Cheney presidency as a colossal failure on virtually all accounts, Bush deserves credit and respect for exercising good judgement with respect to pardons. If he could have only done that more often throughout his 8 year tenure.