Do politicians understand simple economic realities? Or are they so morally and spiritually bankrupt that all they are capable of is being lap dogs for the special interest groups? During W's tenure, with regulation thrown out the proverbial window, economic models presupposed that the average citizen could afford to spend 60-70% of their income on a mortgage; and if they couldn't somebody, who could, would come along and buy the property. And property values would continue to rise, or at least not fall. There was no need for "truth in lending", or honesty in ratings, or regulation of any sort because the market would police itself. Well, it did.
At the same time this Free Market Renaissance was going on; now remember the 60-70%, the Bush Administration, through it's policies, was waging war on middle class America. There was, and continues to be, strong anti-union sentiment among conservatives in this country. The prevailing thought was/is that American workers are overpaid and under worked. The solution was the exportation of jobs and a slander campaign against unions. The rights of workers in this country were diminished and it was deemed unpatriotic to expect overtime pay or benefits or even a fair wage. Note: America has the highest relative poverty level of any industrialized country. The middle class, the backbone of the America Way, is shrinking! Bush implemented 1/2 of Nixon's policy of wage and price controls and effectively picked the pockets of the American people.
Am I crazy? Am I a socialist? Is this insane? Those scholarly journalists at Fox, the Jerry Springer of news casting, are calling for the same failed policies. Thought their lawyers, they have sweet employment contracts, yet they denounce union contracts and middle class rights. The tea party citizens may be victims of the rhetoric, as so many of them collect government benefits. One definition of insanity is to do the same thing over again and expect different results!
No comments:
Post a Comment