We’re All Socialists Now?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Economy, MoneyTime to take a step back: A Republican President just sent out his Treasury Secretary to announce the federal government will spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” to takeover a not-insignificant chunk of the economy.
However, is this socialism or simply realism?
And, by the way, I give Bush A LOT of credit for doing something that’s so diametrically opposed to his own economic philosophy. He should be commended for not blindly adhering to his free market ideology.
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September 19th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Socialism always rescues Capitalism
September 19th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Wow is that a piece of bullcrap.
This whole collapse started with the unconstitutional quasi government corners on the market by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–who churned out he toxic mortgage derivatives (and enjoyed widespread bipartisan support)–which the Bush administration resisted, albeit way too belatedly, regulation of this corrupt New Deal creation two years ago.
Bush has never been a free marketer–he has favored it when it is to the advantage of his rich friends. For example, regulation of mortgage originators by the states was halted by federal preemption –and the Feds then chose to do nothing—that is not fee market or conservative–it is big government favoritism.
The fiscal conservative who has managed to make LBJ look thrifty has now outdone himself.
September 19th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Becky – You might as well not even try. It is too complicated for them and it is much easier and lot more fun to simply say that greedy, rich people are our problem and that the free-market is to blame. Not to mention, it is a perfect for a 20-second sound bite.
September 19th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Justin,
This quote from John Cole comes right b/4 the snippet you used on previous post: “In other words, folks spent years making billions upon billions of dollars on risky transactions, more money on the stock of companies that was artificially high based on those transactions, more money bundling all those transactions into more transactions, and made a killing, and when it turns out the whole thing is a big pile of shit, you and I get the god damned bill.” PERFECT way to put it, but the shame of it is that they HAD TO DO IT!
The great irony is that it was a Republican President who was forced to oversee it, and many Republican Congressmen who backed his appointees who actually did the deed! And to top it all off, it’s the Republicans in Congress now who are the most outraged with the proposed bailout – all except one- Sen. McCain! And whose position does McCain’s back up? Could it be George Bush’s?
Becky, while it is true that both the Dems & Repubs both have guilt to go around for this collapse of our once perceived “Free Market Capitalism” economic system, the problem started way before a couple of years ago. Some of the rules were changed in ‘99 when the Clinton Admin. made it easier to get a mortgage and include millions more in the ‘American Dream’. Regulation wasn’t the problem as the Repubs are always saying, but rather the gross lack of it, plus the lack of transparancy and just a total lack of caring in the Bush Adminstration about anything but political gain.
They just kept chanting these mantras at us: Free trade, Regulation evil, Government intervention evil… Now that the Gov, under George Bush, is in large co-ownership of the entire financial banking system, we’ll just have to add another chapter to the legacy!
September 19th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
J. Harden,
We’ll excuse your ignorance. The mantras obviously worked their brain numbing magic on you!
September 19th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Do we give credit to some one who had to abandon a central governing philosophy to address a situation? If your original philosophy was good then you probably should not have to abandon it in a crisis.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Gaucho: I dunno. I think its possible for someone who largely follows a destructive path to do something right every now and then. This certainly doesn’t excuse the last 8 years, but it does deserve a nod.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Hmmm, we’re giving credit to Bush for abandoning free market principles, but overseeing yet another large transfer of wealth from the middle class to the upper class, who have benefitted obscenely under the situation that was largely overseen by the Republicans.
Come again?
I will absolutely agree that when it comes to Freddie and Fannie the Dems were more than complicit from 2003 to 2005–though it needs to be pointed out that when the Dems suggested regulations and oversight in late 2005, that was shot down by the Bush administration and GOP leaders. So, while I admit the Dems were part of the problem, I am getting kind of tired of the GOP fanboys coming in and not recognizing Republican complicity. And as embarrassing as Fannie and Freddie are, they are just a part of the problem. Bear Stearns, Lehmon Brothers, AIG, Washington Mutual, etc…these issues can be laid straight on the laps of the GOP. The Republicans aren’t talking about that—and when they do, they deliberately blur the lines.
Fannie and Freddie aside, the economic disaster we have found ourselves in is going to be resolved just the way Bush always does….privatize profit, nationalize risk.
It’s nonsense. Utter, complete nonsense.
At the very core of this issue is the fact that the deregulation environment prevelent since Reagan has allowed companies to merge and grow so that it is dangerous to allow them to fail. The lack of oversight, and ignoring monopolies means we HAVE to save them.
What happened to the conservative Republican party? What happened to their supposed fiscal responsibility. The GOP needs to be defeated this time around and blown up so it can reform itself. It has grown fat and greedy and has lost its way.