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The Best We Have?
The Best We Have?
There is something in the nature of human beings that needs to believe that someone or something is in control. That explains everything from religion to government. I suppose it is reassuring to believe that there is an order and purpose out there to the seeming chaos that swirls around us. Heck, even though I know better I sometimes find myself involuntarily falling into this mindset.
Given the illusion on most folks part that someone is in charge it leads to the natural reaction, when things don’t go as planned, that there is someone to blame. This phenomenon is in full bloom at the moment given the economic turmoil that is occurring. It is given expression in the political debate. Man, if I had a nickel for every time the president has been blamed for this mess I wouldn’t be concerned at all about it; I would be sunning myself on the Riviera.
The thing is, no one is in charge of the economy. That is why we call it a free market. Oh, there is an alternative system where someone is in charge. It is called socialism and there has never been a successful socialist model in any country anywhere, ever. You might think that this fact is something that would dissuade anyone from ever attempting to resurrect that system of state control from the ash heap of history. You would be wrong as that is exactly what we are doing right now.
Rising from the chaos and driven by the panic in the population, an election year, and the egomania of the political and economic leadership around the world, we have now embarked on a course that we will all live to regret. The Congress, having created a mess driven by its own regulation and law making (The Community Reinvestment Act and the creation of Fannie and Freddie) has convinced itself and evidently the majority of the population that the current crisis was caused by too little regulation and greedy Wall Street executives that need to be disciplined by Congress. Genius.
And so now in a mad rush to act we have a treasury department flooding the markets with dollars and taking bank stock, a compliant Fed following suit, and lawmakers who cannot wait to join the battle. Further, we are inches away from one party rule in Washington with a man in the White House who has never shown the slightest inclination in his career to take a strong stand on anything and clear redistributionist tendencies who a betting person would say is likely to be rolled over by the experienced and clearly socialistic/protectionist team of Pelosi and Reid. Batten down the hatches.
There are so many things wrong with what is happening now that it wouldn’t fit in just one of my blogs. I will write more about it as the weeks unfold. But for now consider this; does anyone really believe that the folks in congress are the 535 best in the United States? Or is it more likely that one could go into, say, a shopping mall and pick the same number of adults at random and get an equally bright sample of the population? And if this is true, do any of us really believe that we are embarking on a remotely smart course? You know what I think.
Programming Note: I am happy to announce that beginning November 6th we are launching a weekly radio show on KFNX, Phoenix Arizona, at 9:00 am every Thursday. It is called “Get Real with Herb Kay”, straight talk about your money and the world we live in. It is a call in and for those of you not in the Phoenix area, it will be live streamed on the radio station’s website and podcasts of the show will be posted here each week. Tune in and join the discussion!
Posted by Herb Kay on Thursday, October 23, 2008
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