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Bad or Worse
Bad or Worse
Well, the Congress passed the bail out of the mortgage securities and the stock market promptly went down the drain. FYI, this is because by the time it passed that was already priced into the stock market and when the jobless data hit showing a massive loss that did not even reflect the current credit turmoil, well, let’s just say that reality is setting in. Recession is here and it could be a bad one. This makes it all the more important that we make the right choice for president.
The problem is that I don’t think that we are faced with a choice between good or bad but between bad and worse. I feel strongly that neither of the men running are the right man at the right time. The problem is that neither is voicing what is really wrong and instead they are both essentially believers that there is a governmental fix for the economy when there is none, at least directly speaking. In my view, we are now coming into the inevitable period of having to face the consequences of decades of wasteful spending and bad governance. The kind of massive reductions in both taxes and whole programs and departments, and by that I mean really, really massive, are not on the radar of the current presidential contenders. Absent both of these fixes, we are likely making matters worse in the long run, and maybe the short too.
Not that I am surprised by this because I don’t think what is necessary is on the radar of many folks in or out of government. Things are not bad enough yet and in a democracy major change only comes as a result of major crisis. The current situation has not even yet approached where I fear it might be heading and so it would be unfair to assume that either candidate would be inclined, even if they understood the magnitude of what we face, to do anything about it. Right now, they are focused on getting elected and stoking their own ambitions.
So here for whatever it is worth is my choice. McCain is bad; Obama is worse, so I am going to hold my nose and do my duty as an American and vote for McCain. My reasoning is simply that given he is a conservative republican he might at some point get a clue about what needs to be done if things go downhill. Yes, I understand that the republicans are plenty guilty of making this mess too, but as a democrat Obama is a believer in the potential of government to be a force for good and unchecked by him, this Congress could go wild intervening in the economy and bring ruin upon us. I think that the best we can hope for here is divided government. Nothing getting done would be oh so much better than either of them doing something.
Now, just to be clear, I believe that there is hope including that I hope that I am wrong about the big picture. Also, America has a way of finding the right person at the right time and I believe that when the time comes, the pattern will repeat and an FDR, Lincoln, or Reagan will emerge.
Here’s to once again hoping that what I see coming is wrong! Pray for that outcome. I would so prefer to be ridiculed than have us all suffer. There is a word for a person who would rather be right than successful. I think it is “politician”.
Posted by Herb Kay on Thursday, October 09, 2008
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