IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE 2009 BEING WORSE THAN 2008...
JUST THE "SHOCK FACTOR" WILL BE MISSING FROM 2009...AFTER ALL WE DID NOT EXPECT A LOT OF WHAT HAPPEN IN 2008...
THE SUMMER OF $4 GAS...THE COLLAPSE OF WALL STREET...THE ONE MILLION LOST JOBS...ETC...
ONE THING 2009 HAS GOING FOR IT IS VERY VERY LOW EXPECTATIONS...
WE ARE IN A GREAT DEPRESSION ALREADY...SO HOW MUCH WORSE CAN IT GET... WELL, PERHAPS DON'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION ....?
WE KNOW THAT NO HORROR IS NOW UNEXPECTED... AND WASHINGTON IS FRANTIC TO RESCUE THE AMERICAN ECONOMY...AT LEAST THE WALL STREET PORTION OF IT...
MY FEELING IS THAT... IF 2008 WAS OUR 1929 REVISTED...
2009 WILL BE OUR 1932...WITH OBAMA ACTING THE ROLE OF A LATTER DAY F.D.R.
BUT SO MUCH NEEDS TO BE DONE... THE REPUBLICAN LOOTING THIS TIME WAS LITERALLY TO THE BONE...
AND THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY HAS BEEN CHANGED BY 20 YEARS OF RAY-GUN-OMICS...AND FREE TRADE NONSENSE...
THE RULE IN ANY CRISIS IS TAKE CARE OF THE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS FIRST... THEN MOVE ON TO THE DETAILS...
ANY EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR WILL TELL YOU THAT THE PATIENTS WHO COME IN SCREAMING ARE NOT THE ONES YOU TREAT FIRST... IT'S THE ONE'S WHO HAVE QUIT SCREAMING THAT REALLY NEED HELP...
RATHER THAN TRYING TO RESTART THE OLD BUBBLE ECONOMY... OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS SHOULD START TO RESTRUCTURE THE ECONOMY FROM THE BOTTOM UP...
FIRST, THERE SHOULD BE SINGLE PAYER NATIONAL HEALTH CARE... I KNOW THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE "OFF THE TABLE" BECAUSE OF THE INSURANCE LOBBY...BUT THAT WAS BEFORE THE BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES WENT BROKE...AND WERE "BAILED OUT"... NOW, AS "BAIL OUT NATION" I THINK SINGLE PAYER SHOULD BE BACK ON THE TABLE... AND IT IS THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DELIVER HEALTH CARE TO MASSES OF PEOPLE... LET THE ULTRA RICH OP-ED OUT OF THE COVERAGE IF THEY WANT...BUT NOT THE TAXES TO PAY FOR HEALTH CARE...
SECOND, THERE SHOULD BE TARIFFS TO COVER THE SOCIAL COSTS OF "GLOBALISM" IN THE AMERICAN SOCIETY AND ECONOMY... SIMPLY RACING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WAGE SCALE IS NOT THE WAY FREE TRADE WAS SUPPOSED TO WORK... BUT FREE TRADE IS AN 18TH CENTURY NOTION THAT WAS OBSOLETE DECADES AGO... THE US TRADE DEFICIT SIMPLY MUST BE SERIOUSLY ADDRESSED...AND TARIFFS CAN DO THAT...
THIRD, JOBS, PENSIONS AND WELFARE PROGRAMS NEED TO BE ESTABLISHED FOR THE MILLIONS WHO HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND DURING THE DECADES OF REPUBLICAN LOOTING...
BUT THE 1970'S TAUGHT US THAT IF YOU PAY PEOPLE NOT TO WORK...FEW PEOPLE WILL WORK!!
SO THAT MISTAKE MUST BE AVOIDED WHEN WE RE-ESTABLISH THE NEW SOCIAL SAFETY NET...
ONLY THE ELDERLY AND THE GENUINELY DISABLE SHOULD GET A "FREE LUNCH" AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE...EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMY IN SOME WAY...
JUST AS THE FED IS NOW THE "LENDER OF LAST RESORT" FOR WALL STREET...
SO TOO, WASHINGTON AND THE STATE GOVERNMENTS SHOULD BE THE "EMPLOYER OF LAST RESORT" FOR THOSE WHO ARE NO LONGER "NEEDED" IN THE CURRENT ECONOMY...
THIS WILL BE A CHALLENGE, TO BE SURE...
BUT SIMPLY BUILDING LARGER PRISONS AND MORE GENEROUS WELFARE PROGRAMS IS NOT THE ANSWER EITHER...
WILL 2009 BE WORSE THAN 2008...PROBABLY.
BUT WE ARE EXPECTING THE WORST...AND THAT IS SOME CONSOLATION...EVEN IF A NEW DAWN IS STILL A LONG WAY OFF...
