2snazzy

The Difference Between 1993 and 2009

You ignore two basic principles.

First, the #1 goal of government (any government) is to stay in power and maintain the status quo.

Second, the #2 goal of government is to GROW.

Cut federal spending from 3 Billion to 2 Billion? That's like saying we could avoid rush hour traffic if we all sprouted wings and flew ourselves where we wanted to go rather than driving.

The first thing we need to do is to change the constitution so that (a) each administration is for six years with NO reelection. This would mean that an administration would be focused on GOVERNING rather than getting REELECTED. Second, we need to adopt the British concept of being able to vote out an administration if we as a populace believe the current administration is no longer effective in managing our government as opposed to waiting four more years to vote that administration out when the next election rolls around. If we had to ability to have a "no confidence vote" in this nation, George W and his team would have been run out of office long ago and the expensive war and other fiscal policies that are driving us deeper into debt would have been stopped.

If the current system isn't working, why continue to dig a hole? It's time to go to a new system.

Looking for a Cause for Thursday's Sell-off? Blame Greenspan

Yes, Greenspan pushed low interest rates as a cure for a sagging economy after 9/11. It was like pushing booze to a chronic alcoholic. The real culprits in this sorry saga were the mortgage sharks who saw an opportunity to take advantage of a rising real estate market, and more importantly a Republican majority house and senate who continued to legislate in favor of "Big Business" by refusing to enact the controls that were just placed on the mortgage industry. The motto of the party in power is "What is good for Big Business is good for the country." The truth is that capitalism does not have a conscience, and if you let Big Business run without any checks or regulations, you will get abuses, and we did. Now we're paying for the abuses. Maybe Greenspan should have been smart enough to see the results of his cheap money policies, but ultimately the mortgage industry should have been regulated long ago, and our good friends in the Republican led Congress were drunk on power and rich on the funds being provided by the Big Business lobbyists.