Had Enough Of This Free Market Crap?
Well, as the country remains in economic instability, the Federal Reserve (that's GOVERNMENT, folks!) came to the rescue of investment bank "Bear Stearns." Obviously, the free market didn't work somewhere in all of this major mess, and GOVERNMENT intervened to shore up the situation. I welcome all of those free marketers who thought this was a good idea. The question is, have they seen the light? Or are they really just interested in saving their own behinds, now that their butts got stuck in the mud? When the "un-rich" ask for government help, terms like "freeloaders," " socialists," and "lazy" are frequently heard, not so when big business or the wealthy get government help. Notice, I didn't say "ask for help," since they got help, presumably without asking. Now, I don't want you to think that I disagree with the decision to intervene, because I support that decision. The ideologues on the other side of the coin don't like this, and would prefer to cut off their nose to spite their face. The thing is, the Federal Reserve saw a developing problem and took action. Whether this will begin to right America's economic ship, I don't know. The problem was, with a major bank about to go under, if that had happened, it could have led to a run on many banks. Eventually, all of this filters down to the rest of us, so I'm for the government intervention.
Wall Streeters generally loved the Fed's action, bastion of the free market that they are, except when they stand to suffer the losses of those free markets.
Is this the 1930s all over again? Right now, it's hard to say, but there are major differences. In the 1930s, prices fell for almost everything. Wages tended to fall more slowly than prices, thus giving people who had a few bucks more purchasing power. At this point, we've had tremendous increases in income for the wealthiest Americans, with far more modest increases for the "un-rich," and even declines in income and benefits for many.*** All the while, prices on many items have soared. We're not just talking oil and gas, but also natural gas, wheat, milk, corn, etc. So, unlike the 1930s, many people really feel pinched by high prices, with any wage increases going to just try to maintain their standard of living, or to keep their living standard above the level of people in the Third World. The wealthy aren't going to let us get those government rebate checks without trying to corral as much of all those billions as they can get! My guess is, most Americans will pretty much be right back where they were before the rebate check idea was formulated.
*** A survey by the AFL-CIO and Working America "2008 Health Care For America," and published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer showed that among Ohioans surveyed, a stunning 56% said they are "just getting by," while another stunning figure of 31% indicated that they are falling behind!!! Let's see... my third grade arithmetic tells me that pretty much leaves the wealthiest Ohioans saying how well they're doing.
Wall Streeters generally loved the Fed's action, bastion of the free market that they are, except when they stand to suffer the losses of those free markets.
Is this the 1930s all over again? Right now, it's hard to say, but there are major differences. In the 1930s, prices fell for almost everything. Wages tended to fall more slowly than prices, thus giving people who had a few bucks more purchasing power. At this point, we've had tremendous increases in income for the wealthiest Americans, with far more modest increases for the "un-rich," and even declines in income and benefits for many.*** All the while, prices on many items have soared. We're not just talking oil and gas, but also natural gas, wheat, milk, corn, etc. So, unlike the 1930s, many people really feel pinched by high prices, with any wage increases going to just try to maintain their standard of living, or to keep their living standard above the level of people in the Third World. The wealthy aren't going to let us get those government rebate checks without trying to corral as much of all those billions as they can get! My guess is, most Americans will pretty much be right back where they were before the rebate check idea was formulated.
*** A survey by the AFL-CIO and Working America "2008 Health Care For America," and published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer showed that among Ohioans surveyed, a stunning 56% said they are "just getting by," while another stunning figure of 31% indicated that they are falling behind!!! Let's see... my third grade arithmetic tells me that pretty much leaves the wealthiest Ohioans saying how well they're doing.
Labels: free markets, income disparity, tax rebates
posted by Randy at 12:20 AM
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