Showing posts with label Wall Street crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wall Street crisis. Show all posts

Friday, October 10, 2008

Open Letter to Obama Supporters

Senator McCainCall McCain's choices foolish if you choose to; question his judgment or decry his decisions; cite the choices he's made in comparison to other paths he could have taken, but don't call John McCain a coward, or be goaded into the sort of personal attacks you find problematic coming from the other side.

With over 150,000 jobs lost last month and the stock market in a veritable free-fall it’s no surprise that the economy is seen by many voters as a priority for our next president. It doesn’t take advisors for McCain to know that’s undermining his chances. His campaign is struggling to find any other topic that will eat into the time that electronic and print media devote to the economy. They’re “looking forward to turning the page on the financial crisis.” McCain's mistake is in heeding the wrong advice during the campaign, as he evidently did on deregulation in previous years.
"I'm not trying to excuse such behaviors, particularly since he asserted early on that he'd avoid them. The choice was his. Spinning the record of one's opponent was to be expected - this is politics, and a lot is at stake. My point is: the attacks, be they Palin's words, electronic ads, or the phrases and style in the debate are evidence that McCain has picked the wrong team. His campaign advisors have put him farther behind in the polls than he ever imagined he'd be - and don't forget, any savvy GOP insider knew the odds were bleak following the Bush administration even before the economy belly flopped."
The campaign reflects either the wishes of its leader or his inability to get his orders carried out - and in either case the trend is increasingly to go negative, to attack another Senator, to practice the divisive politics of smear mongering and character assassination. But both Biden and Obama have counseled against descending into adopting those tactics, and they're right.
Senator Barack Obama"You may not like what John McCain stands for. You may deplore the strategies and tactics that are being employed with his approval (explicitly or tacitly.) You may question the motivation and/or goals of McCain and his advisors. You may not trust him based on something you've read, or overheard, or because you think his choice of a running mate is evidence of poor judgment. You may think his voting record is disastrous, or that he's simply too closely aligned with an administration you feel hasn't served the country well. But if you don't approve of the various and sundry attacks aimed at Senator Barack Obama for political reasons you should not - must not - be goaded into adopting them yourself."
Frankly, I find the use of Rovian tactics - the same tactics that caused him to defer to George Bush in 2000 - disappointing, and I hope McCain uses the debate on October 15th to reset the rhetoric rather than let his last campaign taint his legacy. He can take back control, or he can let the advisors exert their poisonous influence in a campaign that's no longer reflective of the integrity and honor we once associated with John McCain.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The problem with deregulation: Where do we go from here?

In case you wonder if deregulation is the pivotal policy that led to the collapse on Professor Roy Grow, Carleton CollegeWall Street, here's a quick, easily-grasped explanation that should help you grasp why that lofty "ideal" has failed in our never-quite-ideal real world. Are you surprised that some have tried to use the crisis for their own political or financial gain?

In what other industry would you have confidence enough to let the people with the most to gain act without regulation? Would car companies be so concerned with passenger safety without regulation? Would you want doctors to practice unregulated- no assurance they’d act with YOUR best interest in mind? Lawyers? Accountants? Toy Manufacturers? Food processors? I’m not suggesting there’s nothing good about a free-market economy, nor am I suggesting every insurance company or investment firm is run by greedy executives, but there have been snake-oil salesmen preying upon the unwary since before the dawn of history as nearly as I can determine.

We left foxes guarding the chicken coop. It's time for a carefully considered change.

END Golden Parachutes -- Taxpayer dollars should not be used to reward the irresponsible, greedy Wall Street executives who lobbied for deregulation and engineered this disaster. Those who have earned millions must return their salaries as a starting point... imagine if that money might be used to PAY those loans down.

TAXPAYERS, Not Just Wall Street -- Any bailout plan must include a payback strategy for taxpayers who are footing the bill and aid to innocent homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

Bipartisan Oversight -- $700,000,000,000 is a staggering amount of money involved, and since it's coming from taxes the source MANDATES bipartisan expert oversight to ensure accountability.