There is aBumpy Ride ahead

Okay, America, buckle up; there is a bumpy ride ahead.
Bill Clinton was interviewed the other day and said President Obama needs to be a positive cheerleader for the nation as well as being truthful about the economic and financial mess we are in, which is a crisis that won’t be solved by waving a magic wand, but will eventually find resolution. He needs to stress where we are headed as well as where we have been.
This crisis is unprecedented because its ripple effects are global and sending a great tsunami of fear and uncertainty around the world. The previous Administration attempted to do something with its TARP Bill, a $700 Billion package; half of it went to the banks who used it for bonuses and new capital, but it did not produce the desired result—that they restart lending—due to the fact Henry Paulson talked about oversight but none was in effect. Essentially, he saw to it his wealthy brethren were rewarded for failure. That lame effort by a fading Administration was followed by last week’s Stimulus Bill which was closer to $800 billion, which passed Congress in less than a month. The Bill is about 76% spending and 24% tax cuts, which are there to involve Republicans, which turned out to be inordinately difficult, as they chose to be nay-sayers rather than real participants as a force for change. It will take a while to see the effect of the money, as it will trickle down over two years to the needs out there. But many economists feel it will not be enough money and that there is a shortfall of help for the states. For example, some states may have to lay off teachers, which is self-defeating.
The Republicans are in-denial about the situation. They think we have to stop spending and renew more tax cuts and everything will be hunky dory, when it is obvious that is what got us into our current predicament of huge deficits. They can’t envision the government playing a vital role in a rescue mission. They rant and rave in the media, which seems to cater to them right now, but their criticism is shrill and old hat. They fault Obama for not being bipartisan when he went out of his way to include them in discussions, but they had no new ideas and refused to cooperate on the vote, especially in the House. They are having a hard time realizing they are no longer top dog.
Now that there is increasing talk about nationalizing the banks, the far right is starting to foam at the mouth. Rush Limbaugh, who has become the titular head of the Republican Party, engaged in a tirade this past week that clearly crossed the line into sheer demagoguery, some real scary stuff, in a feverish temper asking his audience to do something to stop Obama and his creeping socialism. Sean Hannity echoed those pleas and demands on FOX NEWS. The charge to his audience was the same: We have to stop him. Then on Friday the 20th Allen Keyes won the Oscar for the nuttiest comments of the week from the far right. He was interviewed at some pro-life conference and he called the president a “radical communist out to ruin the country” and who must be stopped before it’s too late before we slide into chaos and civil war. Then he made a cryptic comment about some military men are considering what they might do to stop him. That comment made me think of the 1964 movie, “Seven Days in May,” when some dissident army officers plodded to overthrow the duly elected government of the people. Burt Lancaster led the unsuccessful coup foiled by Kirk Douglas and the President, played by Fredrick March. One can’t help but wonder, could the movie be a preview of things to come?
As an editorial in the New York Times put it in their Sunday paper, “Taking over the banks will be very difficult politically.” To say the least. Indeed it looks like an inevitable thing at this point, and it makes sense that the government does that, on a temporary basis, because it is the people’s money that would be bailing out the banks, so the people should have partial ownership. Let’s face it, the bankers have been reckless and have shown little social responsibility, so why should they be rewarded for bad management, which is contrary to logic and the American way.