Monday, March 9, 2009

Or ahead of the fastball?

Behind the curve or ahead of the fast ball either way you strike out
Paul Krugman's NYT Op-Ed piece is critical of the original Obama stimulus plan for not doing enough- not being big enough. In his Op Ed he gives us his 'I-told-you-so' and shares his worst fears with us. See link below to Behind the curve: (cut and paste it into your browser).

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/opinion/09krugman.html?ref=opinion

Obama's Agenda-plan
Well, thanks for that Paul. But let's remember that the knock by some of us to the original was not that it was not big enough but that about 30% of the spending came after one year. To begin with it was 30% smaller than it seemed. And then there is the further critique that the plan had too much agenda and not enough stimulus in it. That was my critique and I stick by it. Too small? I'm still not convinced.

Bipartisan bickering
We continue to have bipartisan bickering as Democrats push for their pet-rock projects still identified with earmarks despite the fact that the O-man said we'd have no more of that. And, for their part, Republicans stone-wall them on cooperation. The latest twist is the declaration this weekend by the patriotic supporter of Japanese and other foreign-related auto makers in his state as Senator Shelby now wants a BIG BANK to go bust. Hey where was this sage advice Mr Shelby (R-Alabama) when Republicans were in the White House? McCain joined in on this ideological excursion into the realm of financial policy madness. McCain remember ran as the guy who was not an expert on the economy, but now from the back benches HE KNOWS... How many times do we have to to observe the fallout from a large financial company like Lehman Brothers before we appreciate how destructive it is? Are Republicans so anxious to get back to office and so jaded about their chances that they are willing to push polices that could destroy the counrry itself, and try to blame Democrats for it?

Bipartisanship is like bisexuality- it's no stand but a one-nighter
I really don't know who to blame but this is not what I think of when someone pledges bi-partisanship. Apart from the usual culprits: Democrats and Republicans I don't know who to hold responsible. These two parties partition the country and take turns running the place. One year one party fools us into trusting it and the next the other fools us into dumping them and trusting the other guy. It never works or changes. Shelby himself is a senior member of the Senate banking committee. He is a guy with blood on his hands and spilled all over his shoes from the handling for Fannie and Freddie Mac. Yet, he is out there exhorting us to let banks fail. How crazy is that? NO wonder the country is in trouble HE is supposed to be the Senate's financial oversight. God help us.

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