NYTimes article here
So the republican economic ideology centered around deregulation IS flawed and one of its biggest proponents has publicly acknowledged this and admitted to contributing to our economy's demise. This is big news and it can only help Obama and the democratic party as it supports their case that for the past 8 years, the Bush administration has led us in the wrong direction, relied too heavily on free market forces without regulation and government oversight and, the fact that McCain subscribes to this same ideology will only lead us deeper into the abyss.
In the beginning when things were starting to unfold, it was really difficult for me to understand the implications of the mortgage crisis and Lehman Brothers collapsing but thank god for This American Life
Here are 2 essential podcasts that you MUST listen to if you would like to get a grasp of what happened and what is now happening:
∆ Giant Pool of Money
∆ Another frightening show about the Economy
In my opinion some of the best journalism on the subject.
10.23.2008
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2 comments:
read an article today in which the author proclaimed that there is truly no such thing as "de-regulation" only "re-regulation"; i.e. there is no such thing as "no" or "less rules" only "new rules". & that oftentimes in american history the ones writing those rules are the ones whom work in the very industry the new laws apply to and so stand to gain from these "new rules" they are implementing.
he went on to say that many republicans do not actually favor true free market capitalism; if you look at republican intervention/legislation in the past twenty-five years it often amounts to subsidizing business-the very opposite of free market competition which weeds out weaker/less adaptive business.
in reading that article i, like greenspan, was shocked-shocked to see an admission of a mistake! there has been such a lack of accountability in the last eight years i forgot what it looked like.
if we admit mistakes there is a chance for growth. with no admission or a system which forces such an admission all is obfuscation.
off my soapbox now.
bye triangulator.
"Capitalism should not be condemned, since we haven't had capitalism. A system of capitalism presumes sound money, not fiat money manipulated by a central bank. Capitalism cherishes voluntary contracts and interest rates that are determined by savings, not credit creation by a central bank. It's not capitalism when the system is plagued with incomprehensible rules regarding mergers, acquisitions, and stock sales, along with wage controls, price controls, protectionism, corporate subsidies, international management of trade, complex and punishing corporate taxes, privileged government contracts to the military-industrial complex, and a foreign policy controlled by corporate interests and overseas investments. Add to this centralized federal mismanagement of farming, education, medicine, insurance, banking and welfare. This is not capitalism!
To condemn free-market capitalism because of anything going on today makes no sense. There is no evidence that capitalism exists today. We are deeply involved in an interventionist-planned economy that allows major benefits to accrue to the politically connected of both political parties. One may condemn the fraud and the current system, but it must be called by its proper names — Keynesian inflationism, interventionism, and corporatism."
excerpted from Pillars of Prosperity by Ron Paul
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