I was going to take the night off, but I just have to get my “two cents worth” in. I was reading on the Yahoo finance website how all the Wall Street – I don’t know what to call them – people are singing the blues and in some cases it was reported investors were “throwing in the towel.” This comment was followed by the statement that the “government seems to be unable to get this situation under control” as the stock market dipped to levels not seen since 1997 (I don’t think it’s done going down).  Now keep in mind this kind of rhetoric is coming from the land of the so-called “free market” where the executives have been living like glutonous kings for the past many years thinking there was no end to their seeming infinite sources of income. As the crisis has unfolded I’ve watched as many of them continue to search for the bottom so they can “jump in” assumingly with the idea of making another “killing” as they’ve been doing for many years. There’s some real irony here and it would behoove all of us to pay attention to it.

First, I find it interesting that all these “free marketers” are clamoring for the government to continue to bail out Wall Street. This after getting an intial “dose” of government “corporate welfare” in the form of $350 Billion in TARP funds – just as Henry Paulsen ordered it up – with virtually no accountability. They were able to take this money and hand it out in obscene bonuses,  the buying of struggling banks – some of them not even in the U.S., and spend it on just about everything except what it was originally intended. Oh yes, and then they were able to act defiantly when President Obama, the Congress, and the vast majority of America’s citizenry became disgusted with them. The result of all this – they’re coming back to the “well” for more – and when the new administration balks – either by putting strict restrictions on the money – or, heaven forbid – by letting the bankrupt among them go bankrupt – they clamor in great unison that the government is unable to control this problem originally created by them because of this unabated greed. Kind of makes whatever I had for dinner tonight curdle in my stomach!

Next, there’s the group of “traders” like the guy on CNBC the other day who are ranting that the government is attempting to help some of the 10 million or so Americans who are facing forclosure – yes, some of them because of their poor decisions and lack of foresight into the impending consequences of the sub-prime meltdown of the banking system – but many just because of the failing economy that was perpetrated by 30 years of “trickle down” economics and the fact they believed the Republicans who said “deficits don’t matter.” These guys rightfully point out that 90% of all Americans are paying their mortgages, so when is this government bailout stuff going to stop. Well, aside from the fact that the sooner we stop the foreclosure crisis the better everyone in this nation is, I’m just disappointed that the original $350 Billion wasn’t used for the people in foreclosure instead of going to the banks. I don’t know if stopping the foreclosure crisis, if it can be done, will help the banks – but they’ve proved to me that printing money and giving it to them is not the answer. From what I can see, these banks are history – as they exist today. We might as well stop throwing “good money after bad” and just deal with the “clean-up.” They are so top-heavy with over paid executives that until these executives are purged from the scene nothing is going to change. This is a HUGE problem and anyone who thinks it’s going to be like the past recessions in most of our lives is kidding him/herself. I would not be surprised to see the DOW drop to close to 5000 by the end of this year.  Despite their rhetoric, I find it interesting these investors are looking for the government to solve this problem when the one thing I can agree with them on is that the government probably can’t solve their problem.

Then you have all the Republican politicians who are continuing to press for more corporate tax cuts and capital gains tax cuts (led by the great economic guru – who’ll go down in infamy for his “the fundamentals of our economy are strong” claim as Wall Street was beginning its descent into oblivion – John McCain) and fighting President Obama’s attempts to “stimulate” the faltering economy at every opportunity (can you imagine a McCain/Palin administration right now?). THESE GUYS ARE A PROBLEM. I believe at some point Harry Reid is going to have to invite them to actually filibuster – NOW I MEAN REALLY FILIBUSTER – future stimulus legislation -let them talk until they can’t talk anymore – so all the bad ideas that the two Senators from Maine will throw in as they attempt to control the destiny of each bill won’t have to be included in the legislation. The situation is really too grim to allow these people to even have a say in the solution until they start coming up with some actual ideas that might get people working again and reduce the federal deficit.  In addition to creating jobs, AT SOME POINT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FOR WHAT WE ARE DOING. In my opinion, a good place to start is a national 50 cent per gallon gas tax along with the instant repeal of the original “Bush taxcuts.” Wouldn’t it be fun to watch all these Republicans fight the idea of trying to actually have the government balance their budget?

And there’s more, such as the people like Richard Shelby of Alabama – a state which gave tax breaks equivalent to $175,000 per job created to Honda and Toyota (or Hyundai or some foriegn auto manufacturer) in order to induce these companies to build plants in their state – trying to undermine Chrysler and GM (and of course Ford, because if GM goes down, Ford will be right behind). To me, these guys are un-American. When I buy a car, I buy the best one I can get with the money I happen to have at the time – but there isn’t a shadow of doubt in my mind that we, as Americans, MUST HAVE A DOMESTIC AUTO INDUSTRY – the idea of depending on Japan, Korea, and China to produce our TV’s is one thing, but our cars!? YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. And the Republican goal of destroying every union in the nation is exactly backward. What we need are more jobs for people that actually pay a decent wage and provide reasonable benefits for middle class Americans – so that they can start buying things again. The problem for these businesses who are fighting unions isn’t high wages it’s lack of customers that can afford to buy their goods. It was unions that turned this nation into the greatest nation on earth and the sooner we realize that the better for all of us.

Finally, as I wrote about last night, there are actually people who found the cartoon in the NY Post depicting President Obama as an ape shot dead by a couple policemen who were saying “They’ll have to get someone else to write the next stimulus bill” funny. That kind of crap has to stop. The bulk of Americans made a profound statement on November 4th about what they think of those who are still harboring racist feelings and ideas. I realize that you can’t control what people think, but the more I ponder that cartoon, the more I believe Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, and Fox News need to go back to Australia or wherever Murdoch is from. That editorial was WAY OVER THE LINE. It is these people along with the aforementioned bankers and Wall Street investors who have been so much at the heart of what has transpired during the eight years of GW Bush and the previous 20 years that began with the so-called Reagan revolution. These are the people who helped to create this incredible “false economy” and they are the ones screaming the loudest for the government to figure out how to solve this problem for them. The truth is that the free market is actually working – and it’s going to continue to work until there is some sense of equilibrium in this nation. YOU CAN’T HAVE 1% OF THE POPULATION CONTROLLING OVER 10% OF THE WEALTH (and it might be as high as 20% – I’ve said it before, if I was a real “blogger” or journalist I would find out). The “haves” have pushed their greed too far, and things aren’t going to get better until many of them have been brought “down to earth,” so to speak. This economic crisis will end with the revival of America’s middle class! (whether Republicans like it or not)