Reply #51: What he's doing is installing many of the people RESPONSIBLE

[Tansy_Gold]

for the problems with the economy and charging them with fixing what they broke.

That's a real confidence booster, yep, yep, you betcha.

And I have a whole lot of interest in keeping the economy from crashing, but I don't agree with what Obama is doing toward that end. If he were bringing in people who came from a different economic tradition, I'd consider him to be sticking with his mantra of change. But he's bringing in long-time insiders with ties to the worst collapse-inducing policies.

Obviously, you have a different opinion. <aybe you're still basking in the glow of the victory and not ready to begin a hard critical analysis of what is actually being done. Not what's being SAID or what was said two weeks or two months ago.

During the confirmation hearings for Gonzalez and Alito and Roberts and a host of other boooosh appointees, we all knew what was going to happen. We screamed and screamed at the Dem "leadership" for caving in on these horrendous appointments. We saw the lies that were being said, the empty promises that were made about bi-partisanship and non-partisanship, and we knew that they were lies and we weren't afraid to say so. We watched Pelosi and Reid take impeachment off the table and we knew what was coming.

Why then are there calls to lay off any criticism of Obama? He's not jesus fucking christ, for crying out loud. He's not perfect. And if I have a problem with some of his appointees, I think I have a right to express those misgivings here on Democratic Underground. I'd prefer to do so without being labeled batshit crazy, but I can deal with that if need be.

Obama made a big deal about his tax plans regarding those who make over $250,000 a year and those who make less. So many of us have said that a progressive income tax, one that puts more of a burden on those with higher incomes, is an absolute necessity to fixing the economy. Reagan's "trickle down" economics, beloved by Grover Norquist and his anti-tax ilk, DON'T WORK. Delaying the repeal of boooosh's tax cuts will only exacerbate the current problem. We knew this during the campaign, so why are some of us suddenly going in the opposite direction? Isn't the definition of insane, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

Cutting taxes on the wealthy didn't work to fix the economy for the middle class in 1980 and it won't work in 2009. So why is Obama reneging on this cornerstone of his campaign? Why? Does he all of a sudden think, in contrast to what he said a few weeks ago, that if we continue to cut taxes on the rich, the economy will miraculously recover? It didn't under Reagan. . . .so isn't Obama's policy, or at least the kind of policy promulgated by his economic team in previous lifetimes, same old, same old, and what "changed" result can we expect?

If what he's trying to do is keep the stock market from crashing, he's doing little to help the economy. The market and the economy are two different things, and they've become more and more divorced from each other as a direct result of policies implemented by Greenspan, Gramm, and their subordinates, including Robert Rubin and Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner. They're all great supporters of The Markets, but not so much The Economy.

I generally don't go around calling fellow DUers batshit crazy or abysmally uninformed. I might hint that a little bit of self-education would be a worthwhile pursuit, but I tend to avoid direct insults. I think I'll stick to that policy, at least for now.



At least for now,


Tansy Gold