Making a Deal with the Devil

[Crewleader]

by Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital | September 26, 2008

Just yesterday, Henry Paulson's "bailout" bill, with only a few anti-Wall Street, pro-Main Street fig leaves slapped on by Democrats, appeared ready to sail through Congress on a bi-partisan tide. But something funny happened on the way to the printing press. It appears as if some conservative House Republicans are reluctant to sell their souls and ditch any remaining pretense towards American-style capitalism.

What's left of the Barry Goldwater wing of the Republican Party, which maintains its natural tendency to trust the markets and not government, has dug in its heels. But, Bush, Paulson and the Democrats have argued that our problems are so dire that free enterprise principles must go out the window. The struggle is historic, but the Congressmen are fighting a losing battle. Sadly, Americans now appear willing to abandon their economic heritage at the first sting of financial pain.

Although passage does seem inevitable, it is nevertheless the wrong thing to do. Central government planning did not work in the Soviet Union and it will not work here. Only free market forces are capable of sorting through the mess. Political meddling will make the problems worse.

http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/schiff/2008/0926.html

[DJ13]

1. Americans now appear willing to abandon their economic heritage

The present economy represents our "economic heritage" alright.

The economic heritage FDR had to kill off before it killed our country.

[napoleon_in_rags]

2. That makes a pretty good point

Recessions are meant to restore balance, purge excess, and liquidate mal-investments. On that score we have a lot of work to do.

That's the fundamental thing, is that realities need to change for the 21st century. We are addicted to the concept that it makes sense, for instance, for a 120 pound women to drive 20 miles to work alone in a 2 ton steel box that actually burns oil to run...And then do a job which consists largely of communication functions that could be done online, then drive home. That might have made sense in the 70's, but in a world with exploding population which is running out of oil it makes no fucking sense whatsoever. What were doing here is propping up a dying life style with more and more life support, postponing the need to fundamentally change how we live.