Obamaconomy

Before President Obama gave his address to Congress, I noted that the nation, and the economy  as a whole, was going to respond based on the policy he laid out. The markets have drummed up an answer: it is not looking good. As the president continues to lay out his plans for an economic recovery, banking reform and heath care reform the markets continue to dive. The world is looking to the United States to make the right moves to reassure the markets: a $350 billion tax on business starting in 2011 is not what they were looking for. Serious changes need to be made: blaming George Bush will only take you so far.

Questionable Action.

I find it astounding that in an economic situation like this we can have our leader seriously considering action like this. It’s like whining about your basement being flooded when you refused to help plug the holes in the levee down the street. This is not a partisan attack, this is literal fact: higher regulation costs buisnesses money. Some regulation is neccessary in order to acheive a system that benefits its participants, but in a global economic environment that is three steps and a cough away from outright collapse, this just seems foolhearty.

There is also the issue about this legislation coming down on auto companies. As if Detroit wasn’t having enough troubles–they can’t even capitalize their own companies. So who thinks they have the capital to start the R&D and retro-fitting neccessary to produce automobiles that meet these requirements?

I have to point out how much this makes me feel like as a nation we haven’t learned a single thing about the past.

Before this ends I have to point out I am not an isolated idealouge.  It is here I sit and share with you the wisdom of Paul Krugman, a brilliant economist, progressive New Dealer and Nobel Prize winner. No one set of policies can single-handedly solve the problems in our system–no one system is right or wrong. There is a reason why very intelligent people can be on two sides of an argument.