Apart from AIG's sophistry [their excuses for why the bonuses had to be paid] is a much larger point. This sordid story of government helplessness in the face of massive taxpayer commitments illustrates better than anything to date why the government should take over any institution that's "too big to fail" and which has cost taxpayers dearly. Such institutions are no longer within the capitalist system because they are no longer accountable to the market. So to whom should they be accountable? When taxpayers have put up, and essentially own, a large portion of their assets, AIG and other behemoths should be accountable to taxpayers. When our very own Secretary of the Treasury cannot make stick his decision that AIG's bonuses should not be paid, only one conclusion can be drawn: AIG is accountable to no one. Our democracy is seriously broken.Obama is getting hammered, not only by progressive economist Paul Krugman, but across the board. Sure, it's inevitable that handling this economic crisis won't win popularity contests, no matter how you do it.
But I am increasingly worried that he has taken the wrong path in relying on Summers and Geithner for his plan. They are so steeped in Wall Street type thinking, or as I have said, they have Wall Street DNA, that I'm having my doubts.
I still trust Obama more than anyone else -- more than myself. Critics, including me, can focus only on the one issue, while he has to balance EVERYTHING, including a recalcitrant minority party in Congress that can tie things up and, with enough centrist Democrats, could even derail his plan.
Frank Rich questions whether this is Obama's "Katrina moment." Well, he's had one or two before -- I'm thinking Jeremiah Wright -- and he came through. He's addressing the nation Tuesday night. Let's hope he hits another grand slam.
Ralph
Most pundits are predicting that conservative Blue Dog Democrats may team up with Republicans to block, or modify, some of the more progressive aspects of Obama's budget -- or at least his attempts to get it through the Senate using the reconcialiation process that bypasses the filibuster risk.
ReplyDeleteKathleen Parker, often thought of along with David Brooks as a thoughtful Republican, had a surprising and different prediction on Chris Matthew's news show.
She said, reportedly with great confidence, that the Blue Dogs would cooperate with Obama and help him pass his budget virtually intact.
This came as a surprise and left people wondering what she knows that others don't, given that she had good sources in the moderate/conservative ranks.