These are supposed to be the big bats in the game, instead of devising their own plan to take advantage of the aftermath they want more government debt. They say the cuts should be done in a more responsible way. They said congress should put together a tax and spending measure as a down payment on a larger deal. Let me remind them why the fiscal cliff is set up the way it is. BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T REACH A LARGER DEAL THE FIRST TIME!!
The fiscal cliff was meant to be so ugly to scare policy makers into compromising for the good of the country. It didn't work. Do you know why it didn't work? Because in the back of their minds they knew they wouldn't have to face the consequences of the fiscal cliff. They knew they'd get help from their friends everywhere scaring the public into letting them off the hook. it's not stupidity that has us in the fucked up predicaments we're in it's villainy.
There are no more Thomas Jefferson's or John Adams' or Alexander Hamilton's left in American political leadership. There are only self interested crooks left. And people are calling for a new Constitutional Convention? That would be a disaster as the lobbyist would write the new constitution not elected officials. Our leaders have price tags on them so they can't make the tough decisions because you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet but these bastards only see golden eggs and they wouldn't dare upset the goose buy breaking one!
But what we did have going for us was the market. Not totally free but free enough to still pressure policy makers into some semblance of discipline. But now the people at the top of our semi free market are not loyal to the market. They're loyal to themselves. Instead of discipline they now encourage gluttony. When you find yourself in a hole the first thing you have to do is stop digging. You shouldn't continue to dig while you figure out what to do to get out of the hole. In effect that's what the Mighty Casey's of the financial markets are telling our policy makers to do. Not to stop digging but to dig a little less.
We are half way through a lost decade. We have a clear example of how we can go the other half and be exactly where we are now minus time & capital. This can be avoided but first it needs to be acknowledged. No, the fiscal cliff isn't the best way to go about the cuts ans raises but it's punishment that needs to be handed down. The economy needs to reflect reality. Then the American people can get a good look at the failure their elected officials actually are. No incumbent politician should be re-elected and no policy maker peddling more of the same should take their place. Anyone who's been following this blog knows I'm a Ron Paul supporter so me saying this won't surprise them.
I support Pres. Obama now simply because I think he's a better fit for where the country is right now, and where it needs to go in the near term. Governor Romney has that "we are the greatest country on the planet" complex that has lead all declining empires to their graves earlier than they might have gone had they had a leader who understood the situation. Even saying he would label China a currency manipulator shows he doesn't grasp the situation the country is in. That shit would be a disaster. And this is who Wall Street is betting on? This all gives me the feeling that instead of fixing America's problems the people at the top have conceded her demise and are now trying to figure out ways to get as much as they can out of her before she falls.