The last few hours of market volatility, combined with our government's patent inability to work on behalf of the people, has been sobering. I have a few observations to offer as an economic layman:
- The political staging of these crises (too big to be singular) has offered window dressing to camouflage what is at its heart still a George Bush power and influence grab. They have been ready for this to happen, and ready to guide its fallout into their own coffers. At this point, not even political collapse counts as a deterrent.
- The only Non-Partisans are the public that has no influence over these events, and everything to lose. Just as the talking heads on CNBC and the like cited "market forces" ad nauseum for oil and gas killing our economy this spring, the voices flowing through the media have only political and horse-race commentary that only feeds the bubble they are reporting from.
- Congress plays the markets as deftly as any investor. Barney Frank's comment that he would watch the market reaction to gauge where next to go was not a strategic admission; it was a tactic to let Wall St. know that if they help make the market reaction especially dire (9.1% dire), they would get rewarded with the bailout they and he so badly want. The Dow had bounced back to a loss of 500 and were holding when Frank's announcement came over the wire, and CNBC in an unusual moment of candor reported that the floor traders were ready to act on it. Plunge, plunge, plunge (I'll leave it up to your imagination what they are plunging).
- Congress has one more chance to promote a package that brings liquidity to lending and to restrain the market pirates. This should include consumer protections that are long overdue against all credit line providers, to whom we are all being held hostage. Can they, but will they? All indications point to no. But if they take a moment to look at all of us who are watching and waiting, and realize that we are on to them, maybe they will blink.
Our elected officials are finally in a place where BushCo is powerless to userp our best interests. Wall St. can tantrum all they like, but without our money they can only wallow in their own waste.
For once, we are the lenders, and it's payback time. What should our lending agreement look like?