Home > Jay Bookman > Archives > 2008 > October > 27 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USGreenspan concedes a basic ‘flaw’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Whatever else you might say about the man, Alan Greenspan took his punishment like a grown-up.
Appearing before the House Oversight Committee last week, the former Federal Reserve chairman acknowledged that the anti-regulatory, hyper-free-market ideology that had served him well for 40 years —- a philosophy that he literally learned at Ayn Rand’s knee —- had in some ways been wrong.
And not just slightly wrong. The economic crisis has revealed a flaw, he said, “a flaw in the model that I perceived as the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works.”
Greenspan did not come easily to that confession, but the fact he came to it at all speaks well of his intellectual honesty. As a young man, Greenspan had been a member of Rand’s inner circle, absorbing her claims that altruism was evil, that taxes should be voluntary, that mankind had no responsibility to others and that “each man must live as an end in himself and follow his own rational self interests.”
“I am opposed to all forms of control,” Rand proclaimed. “I am for an absolute laissez-faire free unregulated economy. I am for separation of state and economics.”
The young Greenspan lapped up talk like that. In a letter in 1957 to the New York Times, he defended Rand’s philosophy. “Justice is unrelenting,” he wrote. “Creative individuals and undeviating purpose and rationality achieve joy and fulfillment. Parasites who persistently avoid either purpose or reason perish as they should.”
Time and experience eventually softened the harsh edges of that belief for Greenspan, but he never wavered in his opposition to regulation or in his belief that individuals, left free to selfishly pursue their own self-interests, would generate wealth and make markets self-correcting without the heavy hand of government.
That’s the part he got partially wrong, he said last week.
“Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself especially, are in a state of shock and disbelief,” he told the committee.
While Rand’s “objectivism,” as she called her philosophy, never attained the wide appeal she sought, many of its tenets and language have been absorbed into modern conservative economic theory. And Greenspan is far from alone in acknowledging that it has not held up well in current circumstances. As a result, issues long regarded as settled in American politics are about to be reopened.
“Over the past year, some of the critical pillars underlying market competition arguably have failed,” Greenspan admitted in a speech earlier this month at Georgetown University. “A worldwide debate on the future of globalization and capitalism is being intensified by the current crisis. Its resolution will define the world marketplace and the way we live for decades to come.”
That’s a potentially dangerous undertaking. In his Georgetown speech, Greenspan correctly defended the core importance of property rights, economic liberty and capitalism. As he noted, those concepts have proved essential to economic progress and should not be abandoned.
However, as he also noted, the only way to sustain political support for a capitalist system “is to continue to support market incentives that create jobs and to find productive ways to ease the pain of job losers.” He also took note of “the recent growing inequality of income,” a new problem that “requires insight into its roots, and policy action where appropriate.”
Ayn Rand, in other words, would not be pleased with her disciple. She liked to claim that her philosophy was based on hard-headed realism, the notion “that reality exists as an objective absolute.”
Well, the “objective absolute” that is reality has tested her philosophy and found it faulty, a ship of illusions that ran aground on the shoals of experience. The challenge for the next president and Congress will be to correct our course without steering us too far in the other direction.
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Comments
By hillbilly ragger
October 27, 2008 7:13 AM | Link to this
Jay, speaking of discredited crackpot political/economic theories, I sure hope that your newspaper doesn’t endorse the Fair Tax bozo John Linder again.
Reason I bring it up? Well, when you guys did that in 2006 I got a mite upset about it.
By Dennis
October 27, 2008 7:18 AM | Link to this
If the campaign ends as you believe it will, the same people, Dodd, Frank, Reid, Pelosi, etc., who denied the Fannie-Freddie problems in 2006, will continue to guide the “ship of illusions?.
How is it that you think they will suddenly decide to correct the course?
If the election goes as you predict, change will come. Correction? Not likely.
By Leni
October 27, 2008 7:20 AM | Link to this
Josef Buchmann’s Eltern helped start the Reichstag fire.
auf ewig
leni
By djr
October 27, 2008 7:24 AM | Link to this
You must be kidding to think that what we’ve had anything approximating Ayn Rand’s ideas. Regulation is a 2-way street (you can’t do x, you must do y). And Greenspan has been completely on board with pushing cheap credit to support Congress’ chumps @ Fannie/Fredi to support their “right” to home ownership.
This has been a semi-statist era; about to dive into a fully-statist one.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 7:28 AM | Link to this
Ask the people of China how much they think socialism is “flawed.”
By E
October 27, 2008 7:33 AM | Link to this
There was no real admission, just the statement (heard how many times in this administration), that no one could have predicted what happened. No one, not a single human (ignoring all those who predicted exactly this failure in the economy structure this individual created and encouraged). Right.
It was a source of pride to see the Democrats doing their job and holding some accountable.
Well done!
Obama/Biden ‘08
By Mrs. Godzilla
October 27, 2008 7:33 AM | Link to this
More on the subject….
Washington Dispatch: In a historic moment, former Fed chair Alan Greenspan acknowledged he had been wrong for years to assume that government regulation was bad for markets. Whoops—there goes decades of Ayn Rand down the drain.
By Taxpayer
October 27, 2008 8:07 AM | Link to this
The only flaw that Greenspan need acknowledge is that man is flawed. Hence, the need for checks and balances. Trust, like faith, has been proven yet again to be just another useful tool in the hands of those always in search of new and improved means to an end. Yet, even with this reality still fresh in our minds, we yearn for another to put our trust in. Someone, lead us from the fire that consumes us — from the pot and into the kettle.
Why? Well, for one thing, the collective wisdom of the lifetimes that came before us are not inherited, they’re passed on — in piecemeal, at best — and handed down as starting points for the next batch of clean slates to pick up and run with. It’s what we are. Machines, on the other hand…but that’s another story, best spun by the likes of an Asimov…Isaac, that is.
By AmVet
October 27, 2008 8:16 AM | Link to this
The Republicans, one must admit, are short sighted idiots.
They have been blathering about “smaller government” since BIG government Ronnie. And still mindlessly do.
But we know what that means. Gutting the EPA so the polluters and destroyers of the environment can go unsupervised. Gutting the SEC so the corporate criminals are not watched too closely. Gutting federal consumer protections so the same corporate criminals aren’t “obstructed”. Passing tort reform so when you are hurt by faulty products, etc. you can barely even sue the b@stards.
But not smaller in terms of sending a kid with some weed to prison. Or getting the bedroom police knocking on the sodomite door’s. Or in terms of re-establishing America as a militaristic, colonial power.
Throw them all out next week.
And if and when they can demonstrate some basic competence and intellect, bring a few back…
By BDAtlanta
October 27, 2008 8:26 AM | Link to this
Good read, Jay.
For the wingnuts who are in a tizzy thinking we are headed toward socialism, snap out of it. This is the U.S., not some malleable second or third world nation-state. So relax, sit back, and enjoy the new wind blowing through Washington.
On a side note, who would ever of thought the Republicans would turn out to be the fiscally irresponsible party.
By RB from Gwinnett
October 27, 2008 8:29 AM | Link to this
“This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election,” wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign,
That’s what happens when you ask Obama/Biden the questions at least half of America want’s answers to.
Hey Jay, I don’t see any mention of this on the AJC site. Are you still busy writing about this one or are you hoping none of the people of this state watch Fox news and notice it’s absense from the biased liberal media?
By Bud Wiser
October 27, 2008 8:35 AM | Link to this
Well, now the government has essentially nationalized the mortgage lending institutions, banks, and have a keen eye on the credit card industry as well if proposed freezes on payments go through.
What is next? Nationalize the oil and gas companies, to try to lower prices; nationalize all farms for food production; the telecommunications industry to ‘control and monitor’ private conversations between supposedly free US citizens; maybe not nationalize the large media corporations, but control release of info to selected sources, and try to strangle the opposition voices with new legislation? This sounds like true socialism, or communism, at our doorstep.
Other than the oil and gas companies, and the farms mentioned above, these are all items that are currently in existence, or on the table, waiting for a strong Democratic majority and White House to be sworn in, so they can dive on these issues.
Be afraid Amerika, be very afraid.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 8:47 AM | Link to this
The system failed because greed and corruption undermined it. Never underestimate the stupidity of man.
We ain’t seen nothing yet?
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 8:54 AM | Link to this
RB from Gwinnett
October 27, 2008 8:29 AM
I thought Biden handled it very well.
Questions appropriate?
By E
October 27, 2008 8:55 AM | Link to this
RB at 8:29,
If McCain was asked a question like, “Aren’t you embarrassed for choosing a VP candidate who is so completely unqualified?”, folks for McCain would be crying about how unfair and biased they were.
Florida WFTV anchor Barbara West’s questions would have been OK had they not been framed in such an accusatory and biased manner (you know they’re pathetic when you can’t even tell if they’re real questions!)…and even though they were pathetically biased and ridiculous, Biden handled them fantastically.
His replies were exact and cool. Biden is really a great guy. The interviewer looked like a stupid robot-call.
It was great. She threw out McCain campaign talking points and Biden shot them down effectively. He totally owned her.
Obama/Biden ‘08
By "The Corporal"
October 27, 2008 9:02 AM | Link to this
The so-called best minds in the country have opposite views.
Like politics, econonmics is pulled in opposite directions.
By RW-(the original)
October 27, 2008 9:07 AM | Link to this
Welcome to your economic future America.
If people thought Joe the Plumber was some kind of stumble for Barack Obama, a rediscovered interview from 2001 should dispel any doubts about Barack Obama’s redistributionism. Seven years ago, Obama told Chicago Public Radio that the Warren Court was too conservative and missed its opportunity to redistribute wealth on a much grander scale. In fact, Obama wanted them to break the Constitution and reorder American society far outside of what the founders intended
To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted and Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the Federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the Federal government or State government must do on your behalf, and that hasn’t shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change
Believe it or not that italicized excerpt is Barack Obama. Maybe it’s time for Obama or Biden to answer the question about whether Obama is a Marxist instead of just making sexist sneers at the questioner and then blacklisting the station.
By "The Corporal"
October 27, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this
Closet Marxist !!
Just found audio of 2001 Obama !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iivL4c_3pck
By norman ravitch
October 27, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this
I always wondered how an intelligent man could buy the nonsense preached by Ayn Rand. Rand was torn by her hatred of both religion and socialism and found capitalism the only thing left. She was a fourth-rate thinker, a fifth-rate novelist, and a poor economist. Greenspan deserves considerable blame for our current economic crisis. He ought to be put on trial.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this
RW-(the original)
October 27, 2008 9:07 AM
Potential game-changer?
Taken in context, it really isn’t that bad. There is plenty of wealth to spread around. Any tax increases will be minimal. McCain would probably raise them too, as Bush ‘41’ responsibly did.
By Peter
October 27, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this
Hey…………By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 7:28 AM | Link to this
Ask the people of China how much they think socialism is “flawed.”
Perhaps you should go there and drink the water ?
By RW-(the original)
October 27, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
gelding,
The context is to throw out the Constitutional limits that restrict government from interfering with our basic freedom and replacing it with government mandates to curtail our freedom and equalize the wealth regardless of the effort put forth.
In the real world it would be a game changer, but our media has no desire to report the facts wherever they may lead anymore. Now that we’ve seen that access will also be denied to anyone in the media that dares question an Obama administration it should send a cold chill down your spine. Worse yet is that if a private citizen questions Obama they’ll have their life turned upside down.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this
Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a “diva” and was going off message intentionally.-AmSpec
So much for his future.
We will remember this.
By Midori
October 27, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this
Corporal,
exactly what is a Marxist? Do you even know?
E,
that silly woman’s husband is a GOP Media Consultant
Guess we know who write all of her moronic, accusatory questions.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
RW-(the original)
October 27, 2008 9:27 AM
Let’s see how much coverage it gets.
You, Corporal and I found it. So it’s out there.
Be glad the courts are there to protect you.
By GMAN
October 27, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this
Oh, what a beautiful morning! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the McCain/Palin ticket is falling further in the polls!
Bush/McCain - Gambling with your children’s futures… and losing!
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 9:41 AM | Link to this
Look at what the libs are teaching your children:
Not to be outdone, Nikki Grimes’ Son of Promise, Child of Hope describes the early years of Barack, “his mama, white as whipped cream; his daddy, black as ink,” thusly:
He was there in Chicago because he cared about these people. They were his family. People in Kenya were his family. Indonesians were his family. And no matter where he was, the world was his home. And who he was could be summed up in one word: loveable.
He loved them!
Chicago poverty rate at 20.7%, national rate is 12.5%
Chicago sales tax rate highest in nation.
Morons, the democrats had control of the government all through the 1990’s, funny how the homeless, poor and lazy are still homeless, poor and lazy.
By RB from Gwinnett
October 27, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this
RW, you’ve hit on something I don’t think these socialist thinking sheep will figure out until it’s too late. They all keep whining about the supposed invasion of their rights by the Bush admin., but they can’t see that when you give the power to the government to run your life, you become a servant to the government. Biden’s reaction to a reporters more than fair question reeks of “how dare you little people question the ruling power”.
Unfortunately, I think the loser class will make serfs of themselves in the quest for the kings gold and never realize they brought it on themselves. The democratic party has been promising to take care of them for how many decades now? And what have they actually done for them post election day?
They just want your vote, sheep. Just your vote.
By RW-(the original)
October 27, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this
Be glad the courts are there to protect you
Not for long, gelding, not for long.
By AmVet
October 27, 2008 9:44 AM | Link to this
Votevets.org is going to be on the air in Georgia, with a version of their incredibly successful “Body Armor Ad,” calling out Senator Saxby Chambliss for his votes against greater funding for body armor.
As you know, Senator Chambliss came into office by shamefully questioning Max Cleland’s commitment to our nation. So, you would think that Chambliss would then vote to make completely sure that every bit of funding for troops’ equipment passed. But he didn’t.
We’ll be running the ad over the next week around the state, holding Senator Chambliss accountable for his votes against the troops.
Everybody, please do your part to ensure that “Blood & Guts” Saxby is one and done.
I certainly will…
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this
Thirtyish Jennifer Jolly-Gonzalez of Tampa was fetching in a hat with homemade moose antlers. Her advice for voters leaning toward Obama was, “Just vote present.” Her husband, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, wore a tee-shirt with the legend “Misery in the Making” over a likeness of Obama. Juan says he’s a record producer, mostly heavy metal stuff, which I told him sounded like Democratic territory to me. He said many of his rockers are conservative, at least in the economic area.
“You can be crazy as a loon and still not want to pay high taxes,” he said.
Another 40ish black guy from Tampa said he came just to see Sarah. Asked what attracted him (other than what would attract almost any man to Sarah Palin), he said, “She’s ordinary people. It seems like now everyone in politics has to be a millionaire. I can relate to her.” He threw in that McCain is good at coming from behind, so he’s not at all sure the race is over.
Let’s win one for the Gipper!
By Taxpayer
October 27, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this
“Almond Joys got nuts, mounds don’t,” has always left me wondering how to classify a coconut.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 9:49 AM | Link to this
AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 9:35 AM
You’re off message.
It’s the newly found audio tape, stupid!
Early Halloween?
By Morningstar
October 27, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this
By AmVet October 27, 2008 8:16 AM
Well said AmVet. I’ll even agree with the last sentence.
By E
October 27, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this
Midori at 9:36,
No wonder her questions were chock-full of regurgitated right wing nonsense.
Obama/Biden ‘08
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 9:58 AM | Link to this
That old gang of mine.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this
Thanks for the link, Horsey:
The rumor turned out to be false, but tonight comes word that a mannequin has been outfitted to look like Palin — with glasses, a beehive wig and a red business suit — and is hanging from a noose outside a WeHo residence.
“I know it’s Halloween, but when you’re using a vice presidential candidate with a noose around her neck, that to me has gone too far,” a man identified only as “George” stated. “Whether I’m Republican or Democrat, it’s not about that. It’s about this and a noose, and it’s just wrong.” “I know if we had done it with Barack Obama, people would’ve probably thrown things through our windows,” Morrisette said. “The image of a hanged black man is a lot more intense than the image of a hanged white woman — for our country — in the history of our country.”
*However, some neighbors said the effigy is in bad taste. *
Bad taste?
CBS is downplaying this?
By E
October 27, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this
Midori,
This is a great example of why Obama picked Biden.
They both are so cool under pressure and blind-sided attacks like this that they’ll be able to handle real crises when they’re in the White House.
I’d have yelled at her, called her some choice names, and stormed out. But then, that’s why I’m not a politician.
Obama/Biden ‘08
By RW-(the original)
October 27, 2008 10:11 AM | Link to this
Remember that big crowd shot of the Obama rally in Colorado?
Here are some better shots of the crowd.
By Midori
October 27, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this
I couldn’t agree more, E.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this
RW: Good catch, it appears as though the usual traveling dregs of socialism are packing in the Oblahma rallies.
If you subtract his mobile freak show, it looks like only hundred people showed up.
By Taxpayer
October 27, 2008 10:22 AM | Link to this
“Ax^2 + Bx + C = D would work just fine if those darned constants would quit changing,” replied the economist to the question regarding the validity of the underlying equations.
By AmVet
October 27, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
Fear-mongering - the ubiquitous “Ace in the hole” for the neo-cons.
Who could ever forget 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, 9/11 RudY? Or 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, 9/11 Bush/Cheney? Or 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, 9/11 Suxtobe?
Now in a version of sixties bubble gum pop, the second verse goes:
Socialist, socialist, socialist, socialist Johnny. And socialist, socialist, socialist, socialist Sarah. And socialist, socialist, socialist, socialist Mitt.
Wake up neo-cons, your wailing evokes no fear. And your traditional propaganda does not work anymore.
The vast majority of American people pay you BushCo boot lickers no mind.
And it will become apparent even to you ostriches next Tuesday…
By getalife
October 27, 2008 10:29 AM | Link to this
Yeah, good catch RW.
♥ this one
Yes, we can because we need the money.
By Morningstar
October 27, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this
Management October 27, 2008 9:41 AM the democrats had control of the government all through the 1990’s, funny how the homeless, poor and lazy are still homeless, poor and lazy.
Mgt., until the last election, the republicans had controlled the House from 1994. They also gained control of the Senate in 2002; however, the democrats took a slight advantage in the last election. We’ve also had an R president for how many years now? Golly gee, from 2002 up until 2007 anything the R’s wanted coulda been made happen.
Supreme Court Justices: I believe there are two (2) Ginsburg and Breyer which were appointed by Clinton. Other than that, they were all appointed by R presidents. R presidents do not appoint ‘liberal’ justices, although occasionally someone will have the good sense to appoint a moderate.
Anyone checked Georgia’s unemployment rate lately. It’s 6.5% at the end of September 2008, vs. the national rate of 6.1%. Of course, we all know this isn’t a drop in the bucket of what it actually is.
On a different note, that so-called Palin Halloween prank is in poor taste, as are those ‘he’s a Muslin’ labels that have been circulating about Obama.
By E
October 27, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this
I do so wish I could have attended the Denver rally yesterday.
What an impressive crowd and the message was to the point also. Love the make up and the numbers.
A day in history - 100,000 strong and per police estimations, a much larger crowd than that!
Obama/Biden ‘08
By "The Corporal"
October 27, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this
To Midori
“A political and economic philosophy in which the concept of class struggle plays a central role in understanding society’s allegedly inevitable development from oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society.”
Fits Obama to the T
P.S.
Sorry to dissappoint so many of you but I am headed out of town and will be off net for a few days …………. God bless.
By Bosch
October 27, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this
Good morning bloggers! I hope you all had a happy weekend.
In theory, Rand and Greenspan’s ideas are right in my view - we must be personally responsible for ourselves, and only we can make what we consider success.
However, that’s only if people play nice together, and as humans, we typically don’t do that.
On another note:
I was just reading the NY Times Columnist piece by Kristoff, and found the article interesting and thought I’d share - along with Kristoff’s conclusion:
That’s probably the core reason why Al Qaeda militants prefer a McCain presidency: four more years of blindness to nuance in the Muslim world would be a tragedy for Americans and virtually everyone else, but a boon for radical groups trying to recruit suicide bombers
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 10:37 AM | Link to this
Why would you pay 75 cents to get lied to?
Daily circulation at the Chicago Tribune was down 7.7% to 516,032. Sunday declined 5.7% to 864,845 copies.
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION — 274,999 — (-13.62%)
By Bosch
October 27, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this
Andy,
Got any statistics on how many hits their web sites get?
By Talking Stick
October 27, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this
Live with it! Atlas pooped.
This screenwriters fairy land that the perpetual adolescents of Wall Street have been living in for 40 years has come down. It was all movie set.
Take that Neal Boortz
By Midori
October 27, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this
Corporal KKKlinger,
since you know Obama so well, does he prefer boxers or briefs?
I hope you are taking someone with you on your trip. You don’t come off as someone who should be traveling around alone.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this
The campaign’s records reveal big contributors with names like “Doodad Pro” (employer: “Loving,” profession: “You”) and “Good Will” (same employer and profession). Both donated via credit card. Other reports have suggested that some donations come from overseas - raising the question of whether Obama is accepting donations from foreigners, another violation of federal law.
According to journalist Kenneth Timmerman, the Obama site did not ask for proof of citizenship until just recently - in contrast not just with McCain but also with Hillary Clinton. Sen. Clinton’s presidential campaign required US citizens living abroad to fax copies of their passports before it would accept donations. By contrast, foreign donors to Obama can just use credit cards and false addresses.-NY Post
This is sick.
Does this Oblahma follow any laws?
By FrankLeeDarling
October 27, 2008 10:52 AM | Link to this
Hey duh ,who you calling a freak,You lard eating cousin lovers are no pretty sight.
RW thanks for link to the pic,love to see my crowd in action.Lots more of us than one might have suspected black ,gay ,pagan ect…
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this
MANCHESTER – Local baseball fans and Republicans were in heaven last night, as Boston Red Sox ace pitcher Curt Schilling campaigned here on behalf of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.
Apparently, the Red Sox are not as goony as some of their fans are.
By AmVet
October 27, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this
I find the topic and the references to Rand ironic, given what happened to one of the “compassionate conservatives” here this weekend.
I predict many more neo-con meltdowns and assorted Republican nervous breakdowns.
Hopefully their sublimated bloodlust and proclivity for violence does not manifest itself again and again and again as in the recent nut job who shot up a children’s play in Tennessee and killed several “liberals”.
The devolution of conservatism.
Meanwhile, the credibility of conservatives has diminished steadily. These days they cannot even achieve clarity on the meaning of their favorite cliches. For instance, the president hates “federalized health care,” but sponsors a Medicare prescription drug program that wastes hundreds of billions on drug companies and private insurers. Right-wing definitions no longer seem so clear, either. When the government awards a billion dollars in sweetheart mercenary contracts to a wealthy Republican family in Michigan, that’s “private enterprise.” But when the government helps a struggling middle-class family in Maryland send its children to the doctor, that’s creeping socialism.
Conservative ideology’s declining relevance is again encouraging the politics of personal destruction.
Buh bye neo-cons…
By Morningstar
October 27, 2008 10:55 AM | Link to this
By Bosch October 27, 2008 10:35 AM In theory, Rand and Greenspan’s ideas are right in my view - we must be personally responsible for ourselves, and only we can make what we consider success. However, that’s only if people play nice together, and as humans, we typically don’t do that.
I agree Bosch. There are ample resources in this country to enable everyone to have a fair shot at earning a decent living. There are too many with the idea that, “I’ve got mine, and if you were not sorry, you’d have yours.” However, as my Mom always told me, “This is not heaven, you’ll have to wait on that.”
We don’t ‘play nice.’ That’s why someone had the good sense to initiate labor laws, which include restrictions on child labor, social security, the wage and hour division, DFACS, the EPA and many others.
There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for a child going to bed hungry in this country. On second thought, there’s no excuse for an adult going to bed hungry. If an adult needs food for the family, there’s many hours of community service that needs to be performed if the person is able. If not do as we’re instructed in the Bible, and feed the hungry.
OK, I’m off my soapbox for the day. Got shopping to do, need a haircut, need to go vote!!
By getalife
October 27, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this
They left out common sense and a basic human flaw of greed.
It failed.
Go back to what works and use the basic common sense of outcome philosophy.
You know, the ones that do not fail. John stays the course with tax cuts and socialism for the rich.
This is fiscal insanity and already failed.
By mm
October 27, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this
The pictures of the Obama rally were great. Quite a diverse group of people mingling and getting along.
Unlike the McCain/Palin rallies full of lily white crazies threatening blacks and reporters, screaming tasteless remarks about Obama, and forcing their kids to hold up anti-Obama signs.
I definitely know which direction I want America to move in.
Obama/Biden 08
By Pat
October 27, 2008 11:09 AM | Link to this
Communism - true Marxism, not moderate- left market-driven economics advocated by Democrats - fails utterly because its utopian fantasies refuse to take into account the intrinsic selfish and amoral nature of human beings. No child has to be taught to lie, steal toys or strike another child. This is a brutally harsh truth. Unfettered free market economics fails for the same reason.
Responsible capitalism works and creates wealth because it HARNESSES those intrinsic human flaws - selfishness and greed. The results produce more wealth for more people - IF CHECKED and at times curtailed by oversight of democratic government to prevent abuses and kick-start job creation. Reagan could plausibly expect corporate greed to fuel expansion of opportunity for American workers. In a global economy, those expectations are foolish.
Completely unfettered capitalism - the type favored by Ayn Rand and her disciples in the Reagan and Bush administrations fails eventually, though more slowly, because while garden-variety selfishness does drive productivity for a time, it refuses to acknowledge the true depravity of human nature - the willingness of too many humans to destroy their fellow man in pursuit of their own advantage. This type of approach always allows gaming of the system by criminals.
Ayn Rand let the trauma of Soviet brutality - and a morally correct hatred of Communism - twist her personality into pure unadulterated ugly hatred for any notion of the “common good.” She died a lonely, bitter old woman, convinced everyone was her intellectual inferior, unable to understand why her brilliant political and economic theories didn’t bring her the love she sought. She never connected her philosophies to a basic bankruptcy of spirit. A fierce atheist, she was unable to muster compassion because of her views. So she couldn’t find comfort in the secular altruism other atheists embraced - the drive to do good, not out of fear of God, but for the good of all. As a result, she lead a spiritually bankrupt existence.
She leaves behind only the blight her philosophy has left upon millions to this day, and beyond. When you read the angry poison that pours from the right wing posters on this blog and across the Web, you are witnessing her legacy.
The interesting question is whether Rand’s toxic prescriptions for society change her followers into bile-soaked bitter curmudgeons, or if personal grievances create the anger that drives them to her ideological fold. Would be an interesting psychological study. In any case, Rand’s rage lives on.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 11:09 AM | Link to this
Aahhh, yes, all the whining the last 8 years about Bushie and the Constitution, look at who wants to do it in:
THE OBAMA VAULTS: Constitution ‘reflected fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day’…
So what “laws” would the libs have us living under?
Whatever they “feel” like?
Whatever is good for them?
By getalife
October 27, 2008 11:18 AM | Link to this
Yes, w and cheney should have left the Constitution alone. We agree.
Another basic flaw of personal responsibility is accountability.
When you fail, you take the consequences like a man not a w.
By Paul
October 27, 2008 11:18 AM | Link to this
Jay
Another fine example of theory colliding with reality. I give credit to Greenspan, for as you noted, it was an admission of error of not just a single decision, but a philosophy upon which a lifetime’s decisions were made.
Only other mea culpa I recall coming close is Robert McNamara with his discussion of America’s Vietnam policy.
So let us contrast this with another example, not of a lifetime’s decisions, or even a series of decisions for part of a lifetime. But of a single decision, a single policy, even when events have shown a result far different from that which was advocated.
Sen Obama said the surge ‘succeeded beyond our wildest expectations.”
He strongly opposed the surge. Yet he has not been able to say, on just one single issue, that he was wrong.
Greenspan: admits error on a lifetime philosophy.
McNamara: admits error on a series of decisions on a single issue.
Obama: admits the results of a single decision he opposed are spectacularly successful, yet refuses to state he was wrong.
Greenspan - McNamara - Obama. Confidence for the future?
By darren
October 27, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this
New York Times: Subscriptions are way down and now S&P slashes New York Times rating to junk.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this
“The Corporal”
October 27, 2008 10:35 AM
We’ve attained the classless society.
Ain’t nobody got any class.
By Paul
October 27, 2008 11:26 AM | Link to this
darren
So care to guess, if just as with the Wall Street Robber Barons, if the top management at the NY Times are getting any pay raises for their incredible performance? Wait, wait, didn’t they say that would be very, very wrong? So maybe they’ve taken a pay cut commensurate with the percentage drop in revenue or sales? Or maybe they’ve taken an even bigger cut so they won’t have to lay anybody off?
Who says the NY Times is liberal?
By Mrs. Godzilla
October 27, 2008 11:30 AM | Link to this
Not much red left here….
By Darren
October 27, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this
Hello Paul,
Who knows, maybe Rupert Murdoch will buy them out and turn them around. I’m sure he could.
By Darren
October 27, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
Hello Paul,
Who knows, maybe Rupert Murdoch will buy them out and turn them around. I’m sure he could.
By Darren
October 27, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
Hello Paul,
Who knows, maybe Rupert Murdoch will buy them out and turn them around. I’m sure he could.
By Midori
October 27, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this
unlocks Paul’s chains so that he can get water
PAUL
Where my coffee!! :)
By Taxpayer
October 27, 2008 11:47 AM | Link to this
Has Bush ever said that he was wrong. It’s not like he has not created a multitude of opportunities.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 12:02 PM | Link to this
Paul
October 27, 2008 11:18 AM
He admitted it had succeeded when he didn’t think it would. What else do you want?
There are many factors at work in Iraq.
By tcoach
October 27, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this
So Obama is for “spreading the wealth around” As long as it is not spread to women.
He paid his non-intrn female staff at a much lower rate than those that were male.
Would love to hear an Obama supporter say how this is fair, good or anything other than sexism at its worst.
By Paul
October 27, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this
Midori
Good Morning!
Had to get the chains off, first.
Then, oh well, I drank it.
I must say I wondered if a coffee maker (Technivorm Moccamaster) could have much impact on the final product. Wondering’s over. It does. And it’s really, really good.
I came across one of Nicholas Kristoff’s columns this weekend. It’s titled “Why Obama will Rebuild America’s Political Capital” and is worth reading. I’ve heard the ideas before but he expresses them well. It’s not “image” or “political capital” in the “do they like us” sense. It’s much more - it goes not only to challenging and changing perceptions of America and Americans but also will cause people to compare our society, in light of our stated values, to their own.
Link: Changing Perceptions
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
tcoach
October 27, 2008 12:03 PM
Could it be they are less experienced?
But I doubt very seriously if he made those decisons.
By Danny the red
October 27, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
I think Allan Bloom (the great proto-neo Conservative himself said it best when he dismissed Rand as a bland and watered down version of Nietzsche’s philosophy (“Sub-Nietzscheanism”) which is particularly appealing to Americans.
The levels of irony — and the interwoven layers of bad philosophy — that we’re now witnessing blasted to shreds has me practically rubbing my eyes in disbelief.
But good for Greenspan for being Mensch enough to come out and man up. He deserves credit for that.
These are bracing times indeed that we’re living in.
By Paul
October 27, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
TN Gelding
Oh, I think a simple “I was wrong about the chances of success” would do nicely. Doesn’t even have to go into what Iraq, AQ, and Iran would look like today if his plan had been followed. Might be nice for him to follow up with some reassurance along the lines of “I’ll change course quickly when events dictate, I’ll take a long view, not a short political view and I won’t be bound by the ideologues in my party, as I will be President of the entire country.”
I think the writer makes the mistake so many do - overly emphasizing numbers (troop increase) and not giving enough weight to fundamental changes in strategy, some of which capitalized and expanded upon changes which were already occurring within the country. CENTCOM used to have the text of the Operations Plan - what they wanted to accomplish and how - posted. Made for interesting reading. And it was quite different from how many writers interpreted events.
By williebkind
October 27, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
I heard on the radio that a west hollywood resident had a manican of Sara Palin hanging from a tree. He stated that during the holiday season all were fair game. Hmmmm, let me see Obama handing from a tree in downtown Atlanta. Hmm, would it be fair game?
By Southern ATL
October 27, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this
GMAN
October 27, 2008 9:40 AM
I love your ending salutation:
Bush/McCain - Gambling with your children’s futures… and losing!
…and the post too!!!
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 12:26 PM | Link to this
williebkind
October 27, 2008 12:17 PM
See it here.
By tcoach
October 27, 2008 12:32 PM | Link to this
Gelding the qualifications of the employees were not disclosed.
the figures were.
Avg. for men making over $23,000= $59,207
Avg. for women making over 23,000= $48,729.91
There were 33 men qand 31 women.
Guess Obama may be hiring vastly underqualified female workers. Or he does not believe in equal pay.
If he is the person in charge and the name of the campaign he should be informed of people’s pay and their qualifications.
Would you not hold the boss of a company accountable if he was not giving equal pay for equal work.
McCain-Avg. woman pay= $59,104.51 McCain-Avg. men pay= $56,628.83
There is not a viable excuse for Obama for not paying women equal amounts. Unless we are to assume that the 31 women were just underqualified.
What would your reaction be if it was the McCain campaign that did not want to pay women equally?
By SHANE
October 27, 2008 12:34 PM | Link to this
Wow, turns out there are a whole lot more right-wing nutjobs out there than I thought. You guys are so over-reacting to even the littlest thing. And guess what guys - we’ve been living in what you guys would call a “SOCIALIST” nation since the introduction of income tax, the local DOT’s, medicare, medicaid, social security (look! it’s right there in the name of that one you douches!), so why don’t you all just shutup and quit over-reacting. Obama’s not gonna steal all of your money and make slaves out of all of you and to think so is so incredibly ridiculous, I’m forced to believe that you don’t even believe the things you’re saying and you’re simply over-reacting for the affect it may have on anyone who has any doubts in this election cycle. You guys are such pathetic pandering shills - there just aren’t words to describe how intellectually retarded you have all become because of the W juice you’ve been drinking.
By @@
October 27, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this
The challenge for the next president and Congress will be to correct our course without steering us too far in the other direction.
Good luck with “That One” jay. A trip down memory lane with quotes from the media that has promoted your darling since the day he announced.
“The Soviet Union, draped in history, born of bloody revolution, bound together by a dream that is still being dreamt. It is the dream of a socialist nation marching towards the first communist state. The Soviet Union, a mighty union.”
“Once, the Kremlin was the home of czars. Today, it belongs to the people.”
“Atheist though the state may be, freedom to worship as you please is enshrined in the Soviet constitution.” — “Portrait of the Soviet Union” aired March 1988 and produced by Ted Turner
Why only recently in that great Russian (cough) democracy…
Russian prosecutors are also gearing for a second trial against Mr. Khodorkovsky, this time in an even more dubious case that also potentially involves all of Yukos’s senior management as well as its roughly 100,000 former employees. The word for this is “purge.”
Continuing with the liberal media’s dream of a better tomorrow.
“A Gulag Breeds Rage, Yes, but Also Serenity” — New York Times headline over article on last Soviet political prisoners being released, February 12, 1992.
“Few tears will be shed over the demise of the East German army, but what about East Germany’s eighty symphony orchestras, bound to lose some subsidies? Or the whole East German system, which covered everyone in a security blanket from day care to health care, from housing to education? Some people are beginning to express, if ever so slightly, nostalgia for that Berlin Wall.” — CBS’s Bob Simon, March 16, 1990 Evening News.
“[Fidel] Castro has delivered the most to those who had the least….Education was once available to the rich and the well-connected. It is now free to all….Medical care was once for the privileged few. Today it is available to every Cuban and it is free….Health and education are the revolution’s great success stories.” — Peter Jennings, ABC’s World News Tonight, April 3, 1989.
“Frankly, to be a poor child in Cuba may in many instances be better than being a poor child in Miami, and I’m not going to condemn their lifestyle so gratuitously.” — Eleanor Clift on The McLaughlin Group, April 8, 2000.
“For Castro, freedom starts with education. And if literacy alone were the yardstick, Cuba would rank as one of the freest nations on Earth. The literacy rate is 96 percent.” — Barbara Walters on ABC’s 20/20, October 11, 2002
Leftists shrugging off what will be this great nation’s impending doom under OBlahMa’s leftist ideology.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this
Joe the Plumber having second thoughts?
By dave
October 27, 2008 12:51 PM | Link to this
Jay: The numbers are in. With the far left radical views of Cynthia Tucker and youself, you have successfully deminished the AJC to just another ‘hack’ like MSNBC. AJC CIRCULATION LEADS THE NATION IN DECLINE. You might want to start sending our resumes. Check with the NYT, you would be right at home with those people. OH Their stock is now under $10. You might need to contact the GUARDIAN.
By Spread It
October 27, 2008 12:52 PM | Link to this
Failure to reward initiative in any way is what dooms communism.
Failure to curb greed is what dooms capitalism.
There are untold advantages to maintaining a modicum of economic means for the underclasses of our society. To claim that each dollar you earn belongs to you and you alone is to suggest you eaTrned that money in a vacuum. That is simply not true. You earned that money as a citizen of the United States, a member of a greater society, and to maintain our standing as such, it is incumbent upon us to avoid disenfranchisement of all our people. Benevolence is not only biblical, it’s common sense, and damned good policy.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 27, 2008 12:54 PM | Link to this
Not to mention your little socialist is naive as hell:
Everybody’s watching what’s going on in Beijing right now and the Olympics. Think about the amount of money that China has spent on infrastructure. Their ports, their train systems, their airports are all vastly superior to us now, which means if you’re a corporation deciding where to do business, you’re starting to think, Beijing looks like a pretty good option.-Oblahma
Yeah, great.
By Fly_on_the_Wall
October 27, 2008 12:59 PM | Link to this
What is so strange is that we’re in the biggest meltdown in recent history all due to greed. Plain and simple greed. No regulations whatsoever and somehow this is considered a good thing. Look at where it got us - I sure don’t see things working out the way the conservative right is claiming. But yet they are crying against any socialist type of plan. So why do think this will be worse then what we’re going through now? Ray-guns plan of ‘trickle down’ sure worked out fine because we’re now finding out we’ve been p** on all this time.
By Danny the red
October 27, 2008 1:01 PM | Link to this
To claim that each dollar you earn belongs to you and you alone is to suggest you eaTrned that money in a vacuum.
Well said. And that’s why, much as I love his skills as a pep-talker and motivator, that’s the basic problem with the approach of someone like Dave Ramsey, who fiercely clings to this idealist notiion of an untainted realm of the ‘free market’ where none of the participants is connected to or answerable to any larger whole (and which he himself then undercuts when he rants against the obvoius cancerous excesses of Capitalism - whether it’s payday lenders or pornography).
By Danny the red
October 27, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this
Apparently this AJC Management fellow (he’s obvoiusly male) has a pretty clear idea of what a socialist is. Since his entire world appears to be structured on that definition, maybe he would care to let us in on his definition. Why, with the crumbling of these quaint little 19th and 20th C terms happening right before our eyes as we speak, I almost fear for the poor fellow. Looks like with these terms losing any meaningful anchoring in reality, his entire conception of reality will come crashing down.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this
Joe the Pumpkin.
Nap time. Have a great rest of the day!
By dw
October 27, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this
Since the country is hopelessly messed up and in need of change and regardless of the election outcome, 50% or so will be unhappy with the results, let’s have the whites and blacks go back to their native countries and give it back to the native Americans, as closely to the 1500’s as possible. Then nobody can whine about the country anymore and fairness will be accomplished.
By Latigo
October 27, 2008 1:23 PM | Link to this
While we can appreciate Greenspan’s confession that he erred in his faith in an anti-regulatory, hyper-free-market ideology, which he based on Ayn Rand’s “absolute laissez-faire free unregulated economy,” his confession is overridden by his failure to understand the ordinary history of the economics of greed evidenced by such events as the activities of the “Robber Barons,” up to more recent headlines such as “Ex-Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski received 8-1/3 to 25 years in prison Monday for his part in stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the manufacturing conglomerate. Mark Swartz, former Tyco CFO, also gets 8-1/3 to 25; both men fined, handcuffed, sent to jail.”
Congressional regulation of business activities is as necessary as policing of our city streets, the state police patrolling of our highways, and the investigation of interstate crime by the FBI.
The majority of people are honest, law abiding citizens. But there will always be a minority who will succumb to greed and take as much as they can get there hands on, whether they are just common shoplifters or CEOs of big business.
Greenspan should certainly have known better than to believe that businesses operate at a higher level of honesty than does the average individual citizen.
By ButtHead
October 27, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this
I love how delusional the dimocrat Obama idiots are. Please watch this YouTube video of all the dimacrats in 2004 saying how they should prosecute the republicans for wanting to look deeper into and regulate Fannie and Freddie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGTcSi7Rs
Dimacrats in action… losers…
By cranky old man
October 27, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
Trickle-down economics was sold with the premise that all would benefit from the inevitable growth that would accompany unrestrained capitalism. EPA, Labor Department, minumum wage, OSHA, consumer protections - all still exist, but are far diminished from what they were 28 years ago. And those at the top have figured out ways to fix all the leaks in the plumbing to keep anything from trickling down.
Those rosy economic numbers that have been touted to show how well we are doing (until the past few months) rely largely on increses in productivity. This is partially due to improvements in technology and processes, but it mostly means people are working longer and harder for less money.
By Danny the red
October 27, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this
ButtHead: [The majority of people are honest, law abiding citizens. But there will always be a minority who will succumb to greed and take as much as they can get there hands on, whether they are just common shoplifters or CEOs of big business.]
Sorry to say, but this is a misconception. Capitalism is not based on the principle of law and order in the sense of most folks are law-abiding, etc.., but rather on the principle of the inevitability of greed in all of us, which the invisible hand of the system is then able - as if by magic - to steer back towards the common Good. Sure, a certain level of law and order (lack of corruption in accounting, for ex.) has to exist for Capitalism to prosper, but this system DOES NOT presuppose a widely virtuous humanity. On the contrary. A rough formulal: macro-vice —> macro-virtue. So, a question for us: How’s it workin’ for us?
By Danny the red
October 27, 2008 1:49 PM | Link to this
Sorry, I mean to write: capitalism’s motto is “micro-vice -> macro-virtue”
By Say What?
October 27, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this
What’s amazing to me is not the fact that the rich have been able to thwart the rest of society in protecting their own abject greed. That goes without say.
What’s truly amazing is that, through smoke and mirrors, labels and catchphrases, and a whole lot of sleight of hand, the rich have been able to inculcate Joe Six Pack into doing their bidding for them.
You think Neal Boortz is middle class? Rush Limbaugh? Sean Hannity? Glenn Beck? HA, HA! Why do you think they want the wealthy to be left alone?
BECAUSE THEY ARE THE WEALTHY!
By Fly_on_the_Wall
October 27, 2008 3:05 PM | Link to this
Say What and Danny the Red,
What you both say rings oh so true. We’ve been screwed over by the conservative mantra for so long that people don’t really know what it is they are afraid of anymore. They just heard a code word and then run around like a chicken with its head cut off. They seem so afraid of anything with the appearance of socialism (even if it doesn’t have any at all) that they’re willing to have a Fascist state instead.
Truly sad.
By Richard
October 27, 2008 3:07 PM | Link to this
In my college years, 1950-57, I thought Ayn Rand was an economic goddess. Learned differently years ago. She forgot about the good and bad in people. If people were perfect and satisfied with ‘enough’ it would have worked.
By David
October 27, 2008 3:14 PM | Link to this
Richard, you nailed it. It’s the same with any idealistic absolute system — Marxism, Objectivist Capitalism — they don’t pan out in the real world, because of the weaknesses of humankind — greed, sloth, etc.
By Hillbilly Deluxe
October 27, 2008 3:37 PM | Link to this
Greenspan’s statement sounded a little different to my ears. What I heard was more like “well yeah I’ve been wrong all these years and it took me completely by surprise but still I didn’t play in part in this mess”. He was the head of the Federal Reserve for many years basically answering to no one so he deserves a share of the blame too. Course the Congress, the CEO’s, the Executive Branch and so many more do as well.
I kind of admire all those upper echelon people though. They are masters of the CYA statement.
By TN Gelding
October 27, 2008 4:54 PM | Link to this
Looks like all we can do is strive to be better people and continue to work for a more perfect Union.
By dbm
October 27, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this
There seems to be a lack of interest in trying to sort out to what extent the current situation is due to capitalism and deregulation and to what extent it is due to the heavy, extensive, complex government interference in business and the economy that we have had for many decades and continue to have, for all the talk of “deregulation”. Is this because people are ideologically blinded or because they consider such an analysis intractable, like some of the math problems that come up in physics? Maybe we need more philosophical principles to help us.
By GodHatesTrash
October 27, 2008 6:29 PM | Link to this
Could it be that Greenspan was actually Dagny and John’s love child, and that the poser that Bookman banned was actually the lead character from Rand’s unpublished sequel, Atlas Crapped Himself?
By dbm
October 27, 2008 8:12 PM | Link to this
The current crisis proves nothing whatsoever about whether laissez-faire capitalism would work. It may prove that before we remove certain government oversights, we must first remove certain other government interventions.
By Copyleft
October 28, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this
Or, it proves that removing government overight (i.e., accountability to the people) is a bad idea entirely.
Given that every single deregulation effort has ALWAYS backfired (sort of like every time we supported dictators in order to “fight communism” has come back to bite us), I suggest we get over this laissez-faire nonsense and get back to good old fashioned Keynesian economics.
Monetarism and Friedman are dead; good riddance.
By Rocco Pedestrian
October 28, 2008 10:11 AM | Link to this
You wrote: “Greenspan correctly defended the core importance of property rights, economic liberty and capitalism. As he noted, those concepts have proved essential to economic progress and should not be abandoned.” What is ‘economic progress’? Is it wealth for its own sake? Clearly not. It is measured in human terms. What is our gross national happiness? When more people make more money and spend it freely to enhance their lives, that’s economic progress. This has never been Wall Street’s goal. Their mantra consists of five words: “Me, Me, Me, F* You”
By "The Corporal"
October 28, 2008 2:21 PM | Link to this
To Midori
Does Obama wear boxers or briefs ?
Neither - Depends
I alwasy take my buddy with me traveling -my boxer who is named ……… you guessed it!
Corporal