Hell has indeed froze over. David Brooks and I agree on something.

[no_vaseline_IHB]

I cut it down, but this gets most of it for the tl,dr crowd.



<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/opinion/30brooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/opinion/30brooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin</a>



<blockquote>And let us recognize above all the 228 who voted no ? the authors of this revolt of the nihilists. They showed the world how much they detest their own leaders and the collected expertise of the Treasury and Fed. They did the momentarily popular thing, and if the country slides into a deep recession, they will have the time and leisure to watch public opinion shift against them.



House Republicans led the way and will get most of the blame. It has been interesting to watch them on their single-minded mission to destroy the Republican Party. Not long ago, they led an anti-immigration crusade that drove away Hispanic support. Then, too, they listened to the loudest and angriest voices in their party, oblivious to the complicated anxieties that lurk in most American minds.



Now they have once again confused talk radio with reality. If this economy slides, they will go down in history as the Smoot-Hawleys of the 21st century. With this vote, they?ve taken responsibility for this economy, and they will be held accountable. The short-term blows will fall on John McCain, the long-term stress on the existence of the G.O.P. as we know it.



I?ve spoken with several House Republicans over the past few days and most admirably believe in free-market principles. What?s sad is that they still think it?s 1984.

</blockquote>


When David Brooks and my pinko commie ass are in lock step agreement, the world is in a bad, bad, bad place.

 

[Nude_IHB]

<blockquote>What we need in this situation is authority. Not heavy-handed government regulation, but the steady and powerful hand of some public institutions that can guard against the corrupting influences of sloppy money and then prevent destructive contagions when the credit dries up.</blockquote>
He's right, of course, but we can't get there as long as we are enabling a broken system to linger on with emergency injections of more "sloppy money". I'm not a nihilist, but I fully support any effort that forces the system to reset, even knowing that I am inviting a great deal of pain on my household and those around the country. We have gone past the point of simple repairs and are forced to choose between a complete replacement and limping along from gas station to gas station, like an old car with a busted radiator and leaking rear main seal. I suffered through the stagflation of the 70's, the recession of the 80's, and the 90's, and the tech bubble. The solution has always been to spend/inflate our way out of it, leading to huge debt, and we always find ourself back in the same place when the spending stops. Enough is enough.



Here is what I see on the other side of financial Armageddon: A country with massive unemployment, thousands of failed businesses and banks, and city/county/state governments that are either bankrupt or a fraction of their former size. Asset deflation, demand destruction, and a severe cut back in consumer spending leaves even the most conservatively-run business barely alive. And then, when we have wrung every last bit of excess from our country, the government steps in with public works projects to rebuild our broken infrastructure, financial laws are rewritten to ensure that risk is managed and transparent, that speculation is both encouraged and regulated, and private capital is encouraged to invest in domestic production for domestic consumption. Tax rates must be increased, temporarily, to pay down the debt incurred but non-productive spending by government must also be limited as the economy recovers. In a nutshell we, as a country, need to pay off the credit card and return to living within our means, learn to save for future purchases, and hold ourselves and our politicians to a standard of fiscal responsibility that prevents the kind of systemic shock we are experiencing.

 

[No_Such_Reality_IHB]

Were in for a severe recession one way or another.



Now, would you like your cancer treatment now or in six months?

 

[IrvineRenter_IHB]

When I agree with Glenn Beck, I feel the same way.



<object width="325" height="250"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/youtube" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="325" height="250"></embed></object>

 

[Nude_IHB]

[quote author="No_Such_Reality" date=1222823439]Were in for a severe recession one way or another.



Now, would you like your cancer treatment now or in six months?</blockquote>
This isn't a choice between treatment or no treatment, it's a choice between surgery to remove the tumor or pain meds and wishful thinking.