As the old song goes, “It Ain’t Necessarily So”. The process of obfuscation takes many shapes. Recently I have seen at least three dopey (large font, multicolored) Internet screeds about the tax money spent on the Energy Department over the years with little to show, and now we have the gulf oil mess. Blame the Energy Department for its failure to anticipate the results of deep-sea drilling, but put the greater blame where it really belongs, namely on the toothless rules and management of the Interior Department. It is all part of the same thing, the oil oligarchy has controlled the process by either placing their own people in jobs they can shape and influence or use their billions to buy the government they want – worldwide.
And the song goes on. Breaking up the large (too big to fail) banks would jeopardize America’s ability to compete in world financial markets or, heaven forbid, send the manipulators to the softer regulatory climes – to where – off shore island republics? We don’t think so. As we have said before, it isn’t just a matter of being too big to fail, it is just too big, period! Well, breaking up is hard to do.
When Fannie and Freddie couldn’t be reigned in prior to 2007, it was then in the country’s interest to make cheap money available for housing – the American Dream has turned into a nightmare, simply to honor a slogan and reward politicians with some of the greatest lobbying budgets known to Washington. It wasn’t such cheap money after all. The band played on while the inventory of foreclosed or soon to be forecloses properties numbered in the thousands.
One of my favorite clichés has been, when it comes to giving away whatever any special interest group wants, is to say: “After all, certainly the richest country in the world can afford…… “ – fill in the blank check. Big unions, big welfare advocates, needy nations, arms dealers, and who knows whatever open hand is reaching into our pockets makes its case. It reminds me of the wonderful cartoon of the late 1980’s that depicted Uncle Sam as he looked in the door of a poor Eastern European family and their emerging democracy and said: “ Too bad you didn’t know me when I was rich.”
Now we can say this and mean it. It is necessarily so! Tea anyone?
RL
