One of the really fascinating aspects of our culture is our notoriously short memory. We have the capacity the live through a major national event, then almost immediately put the experience out of mind, only to re-live it a generation or two later. Maybe that comes from being such a young, brash nation. This sometimes happens in matters of international conflict and war, but it more often occurs when it comes to our financial calamities. During the period following the Civil War our national economy was a roller coaster of boom and bust cycles that were occurring with regularity about every ten years.
The big boom time happened in the 1920's. Of, course this led to the big bust period known as the Great Depression. Many of the behaviors of the 20's were similar to the events we saw in the years leading up to our second biggest financial crisis: the Great Recession of 2008. Looking back to the 20's we would have seen bankers accumulating too much power by artificially inflating their assets. We would have seen Wall Street investors using those inflated assets as collateral on cash-heavy venture investments, and a disproportional accumulation of wealth at the top. And we would have seen a series of conservative Presidents and Congressmen allowing it all because they felt it was wrong to regulate business. For the leaders of that time, it was quite a departure from progressive policies of Teddy Roosevelt, but the pendulum had swung their way and all the fat-cats had a great time in the "roaring twenties".
We all know what happened next. The Crash of '29 happened because it became apparent all that phony wealth wasn't real. Panic, and runs on banks set in because it was obvious that the economy was a false economy-confidence was gone. Suddenly, everything was worth next to nothing. All economic activity came to a halt- unemployment reached disaster levels-millions of Americans became impoverished and lost hope. That's a simple version- but an essentially accurate one. If this is eerily familiar, it is because we are re-living those events now. But there is more to the story!
After the Depression was realized, Hoover and the Republicans in Congress believed that the best way to handle the crisis was to cut government spending (along with other measures) and balance the budget. That was exactly the wrong course. Those policies deepened the Depression. When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office two and half years after the Crash he reversed course and set about creating government programs (and YES, spending money) to put people back to work. Government jobs programs began to reverse the misery of the Depression. In addition, Roosevelt initiated stringent banking and revenue reforms that stayed in place until just recently. The elite rich hated him for this- but the people elected him four times! Economists have spent lifetimes examining the Great Depression, and there are many theories. Most theories provide a much more in-depth theoretical explanation than I could explore here. But the essential truth of the story is the same today as it was then.
We're at a crossroads again, as we were then. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait two years for new leadership- only four months. I had hoped our President would have been bolder than he was in the beginning (as FDR was in his day) but at least his stimulus package did stop the downward spiral. I still maintain a hope that he will not let the Republican party do what they did before. Today the conservatives in Congress are screaming for impossible budget cuts, as their fore bearers did. The real key to recovery is strong middle-class spending spurred by jobs creation. The Republican Party got control of the House in 2010 on the banner: "JOBS JOBS JOBS" and haven't done one thing except keep repeating the magical thinking that says we need more rich people and fewer regulations to get more jobs. It is a recipe that's never worked. Yet, these cries represent the same ideology that betrayed us before; because it's an ideology that only benefits the rich while exploiting the rest of us. Sadly, it is all too familiar. If you want to know who wins with the conservative plan- just follow the money that goes to elect the conservatives to Congress.
The different thought for us now is to stop and take the time to remember the past- and vow not to re-live it. Thanks for looking in.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Quite a Month
A few weeks ago I took a break from writing on this blog. Springtime was upon me and I had a number of things I wanted to concentrate on, so I stepped away from this little hobby. I've had pretty good time over the last couple of weeks. I've seen a bunch of soccer games and decided that soccer makes a cold wind blow and often causes rain. I got to see our youngest grandchild start playing tee-ball, and I know he's destined for "the bigs"-as long as he can figure out which way to run to reach first base. But that's tee-ball with five-year-olds.
We had a great Mother's Day with all the immediate family around. We have some great moms in this family. I got some chores done, and I have overseen the greening of my yard with a little help from Ortho. I even got to do a little fishing with the boys on opening day- though the fish won the day. So, all together the last couple of weeks have been pretty good for me. But as I looked up from my little world, I saw the rest of the world had quite a month.
Just look at the enormous events of the last couple of weeks. The world is still bleeding from the wounds of a disaster in Japan- but no one even mentions it now. We have seen the fast moving tragedy of deadly tornadoes in Alabama, and the slow moving tragedy of rising flood waters on the Mississippi. We have seen the Republican Party get new candidates and shed old ones for an election next year. Rebellions continue in the Arab world, with no real resolution-only more bloodshed and human rights violations. And our country just this week reached it's national debt limit.
As I observed the events of the last couple of weeks one person stood out as the person at the center of many events, President Barack Obama. You see, there were a couple of other events I haven't mentioned yet that really filled me with sadness. One event was seeing our President stand before the country to display his Birth Certificate. I did not imagine that would ever have to happen. But Mr. Obama knew that he would have to commit that humiliating act just to quiet those who engage in this most hateful form of politics- those "carnival barkers", as he called them. My name for the those who sought to de-legitimize him because of who he is, for their own aggrandisement, would be far worse.
On Sunday night of that week he announced the other event. President Obama announced the successful mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. My personal reaction was two-fold. At first, I felt relieved that this murderer Bin Laden was dead. No elation, no joy, no celebration- just relief the world was rid of one more monster, cloaking himself in religion while killing innocents. I immediately began to feel a sadness that after ten years of war in two countries, it might all have been settled this way long ago. I was struck by the solemness of knowing the attack on our country by Bin Laden gave our leaders an excuse to start these wars-wars that now seem unending, pointless, and in the wrong countries. I thought of the thousands of Americans who have died, and the many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghan's who have died.
The public reaction to these events concerned me too. The President was widely hailed for one day. Then the old patterns emerged again- a constant barrage of criticism that says he can do nothing right. Some claimed the President should be given no praise or credit for the mission. On a national level, and even here locally, some said he deserved nothing- he just happened to be in office when these events occurred. They gave the real credit to President Bush and Bush torture policies. It is ridiculous on it's face to say the commander-in-chief was merely a bystander, and the former President actually did it. That argument is so silly it's not worth arguing the point. I assure you if the mission had failed, those same people would have said he deserved all the blame.
In looking back at these two events, both happening in the same week, I was was struck by the awesome juxtaposition of a President both humiliated and triumphant. But the sad part of these events, and their aftermath, is the constant theme of race. I am not President Obama's biggest fan, but we can never escape the undertone of racism that follows this man and everything he does. It is subtle- but it is pervasive. His election did not push us into a post-racial era, it seems only to have amplified the lingering racism that still lives deep in our national soul. These two events so clearly illustrated the racial tension we have surfaced in electing a our first black President. I was thrilled, and continue to be thrilled, that we finally elected a black President. I hope that this will eventually lead to an honest national dialogue about race- it's a conversation we need to have. This country could never be defeated by the likes of Bin Laden- but it can be destroyed from within be the hatreds that separate us.
Thanks for looking in.
We had a great Mother's Day with all the immediate family around. We have some great moms in this family. I got some chores done, and I have overseen the greening of my yard with a little help from Ortho. I even got to do a little fishing with the boys on opening day- though the fish won the day. So, all together the last couple of weeks have been pretty good for me. But as I looked up from my little world, I saw the rest of the world had quite a month.
Just look at the enormous events of the last couple of weeks. The world is still bleeding from the wounds of a disaster in Japan- but no one even mentions it now. We have seen the fast moving tragedy of deadly tornadoes in Alabama, and the slow moving tragedy of rising flood waters on the Mississippi. We have seen the Republican Party get new candidates and shed old ones for an election next year. Rebellions continue in the Arab world, with no real resolution-only more bloodshed and human rights violations. And our country just this week reached it's national debt limit.
As I observed the events of the last couple of weeks one person stood out as the person at the center of many events, President Barack Obama. You see, there were a couple of other events I haven't mentioned yet that really filled me with sadness. One event was seeing our President stand before the country to display his Birth Certificate. I did not imagine that would ever have to happen. But Mr. Obama knew that he would have to commit that humiliating act just to quiet those who engage in this most hateful form of politics- those "carnival barkers", as he called them. My name for the those who sought to de-legitimize him because of who he is, for their own aggrandisement, would be far worse.
On Sunday night of that week he announced the other event. President Obama announced the successful mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. My personal reaction was two-fold. At first, I felt relieved that this murderer Bin Laden was dead. No elation, no joy, no celebration- just relief the world was rid of one more monster, cloaking himself in religion while killing innocents. I immediately began to feel a sadness that after ten years of war in two countries, it might all have been settled this way long ago. I was struck by the solemness of knowing the attack on our country by Bin Laden gave our leaders an excuse to start these wars-wars that now seem unending, pointless, and in the wrong countries. I thought of the thousands of Americans who have died, and the many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghan's who have died.
The public reaction to these events concerned me too. The President was widely hailed for one day. Then the old patterns emerged again- a constant barrage of criticism that says he can do nothing right. Some claimed the President should be given no praise or credit for the mission. On a national level, and even here locally, some said he deserved nothing- he just happened to be in office when these events occurred. They gave the real credit to President Bush and Bush torture policies. It is ridiculous on it's face to say the commander-in-chief was merely a bystander, and the former President actually did it. That argument is so silly it's not worth arguing the point. I assure you if the mission had failed, those same people would have said he deserved all the blame.
In looking back at these two events, both happening in the same week, I was was struck by the awesome juxtaposition of a President both humiliated and triumphant. But the sad part of these events, and their aftermath, is the constant theme of race. I am not President Obama's biggest fan, but we can never escape the undertone of racism that follows this man and everything he does. It is subtle- but it is pervasive. His election did not push us into a post-racial era, it seems only to have amplified the lingering racism that still lives deep in our national soul. These two events so clearly illustrated the racial tension we have surfaced in electing a our first black President. I was thrilled, and continue to be thrilled, that we finally elected a black President. I hope that this will eventually lead to an honest national dialogue about race- it's a conversation we need to have. This country could never be defeated by the likes of Bin Laden- but it can be destroyed from within be the hatreds that separate us.
Thanks for looking in.
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