Thanks again to Robert Reich, now an official 'must read' for one and all.
His take on the current behaviour of The People In Charge is scathing. The White House must hate him, but what are they gonna do? He was a Clinton cabinet member, a major part of the Obama administration team, and teaches at UC Berkley. Are they going to call him a tin-foil-hat looney racist as well?
Undoubtedly, he's probably now being shunned, but there are worse fates than not being seen publicly with these people, off the party invitation lists, and not getting phone calls returned.
He asks the obvious question: The economy is a shambles, and Wall Street is soaring, with the usual cast of characters making money hand over fist. How could this be?
I've included one the final of paragraphs, but urge the whole essay be read.
In other words, the Dow is up despite the biggest consumer retreat from the market since the Great Depression because of the very thing so many executives are complaining about, which is government’s expansion. And regardless of what you call it – Keynesianism, socialism, or just pragmatism – it’s doing wonders for business, especially big business and Wall Street. Consumer spending is falling back to 60 to 65 percent of the economy, as government spending expands to fill the gap. The problem is, our newly expanded government isn't doing much for average working Americans who continue to lose their jobs and whose belts continue to tighten, and who are getting almost nothing out of the rising Dow because they own few if any shares of stock. Despite the happy Dow and notwithstanding the upbeat corporate earnings, most corporations are still shedding workers and slashing payrolls. And the big banks still aren't lending to Main Street.
It isn't like we aren't being completely forewarned about tomorrow's dangers sourced in today's corruption.
The culture shapes the economy.
Ethics matter.
Main Street matters more than Wall Street.
God, and history, and mathematics, are not mocked.
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