UPDATED…DOW CLOSES DOWN 504.48 POINTS; WORST DAY ON WALL STREET SINCE JULY, 2002
UPDATE…Alan Greenspan Against McCain Tax Cut Plan, Without Budget Cuts…..And that will not happen so……
The political discourse over the last few weeks between Barack Obama and John McCain has at times left many voters wondering what was happening to the real concerns that voters have about the looming issues facing America. As the economic powder keg was building this weekend, finally detonating today with the stunning news even though well known in advance, that Lehman Brothers would fall into bankruptcy, leaves the nation reeling and wondering what will happen next. To say that this is a historic day is true, but it is also a mighty unsettling day for many people. The presidential candidates need to buckle themselves into a serious mode, and talk candidly to the voters about where we head from here.
On top of the disarray in the markets today were the powerful words that offered more queasy feelings as former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that more Wall Street firms would fail, and nothing will stop the national woes until the housing foreclosure problem finds a remedy.
While there were plenty of bad decisions made by homeowners and lenders who allowed too many to move into homes they could never realistically afford, producing enough greed to choke many packs of wild horses, there also needs to be accountability from those in elected positions who thought is wise to drive the car into the ditch with bad economic policies early in the Bush terms.
There needs to be a close look at the first problem in the Bush economic playbook. The harmful tax cuts.
Letting the top 5% of the richest Americans in the nation have a tax cut was short-sighted thinking by the Bush White House. John McCain, now to gain conservative backing, has endorsed those cuts and promised even more. Throughout all these years while the Iraq War was costing $2 billion per week, the question many of us wanted answered was how in the heck were we paying for this? While the rich were making off very well in the Bush years, the average American saw their jobs either eliminated, or their wages stagnate. The purchasing power of the consumer slipped, and the housing crisis exploded.
With the news from Wall Street today, and the facts from the last eight years, it clearly is time that the average voter in America again find a friend in the White House. Republican policies need a full frontal review this election season as they have only given most voters a sore behind during the last eight years.
Technorati Tags: JohnMcCain, BarackObama, Economics, AlanGreenspan
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
Do you remember Democrats asking us to loosen up rules so more people could enter the housing market?????
I thought not.
There is lots of blame to spread.
Your guys have had Congress for 2 years and instead of doing anything constructive have gone on witch hunts.
This whole blame the other guy thing is stupid.
Admit the fault of both sides and try to find some solutions.
(BTW you can not tax us into prosperity)
Do you recall Bush talking about the rewards of ‘home ownership’ and his awful ideas about ‘ownership society’ with health care?
We had Congress by very slim margins, but the President had the veto, and he was not willing to compromise on much of anything.
Almost 2 years ago I started a new job. It is working with a lettershop/IT Provider. This job came possible because of the Bush Tax Cuts. My employer got a tax break of almost a half a million dollars. With that she was able to buy a digital press and with the digital press came new opportunities and clients and eventually it got that they had so much business that they hired me for my database analysis skills. The company now has a 24 hour 6 day a work week in three shifts. I am grateful to the Bush tax cut and my employer as well as praise God for the opportunity to work there. Do not tell me that the tax cuts are given to the rich so they get another Range Rover or a summer place in the Hamptons. That is a lie. Rich people work hard too. But the problem is Senator Obama wants you to believe that as a “working class American” you are entitled to rich people’s money. This is morally wrong and any Robin Hood economic theory again smacks of Socialism pure, clean and simple.