I wanted to wait until things cooled down a bit and hope that the folks on Wall street starting taking a real look at what ails the country and to starting looking forward at the bigger picture instead of what lines their wallets.
But what do I find, there isn't any motivation there (at least it seems) to get things done. Is the problem average every day working American's? I don't think so. The issue here lies with the folks who control banks and big business.
When American's starting loosing their mortgage and finding it hard to get money to pay for things, what did government do to help us--practically nothing. In the 2007 State of the Economy address:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070131-1.html
One quote that seems to be in conflict:
It is this reliance on Wall street to do the right thing, to strengthen our economy, to invest our and their monies wisely, to work in the best interest of the country and not the best interest of the bottom line. This is one of the fundamental issues with capitalism, that the wealth is amassed by those who are most able to do so, not necessarily those who are most deserving. One comment that Bush made: "..excessive litigation and over-regulation threaten to make our financial markets less attractive..", really goes to support this idea that I think most American's can support and that is the Bush administration has done one of the worst jobs in keeping our markets healthy and fit. Are we trying to attract new investors? You know what, if the new investors come in the form of China, I will pass on this. I think what's best for America isn't to rely on foreign countries to invest the most into this country, but that we take the initiative to invest in ourselves, and others then see this as a mark of our health and stability and then they see a value in investing.On Wall Street, you know that America's economic leadership rests on strong and flexible capital markets. Capital markets connect entrepreneurs with the investment they need to turn their ideas into new businesses. America's capital markets are the deepest, the broadest, and the most efficient in the world. Yet excessive litigation and over-regulation threaten to make our financial markets less attractive to investors, especially in the face of rising competition from capital markets abroad. To keep America's economic leadership, America must be the best place in the world to invest capital and to do business.
We don't need to change the law. We need to change the way the law is implemented. America needs a regulatory environment that promotes high standards of integrity in our capital markets, and encourages growth and innovation. And I'm pleased of the progress that Hank Paulson and Chairman Chris Cox are making to make sure the regulatory burden is not oppressive, and fair, and helps us meet a great national objective to keep the United States the economic leader in the world.In retrospect, can we honestly say that this is actually what the Bush administration has promoted? Has the American regulatory environment been held to the highest standards, or is this environment that was created promote high standards for those who follow them, and those that don't just fall through the cracks? And has Paulson and Cox really done the right things with managing the regulatory burden? Who's not oppressive and fair and helping to make the United States an economic leader in the world? I think if anything we have become an economic burden that is having knock on effects with the various other economies of the world.
So with a national deficit of: 10 trillion dollars is Washington spending our money wisely? I think the answer to this is fairly clear that they are not. And this is a huge problem. It's comparable to the careers that we see throughout our working lives. You start out with nothing (typically), so your income is low, but your debt is also low. As you continue to work you get promotions and raises, and you think to yourself, wow, I just pasted the 50k mark, or the 75k mark, or the 100k mark, and you think to yourself what a great job this is--but on the flip side, you see that your debt is rising at an almost even rate, so in the end you really don't have very much gains. The same goes with the American economy--just cause we are making more money, if we don't stop the gushing spending that is occurring, we are at no better place than where we started. Granted the government can actually print money, but that's not a license to just spend.We must ensure that the money you send to Washington is spent wisely. Next Monday, I'm going to submit to Congress a budget that will eliminate the deficit by 2012. In order to do so, we need to set priorities in Washington. You can't try to be all things to all people when it comes to spending your money if you want to keep taxes low, keep the economy growing, and balance the budget. And my number one priority is to protect this country. And we're going to make sure our troops have all the equipment they need to do the job we've sent them to do -- (applause) -- and make sure our citizens have what it takes to defend this homeland.
So between the policies of this failed administration to the failings of Wall street to react to the good news and to stop looking for the point where you get the fatest return, we won't be in any better place than where we currently are. And this my friends is what I'm really sad about. It comes as the pain of the many on the BMW's of the few who actually profited from this whole ordeal--either those before the economy fell on its head, or those who are waiting out for a better tomorrow and to cash in.
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