Stirling, I believe you wrote previously, most likely correctly, that Reaganism has one more round to go in its life. That arguments like this are being put forward in the elite media supports this view.

In addition, Obama feels forced to counter this absurd attack on same level it is put forward, also giving credence to the view that Reaganism is still the dominant economic and political paradigm that no candidate can stray very far from and remain viable.

The Obama administration thus portends to become Clinton II economically, unless the evolving catastrophe buries neoliberalism and dethrones the Chicago School. However, it is entirely possible that the fiscal and monetary authorities will be able to pump up another round, before the financial house of cards finally collapses due to a mountain of debt that exceeds the capacity to repay.

The fundamental problem now is that financial intermediation — intermediating savings and credit — is a fiduciary responsibility, but this responsibility has taken a back seat to financial "entrepreneurialism." This has put global capital at systemic risk without adequate checks, without risk being properly priced and without fiduciary accountability.

There seems to be no significant move yet to return the financial sector to its primary task of intermediation based on fiduciary responsibility. Until that happens, it will just be more of the same.

Now, the financial sector is simply consolidating using government (taxpayer) support and gearing up for another round of financial "entrepreneurialism. This will likely result in more capital destruction due to abandonment of fiduciary responsibility and absence of accountability. In short, the rip-off continues.

The web has proved something about columnists.

You can't be expected to have an interesting idea every few days.

When bloggers blather, they at least get immediate feedback. But columnists are living in a bubble.

Die deadtree media. Die.

ICH

My assessment of American politics today

By Joe Deane

October 28, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse - -- It is stark. I see the election for president as equal in importance to any political decision in American history, equal to many of the crucial decisions in world history. It rivals those such as Lincoln vs. Douglas, Hoover vs. FDR. In Europe, the difference is like that between Mussolini and Giolitti in Italy or Hitler and Papen in Germany.

On one side of our struggle is normal American imperialist conservatism represented not by McCain, but by Obama. These are the forces of the old constitutional business republic which the USA has been for some two hundred years. (We euphemistically call this elite business republic a "democracy" which of course it is not. A democracy is a republic where the free members of society exercise the authority of government. This is not the USA in which government has always represented business, capital, the owning or ruling class, never the vast majority of people in society, the people.)

On the other side of this political contest are forces that can be described with justice in many different terms: the extreme right, corporatist, Wall St. thieves and black mailers, thugs, international pirates, the military-industrial complex, militarists, the prison-industrial complex, totalitarians, liars, or fascists.

more at the link

I did inhale.