Gale Warnings in Washington [Pravda says "Elect Democrats in November"]

New York Times ^ | July 14, 2002 | Editorial

[The Raven]

t is always risky to proclaim a shift in the political landscape, but lately the tremors have been too big to ignore. Congress, which spent the 90's worshiping at the altar of big business, is now grumbling about what Theodore Roosevelt called the "malefactors of great wealth." The debt clock, which was turned off in New York City when the nation started posting budget surpluses, is back on, ticking up each American family's share of the country's red ink. On Friday the federal deficit for this year was estimated at a new high of $165 billion. A president who so confidently responded to terrorist attacks is looking less sure-footed in coping with the loss of confidence in the stock market, preventing future corporate excesses and handling questions about his own business record.

It feels like a critical juncture, and the image that may define it best is that of President Bush on television, giving a speech to Wall Street executives while the bottom of the screen showed the Dow and the Nasdaq heading further and further south. The stock market's battering last week differed from the losses of the recent past. Since the mid-1990's, investors' gains had been so large that even the declines of the last several months often merely wiped out wealth accrued in the go-go years. Many people, with some justification, may have felt like Las Vegas gamblers, betting their winnings and consoling themselves when their luck turned sour with the idea that they had been playing only with "house money" after all. But the losses are now beginning to be real, threatening to eat up savings that Americans had before the boom years. While there is much that is favorable in the overall economic news, baby boomers who had been assuming that their investments would guarantee them a comfortable retirement are beginning to suffer new anxieties.

Mr. Bush recognized that he had to address the loss of confidence in the markets, and in theory, he went to the right place to do so. But the accounting, compensation and corporate governance reforms he proposed did not match the tough tone of his speech, reinforcing the impression that he and his administration are beholden to big business.

He also forgot about the advice that former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin used to give to President Bill Clinton, who was always aching to go to the stock exchange and ring the opening bell. Don't do it, Mr. Rubin said — if the market drops that day, you'll be blamed.

Now on Capitol Hill, election-bound lawmakers are completely spooked and desperate do something that looks tough on corporate criminals — without irritating more big campaign donors than absolutely necessary. Still, some good reform bills that seemed to have as much life as cold toast a month ago have turned wildly popular, including a proposal by Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland for a new accounting regulatory board to impose strict standards.

Senators like Phil Gramm of Texas, accustomed to killing off anything opposed by big business and the oil industry, seemed stunned, deploring a climate of panic in which "anything can pass" and "everybody is trying to outdo everybody else." The Republican fire wall of the House, where the work of the Democratic-controlled Senate has been blocked, was consumed in the flames as Speaker Dennis Hastert joined the stampede.

We hope the panic on Capitol Hill will give way to sustained and careful consideration of other reform measures that can help restore investors' confidence by reining in corporate excesses. Congressional action for the sake of action could wind up making things worse.

Americans have had enough time to become nervous about their finances, but not nearly enough to digest what has been happening and decide who they are going to blame for it. With an election only four months away, they will have plenty of opportunity to punish somebody.

[The Raven]

This editorial is for what? To spook the investor? Trash capitalism? Provide talking points for Sunday morning talk shows? Reduce confidence in Bush and the 'Pubs? Is it propaganda? Is it organized with the Democratic party operatives? All of the above?

Yep..the Dems are using their strongest weapon....a solid liberal media..It would be interesting to compare the past headlines of "cattle futures" to the current Bush flap.

What for? The November elections.

[Bogie]

Ditto bump!

[Bogie]

Just found out this morning that the Nazis are back murdering the Jews, and, of course, the cops are beating the African Americans. They do that every four years too.

[LarryLied]

Time to dust off my "Will Work for Food" sign seeing as the press is warming up the audience.

Ah...tax free income. The best kind.

[The Raven]

Ahhh....the screaming headlines are starting .... Papers offer info on Bush knowledge

[The Raven]

Wait!! There's more....Dems Link Corporate Scandals to GOP Social Security Plans

[esopman]

Thanks for posting this stuff (I think). I am sure you embedded the Extinction-Level Volcanic Barf Alert in the text somewhere and I just missed it...

These screeds are just one facet of a Greek Tragedy in slow motion: the (I think successful) liberal intellectual assault on the values underpinning our republic. The Freeper community is largely on the right track (no pun intended), but is anomalous in the larger body politic.

The NYT misinformation is massive. Example: The bull market of the past decade and the last two years of decline in the equity indices is a profound secular shift which will take some years to shake out. Check out "How We Got Here" at www.prudentbear.com (a reasonable overview although it does not adduce the interest rate analysis). The problem has nothing to do with either George Bush or Bubba Rex (for that matter). It has everything to do with the behavior of very long term interest rates. But, it serves the interests of the Socialists at the NYT to pin the problems on the president.

A deeper point is the will-to-power of these 'liberals.' Their focus is invariably on the upper reaches of government, especially the executive. When their choice is in, they have no compunction in mounting any defense (the defense of Bubba left me breathless). When not, they can embarrass a pit bull with their ferocity and lack of conscience. They seek permanence in their power. Our founders envisioned a republic with temporary citizen legislators and executives.

It sounds harsh, but as a long time student of Soviet/Russian affairs, the closest analogue of the NYT and their editors is the 1980's Pravda/Izvestiya blather. The old Literaturnaya Gazeta standards were better than the NYT. What have we come to?

Blessings on Freepers Everywhere.

[The Raven]

It has everything to do with the behavior of very long term interest rates.

If we go to the start of the economic miracle (Reagan) we see that the libs had made quite a mess in need of fixing. They had used Keynsian economics causing inflation. The inflation moved the middle class into higher marginal rates producing automatic revenue increases which was promptly spent by a Democratic Congress. Since productivity was taxed, we had less of it. The Reagan miracle had two bumps - one - the S&L bailout under Bush I and the mistaken but understandable Y2K/Greenspan bailout.

[KateUTWS]

Regarding the "wise" words of Robert Rubin about a President appearing before the Stock Market, I remember Mr Rubin instituting a "Crash Protection Team" to ensure Mr. Clinton had only good luck with the stock market. Is it crazy of me to think that the Democrats under Mr. Rubin also have a "Crash Assurance Team" set up to make sure Dubya was going to have a losing market after his speech? The Democrats are really powerful and don't like to LOSE.

[The Raven]

You mean would the Dems assist a downturn? Or even engineer one simply for a power grab? You bet.

[FairWitness]

The Republican fire wall of the House, where the work of the Democratic-controlled Senate has been blocked, - - -

Or one could say, more accurately, The Republican Democratic fire wall of the House Senate, where the work of the DemocraticRepublican-controlled Senate House has been blocked, - - -