Stock Market Sanity; Limbaugh and Hannity Fantisies; Lefitst Insanity; and Republican Betrayal

This disgraceful Communist abailout bill, it is now rumeored, iwill be "saved" by a "temporary" increase in the DDIC insurance for individual deposits from $100,000.00 to $250,000.)0.  that was proposed by those reviled Housse Republicans, but rejected by Democrat negotiators.  Now it is supported by everyone.   It is a mere fig leaf, since it is rare for depositors with more than $100,000 to lose all of the excess under present law.  Ways are foundt o limit the damage. 

 

More undamentally, this has nothing to do with the overall bailout bill.  It should be done anyway.  The $1000,000 limit of FDIC insurance has existed forever--from way back before the savings and loan debacle in the 1980's.   It is past due for an increase.  In fact, anyone who even utters the word "temprorary" shoud simply be taken out and shot  That does not include Secretary Paulson, who we have already established should be hanged (shooting being too good for him--see entries in this blog over the past week).

 

The stock market was already down on Monday before the bailout vote failure.  The reaction after that vote was fiction.  The reaction (recovery) today was fiction.  The net result is that the "market" ended today about where it was on Monday before the bailout vote shock. 

 

The dirty little secret is that Wall Street "wants" this bailout just to bail out Wall Street.  Wall Street knows perfectly well that it may not work.  Leftists know perfectly well that it probably won't work.  By "won't work", I mean that the bailout will not make any permanent difference--on Wall Street or main street.  It may bail out a few firms on Wall Street, but basically the same firms may fail and the same damage may be done to the American economy.  Printing money never works, in the end.  It did not, in fact, work in the Great Depression, where World War II eventually "bailed" us out. 

 

All that is being accomplished here is establishment of the idea that the government must "save" the economy, not matter what.  Democrats on Wall Street want that principle established.  Establishment Republicans on Wall Street want that principle established.  The establishment traitors among "conservatives" and Republicans want that principle established.  It is a principle that will doom us.

 

Is there any logical reason that we should "ball out" Wall Street with the 700 billion, instead of simply paying off every mortgage in the country under $75,0000 (as Whizbang.com suggest you can do, using government statistics)?  Of course not.  This is a Wall Street bailout by people (Paulson, et. al.) who are Wall STreet people.  There is no reason to believe it is a better "bail out" plan than bailing out taxpayers directly.  You could even do so ont he condition that taxpayers pay the money back, in higher taxes, later on.

 

This bailout plan has no principle behind it, other than big government.  There is no reason to believe the people behind it will make it work any better than they made the system work before admitting complet faliure (without saying so, and demanding taxpayer money to cover up their own failure).

 

What about conservative fantasies (Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and others) of elminating the corporate tax and the capital gains tax?  Well, they are just fantasies, aren't they?  And they are stupid.

 

How can I say that?  Don't I support almost every tax decrease?  Yes, I do.  However, a rational tax slystem aims to keep people from manipulating it.  It is too easy for people to incorporate, and manipulate the corporate form to evade tax.  That is especially true if you eliminate the capital gains tax.  Yes, I am calling Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity stupid.  Or, perhaps they are fully aware of what they are doing, but are selling snake oil like so many leftists. 

 

What happens if you eliminate both the corporate tax and the capital gains tax?   Everyone (with any brains) incorporates, and tries to turn ordinary income into capital gains.  That encouragement of form manipulation for tax advantage is stupid.  It is further a fantasy that is not going to happen.

 

I favor returning to the simple Reagan system of two tax rates:  15% and 28%.  Corporate tax rates should be set at the top individual rate of 28%.  Capital gains rates should be left where they are.  Then we should leave the tax code pretty much alone.  The constant uncertainty creates as much problem as anything else--including these constant "teporary" provisions.

 

So what shouold be done, if the conservative "solutions" are absurd fantasies and the leftist, Bush/Obama/McCain "solutions" Communist takeovers of the entire economy?   Should we do nothing? 

 

The stock market action today indicates that would be far from the worst alternative.  The markets would probably muddle through, if they are convinced that is what they have to deal with.

 

But we can do things.  We can eliminate "mark to market" accounting, in favor of some sort o rational system.  The Fed can increase liquidity, as it is already doing.  We can handle each individual failure as it occurs.  We can phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  We cam issue secured loans, if necessary (if Congressional approval is required, we can give that approval)P.  There are any number of things we can do with out the taxpayer, Communist "solution", which will fail in the end.

 

Nope.  I don't accept the conservatives who adopt the idea that we must "do something" (which conservatives already advocate), any more than I accept the idea that we must "do something" (as a government matter of central planning).  The "market" is not that fragile, as today proved.   We don't really have that much urgency to do much of anything, and we can do many things besides conservative fantasies (erroneous conservative fantasies) or leftist big government control. 

 

The first thing we could do is stop talking "doomsday", and acknowledge that we could do nothing other than let the Fed continue to head individual failures.  We can do more than that, but it requires no "grandiose" "solution".  This acceptance of the idea that something "big" has to be done is the worst part of the present "crisis". 

 

Apocalyptic rhetoric is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  I can't tell you how badly I think of President Bush.  I think more badly of him than I have ever felt in the past 8 years.  He is a total loss--reduced to nothing more than scare talk to scare us into what he has decided should be done. 

 

Further, I think as badly of the Republican "establishment" as I have ever thought--worse, in fac.  Mitch mcConnell and the Senate Rep[ublicans are total coward.  McCain is hopeless.  AS I have said, I never expect to call myself a Republican the rest of my entrie lifetime.  I do not expect to support the Reblican Party the rest of my lifetime  I may never vote for any Republican the rest of my lifetime.  From immigration to Communism, the Republicans have done their best to betray conservatives (along with the conservative "establishment). I hold grudges.  I will not forgive.

 

The only possible except to my private war against the Republican Party is if the House Republicans hold firm on principle.  The leadership already sold out.  The individuals are under enormous pressure to sell out.  If they do, I wash my hands of the party forever (except for any revolutionary ready to take over the party for conservatives. 

 

As far as I am concerned, we are at a crossroads.  The Republican Party is in the final battle for its soul.  If it sells out the final time, bowing to the (admittedly heavy) pressure on House Republicans, then I give up on Republicans as well.  If Republicans iwll not make a stand now, when the public is ready to be on their side, then they never will 

 

It is in anticipation of this final surrender that I declared:  I AM NOT A REPUBLICAN.  Based on past experience, I expect that still represents my personal stand.   Nope.  I am certainly not a ?Democrat.  I am a conservative.   I will not vote for Democrats.  But neither will I vote for sell out Republicans.  That now includes all of them, except the House Republicans.  And I expect, as I have expected (pleasantly surprised by Monday's vote) to see those Republicans cave to pressure. 

 

It is ad when the public seems willng to stand up for free market principles, but our politicians are not.  I will never forgive the Republican Party for that, if it is the end result.  As I have noted, that will meant that the Republican Party will have failed to take advantage of public sentiment on the two major domestic issues of our time:  illgeal immigration and this economic "crisis"  A party that fails that badly does not deserve my surrport.  It deserves no one' support, and I am confident it will not get that support in this election.

 

Can I yet be surprised by House Republicans again?  Maybe.  I just don't expect it.  That way I won't be disappointed (the advantage of pessimism).  The advantage of talking down the economy, as President Bush and leftists are now doing is, of course, thet you cause your own prophecy to come true. 

 

I expect all of us to be right.  I expect Repubilcans to cave, and I expect the economy to fail (with a "bailout").  Even if it does not fail immediately, the eventual central planning failure will be truly spectacular