Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address, famously declared that "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Twenty-seven years later, in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and seven-plus years into the reign of Bush and Cheney, Reagan's anti-government battle cry should be on trial. But, stunningly, it is not. This needs to change. The presidential candidates' view of the role of government should be one of the central questions of the last 36 days of the campaign. And it should definitely be a question they are asked at their next debate. Our economy is not the only thing that is crumbling. So is the philosophical foundation of the modern Republican Party.
As an American typically ignorant of the arcane ways of the financial wizards, what was missing for me in the scare talk last week was somebody who could put the danger in concrete terms.
So, how did we get a war inside the Republican party that may leave the economy in shambles? Look to the end of last week, when McCain made his odd Washington cameo.
If we don't use this crisis as an opportunity, the pigs at the trough certainly will -- as they did after 9/11, and as Paulson and his gravediggers have been doing for the past few weeks.
It's one thing to watch interviewers respond to Sarah Palin's odd mixture of bravado and gibberish. It's another to observe McCain along for the ride.
John McCain is more than the oldest candidate to run for president. His ideas are old -- stale, inadequate to the times, and proven failures.
The real insights came in the revelations about the way each man thinks under pressure, and the way they interacted. The overall effect was exactly the opposite of what McCain hoped to achieve.
The main cause of the economy's weakness is not insolvent banks and lack of credit -- it's the loss of $4-$5 trillion in housing equity as a result of the bubble's partial deflation.
Helping homeowners directly is a lot cheaper, more direct, and more cost-effective than handing banks $700 billion. It focuses on consumers, not lenders. It stimulates demand rather than rewarding greed.
How about combining greed and fear outside the U.S. into one package that gives foreigners both access to American real estate at bargain prices and U.S. nationality?
Some may think these restrictions are just about getting even with the financial community. But this issue is not just about fairness. Compensation excess is at the heart of this crisis.
In 1995, Ross Perot told me that McCain had a gambling problem and he had uncovered details that McCain was bailed out in the late 1980s from a big gambling debt by his wife, Cindy.
Progressives should demand a real -- $200 billion or more -- stimulus that invests in new energy, extends unemployment benefits, aids states and localities to avoid debilitating cuts, and puts people to work.
