"Economic Shock and Awe", as Arianna put it, indeed. In another parallel to the planning of the Iraq War, there is this curious answer given by Deputy White House Press Secretary Fratto at the end of The Bush administration's September 23rd Briefing that has me wondering just how long ago did the Bush administration know this crisis was coming? And if it was a long time ago, why didn't they stop it then?
Here is the quote, from the Fratto's answer to the last question he was asked:
This is -- this was not a program that was conceived of or put together hastily. There was an enormous amount of analysis and debate and discussion before we came forward with this program. I think we have anticipated a lot of the questions that members of Congress would naturally have about taking this step, but we have had -- some of the policy staff have had months to think about what a program like this would be like and how it would work. Others have had at least weeks to think about it.
"...policy staff have had months to think about what a program like this would be like and how it would work..."
"Months"???
If "policy staff" were thinking about this months ago, then that means their bosses - at least some of them - were thinking about this months ago too. Which bosses? I do not know.
But what I do know is this: There is a difference between governing and plotting (or perhaps I should say "scheming").
When you are governing a country, you address problems when you first think they might occur and fix them before they become full blown disasters.
But when, in actuality, you want to do something that will not benefit the country... but, instead, will benefit your friend and associates... then you purposefully let a problem fester until it becomes an emergency that allows you to propose the "only measure" that will work... one that benefits you and your friends.
Now, I do NOT know that the Bush administration has been secretly plotting to wreck the US economy by letting this problem become as huge as it is. I do NOT know that they waited this long so that their friends on Wall Street wouldn't have to pay for the party they've been having for the last 8 years.
All that I have is the words of Mr. Fratto. I know that - if I had been governing rather than plotting and scheming - I would have brought members of Congress into the process of developing a solution months ago... when my "policy staff" first started working on one... not a week ago with all sorts of "do this now or the world will come to an end" talk.
But that's just me. I was once a program manager with the Army Corps of Engineers. And if I knew there was a problem, I let people know about it right away. I didn't let it turn into an emergency if that was at all possible.
Oh, and there are two other things I know. First, the Bush administration always wanted there to be a war with Iraq and created a special group to sell the American people on the need to go to war. Second, the Bush wing of the Republican Party has a long-standing wish to "starve the beast" that is the Federal government. They really hate government. (Remember President Reagan saying "Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem."?)
Therefore, it is possible - and I repeat, "possible" (as I have no proof) - that the Bush administration has been planning to let the Wall Street crisis develop to this point so that it could force the spending of $700 or more billion, so that the next administration would have no money to spend on any domestic initiatives... so that "the beast" will possibly be starved beyond its ability to recover.
There is only one way to find out for sure, of course. And that is for all the professional investigative reporters out there to find out what Mr. Fratto was referring to on Tuesday the 23rd.
Please all you professionals out there: find out what the Bush administration has really been doing for all of these "months" that Mr. Fratto says they were working on all of this.
Thanks for the help. The future ability of our government to help build a better society for us all may just be at stake.
Follow Steven G. Brant on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SteveBrant
One way to look at this whole senario is this, under the guise of free market economics, this large crew went about gutting regulation so that through shady accounting & sketchy financial tools, firms could falsely inflate the value of their assets. This also served the dual purpose of attracting large foreign & smaller domestic investment. Everyone is on the hook now b/c the "bubble" their shady scheming made affects most people directly. Prices the companies have on their books aren't real, but if we bilk the public and foreign investors &sovereign funds for the money to fill out the phony mark-ups, then the prices will be legit. The public will be shackled by debt not just personally, but for generations.
The really sketchy thing, is that these banks are merging out of necessity now & like AIG, they may become "too large to fail" relative to the scaled-down economy, so they'll skirt anti-trust laws & other regulation. They also may be owned by an even narrower network of ultra wealthy.
When very smart people do something that appears very stupid, it simply means we don't have all the facts. The administration didn't want to address the issue when they could have done it without a crisis. There are many possible reasons for that. It's important to find out what those reasons were.
But don't think that our financial crisis was the result of an oversight, or wishful thinking, or stupid money men in the administration. It was intended to come down this way. We just don't know why, yet.
Not unlike the bogus 16 word sentence Bush gave us to drive us into the Iraq War in another panic. I find it impossible to accept ANYTHING this administration says as truth, their every word is suspect.
Like "the little boy who cried wolf " the Republicans have lied their way through the last 8 years, and now AMERICA has ZERO confidence in our Government to ever speak TRUTH to us. Is this crisis REAL, or a manufactured crisis for sinister purposes..meant to further the riches of the wealthy Corporate and banking industry wealthy 2%.
After being LIED to consistantly for 8 long years, and Republican BLOCKING all Congressional oversight, how can I possibly believe anything they say now?
I am supposed to believe that this crisis just happened, at the same time they say they have been working on this bailout for MONTHS?! Will someone explain to me WHY THE CONGRESS was not made aware of this crisis months ago.
Bush thinks he is the KING of the world, not to be questioned, and John McCain and Sara Palin are already following this same mentality, refusing to let Sara Palin be questioned.
P.S. Why can't Palin replace McCain in the debate tomorrow night? Why is it that NO public figure has suggested this solution??? Why would that be a big deal? Palin IS fully prepared to take his place on Day 1 as President if (God forbid) something happens to McCain, right? If so, she should be fully prepared to step in now...
I have come to the conclusion that Bush and his administration kept this quiet so they could spring it just before Congress was to recess until the election, so they could push something through which was their last grab for unlimited power and to once again reward their rich, criminal cronies.
The DEMS need to take this slowly, keep Congress in session, say they are reviewing everything carefully, and will put in the necessary safeguards to protect the American people and the financial market, but will not be rushed into acting without all the necessary background and information. Then, the markets would be smoothed, they can dig deeper and further, find out who knew what and when, and undermine this grab for power by Bush and Paulsen. If they had been studying it for months and had been anticipating what would be in the plan for months, then it shouldn't have become such a monster in a matter of days, unless they have been lying for all those months.
They are in the IMPOSSIBLE situation of not having TIME...if this is TRUE...they HAVE to act now, or RISK the economoc collaspe of our Country.
It is my hope that once this bailout is resolved with protections in place, and an OFFICIAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE in place to keep checks and balances in place....this CONGRESS has an immediate investigation and HEARINGS to get to the bottom of how this was alowed to happen and KEPT SECRET from Congress for months. DO WE OR DO WE NOT HAVE A CONSTITUTION IN THIS COUNTRY?! This is CONGRESS'S JOB!
This stinks to HIGH HEAVENS. I feel like PIRATES are running this country, pilfering evey last cent they can squeeze out of tax payers, and doing everything they can to destroy our Government so they can PRIVATIZE their own wealth and power.