This commentary at McClatchy by Prof. Michael D. MacDonald of Williams College sums up rather neatly how Neoliberalism went essentially unchallenged for nearly three decades and proclaims it to be now dead.
The bipartisan Neoliberal Era in America, from 1981 until last week, was devoted to economic growth, finance capital and the creative use of debt. The gray, dreary, and boring politics of economics was enlivened by a circus of sex scandals and culture wars.
I’m not so sure Neoliberalism is fully dead, as the Wall Street and D.C. vampires popping up on CNBC are starting to exhibit remarkably zombie-like behavior, but it’s certainly on life support. The U.S. House will take a vote on it tomorrow, to what ultimate effect we know not.
How quickly we forget that much of our history has involved mighty struggles between ordinary people and those with too much power. If we are indeed entering a new epoch, it is one fraught with the perils of authoritarianism, racial and other types of hatred, and outright quackery. The Great Depression analogies have been flowing fast and furious lately, so it’s worth a moment to contemplate that people like Father Charles Coughlin had huge followings in the 1930’s.
It’s a good thing our AM airwaves today aren’t filled with the demagogic ramblings of charlatans, racists and buffoons or I’d be really worried for the Republic.
The fundamental nature of American politics today is that rightwing economic elites use divisive social issues in destructive ways to distract the ignorati so they can exploit all of us economically.
The $700 billion Bush wants to spend on bailing out Wall Street is roughly equal to the lifetime earnings of approximately 500,000 average Americans — nearly the entire population of the City of Seattle.
Why should the party that created this economic disaster by rewarded with another 4 years in office to impose their failed ideology on us?
Did you notice that our resident hairball, Roger Robber Baron, has been uncharacteristically quiet? Perhaps, having failed at productive pursuits, he’s recently failed at the trivial pursuits of plutocrat(ic) plunder.
Having a few bad days on The Street, bro?
Lucy Visits Seattle
Here’s a note to the educated liberal intelligentsia (the rightwing ignorati may ignore this): The world’s most famous early-hominid fossil, Lucy, will go on display at the Pacific Science Center here in Seattle beginning this Saturday.
Lucy is a human ancestor who was born 3,494,00 years before the Biblical Creation. Therefore, if you’re a rightwing ignorati, she doesn’t exist and you should ignore this exhibit because seeing her would make your head explode.
I thought all of you may be interested in the following article reported in the New York Times five years ago.
‘The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry. The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios.’ Democrats pushed back. ‘Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing’. ‘These two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis’, said Barney Frank of Massachusetts , the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ‘The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.’
Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed. ‘I don’t see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,’ Mr. Watt said.
Yesterday’s Lucy insert in one of our evil-twin Seattle newspapers mentioned the lost race of little hobbit hominids from Indonesia. They probably had hairy feet, hairy ears, and very little brain.
Rather like our resident robber baron, Roger.
@6 What’s wrong with robbing my fellow members of the Owner Class? They’d do it to me if they got the chance.
Almost forgot … the rabbit hobbits lived a mere day before yesterday, only 10,996 years before creation which, as everybody knows, happened at 0900 in October, 4004 B.C.
Yes, Mr. Cynical at 5, and we all know how well and how wisely the Bush administration has implemented the regulatory powers at its disposal…yes, indeedee.
If only we’d put Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the hands of the Bushies 5 years ago, then all would be well today… Yeah, right.
@7: Sort of like the venerable art of rat******* from your misspent youth.
The Lucy insert stipulated that, when we look at the 70+ pieces of her, we see ourselves. Actually, I see Nancy Pelosi apres Botox.
Excellent post, Mr. C.
And throwing their own toilet paper, the Jayson Blair Times, right back at them? Priceless.
@10 So you admit Nancy Pelosi was here 3.5 million years ago? Doesn’t that blow creationist theories to hell?
News reports indicate the McCain campaign has given up on Michigan and is pulling resources out of that state.
Speaking of old fossils, I’m glad to see Mr. C reading the NYT. In fact, I suspect he’s been reading it all along, because he seems (slightly) better informed than the rest of you wingnuts.
” … people like Father Charles Coughlin had huge followings in the 1930’s (sic) …”
Coughlin, the New Deal liberal who was for FDR before he was against him?
Pelosi doesn’t disprove Creationism. She disproves Darwin. Or maybe she’s just punctuated (%#@%&!!!) disequalibrium.
Geritol John & Michigan: Drudge had this at least an hour ago. It’s old news. The only issue of interest is why anyone would have wanted Granholm’s sloppy seconds.
Anybody looking for a good time? I’m into water sports?
Lucy in Disguise @16,
I’m game. Do you have a goat? I still have a pig I can bring. And some ruby red lip stick.
Whoa! I, the sockpuppet, have a sockpuppet.
I’m the Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds. The other Lucy, @16, has barnyard animals. Or is one. Lipstick it at your own risk.
13 The LA Times reports that an unoccupied house in Saginaw was just sold on Ebay for $1.75.
9. Regular Voter spews:
Yes, Mr. Cynical at 5, and we all know how well and how wisely the Bush administration has implemented the regulatory powers at its disposal…yes, indeedee.
If only we’d put Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the hands of the Bushies 5 years ago, then all would be well today… Yeah, right.
Fannie and Freddie are exempt from SEC oversight. You must be SOOOO proud of Bawny Frank, Chris Dudd, and the Congressional Black Caucus right now.
@19 And to think they said one couldn’t give away a house in that town. Wrong!
Other than this, the post is excellent.
Unfortunately, Jon seems unaware of what has happened on the right. We have an odd political system where the part out of power as extensive, constitutional powers. Never in our history, has either the minority or the majority party been in the hands of an irrational, radical fringe comparable to the Nazis or the extremists behind the chaos in Latin America. never, until now.
Assuming we are lucky and Barack is elected on Nov4, along with 57% of the Senate and a workable majority in the House, he … no we will face a minority party united under the tutelage of James Dobson and his creed of self serving religious extremism.
Think I am wrong? Give me the name of one credible national leader who can command the residual Repricans other than Dobson or his compadre Gingrich?
WE better win, but that is only the first step in what could be an epochal failure of democracy itself. Things did not look all that different in 1929 Berlin,
@22 “Give me the name of one credible national leader who can command the residual Repricans other than Dobson or his compadre Gingrich?”
But what about Sarah Palin, SJ?? Oh, wait, you said “credible”. Nevermind.
@5
I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard here, “The Democrats are running congress. If they want to get something done they don’t need the Republicans.” Well, if that is really true, who had a clear majority in congress when this article was written. I guess some republicans must have voted against it too… I wonder why… Maybe we should go find out before we imply that all people from one party are bad… Ya think?
Sorry for the sarcasm but honestly, these overly simplistic arguments are just a waste of bits. You can keep making them for sure, but what are you getting out of it? Do you think you’re changing peoples’ minds? I ask my small kids when they misbehave, “how is this helping you? are you getting what you want?” If you are getting what you want, perhaps your only intention is to antagonize rather than enlighten. How does that help?