Flight of the Owners

“Since becoming President of the United States in 2001, President Bush has worked with the Congress to create an ownership society and build a future of security, prosperity, and opportunity for all Americans.” Official White House Website

That’s rich, isn’t it, given that the “owners” are currently running to the Federal government and lining up for a taxpayer-funded bailout. Rich but hardly surprising -- the fact that this nonsensical blurb remains on the White House website is testament to the Bush Administration’s staunch refusal to recognize reality.

The Ownership Society was always a codeword for supporting the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and the poor. Bush and his posse of radical ideologues pretended that the Ownership Society was open to all, but of course the front door was guarded and only the “right” people were allowed inside. Bush & Co. wrecked the economy by misplaced faith in the “free market” and by dismantling the regulatory framework that was created to curb the schemes and shenanigans of greedy capitalists.

We’re experiencing the end result of Bush’s disastrous blindness and incompetent leadership: a $700 billion Government bailout. Lo and behold, the Market God is neither infallible nor immune to manipulation and gaming; now the Federal government is poised to become the not-so-proud owner of billions of dollars worth of paper – much of it of unknown or dubious value. That there is no place to turn except the Government must make the Bushies squirm and retch; they have nothing but contempt for Government, and to watch their cronies, political allies and campaign contributors run to Government for aid must gall them no end.

Or perhaps it galls them not at all. Introspection has never been a Bush Administration strength.


The meltdown in the financial markets pushed a lot of things off the table last week. I lost track of GOP-darling Sarah Palin while her running mate was stumbling for words to explain his economic flip-flops. I assume Palin was closeted with advisors and tutors, learning the capitols of the world, the names of heads of state, and the major exports of India, Saudi Arabia and China. By now, I’m sure Palin can recite the Bush Doctrine forwards and backwards.

Ah, folly, you twisted devil. Regardless of who he claims to be as Wall Street burns, John McCain is one of the best legislative lackeys that bankers, investment houses and hedge fund operators ever had. McCain’s claim to carry the banner for improved regulation of the financial sector is contradicted by his voting record.

McCain keeps trying to reinvent himself as someone he’s not, hoping, I suppose, that the media will ignore his record and let his blatant lies pass. If you believe that John McCain can “reform” the corrupt culture he helped create in Washington, then you might as well bet your house on the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the World Series next season. The truth is that McCain has assiduously championed the interests of his corporate benefactors, and to believe that he has changed is pure fantasy.

Crude oil is up, the DOW is down and the US Government can always tap taxpayer money for ill-advised wars or to rescue wayward corporations. We can’t find ten bucks to provide health care for the uninsured or to educate our children properly or to wean ourselves from fossil fuels, but we can wage wars and rescue the wealthy with hardly any debate at all.

That’s the American Way in this age of perversity.