The other lesson of this conflicting tale of two French corporate champions [Alstom and Alcatel] is that the French interventionist way of fixing industrial problems seems to achieve better results than the American way. The US also appears to have reached the same conclusion - at least judging by the way the government is now intervening to save everybody, from the bankers on Wall Street to the hard pressed carmakers of Detroit.
It's time for State interventionism again, of the kind long promoted by France - the kind that plans things for the long term, focuses on infrastructure, social resiliency and cohesion, and basic (public) services for all. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
First there was the time when western capitalism triumphed over the "planned economies" of the enemy. Now is the time where the entire infrastructure of western capitalism has proven hollow.
We can't throw the baby out with the bath water, but we can throw the underlying real economy back into the mix of helplessness that defines what the central banks are trying to accomplish. Intelligent "interventionism" must now find the balanced frame of reference to define all economic policy going forward.
Enough of the brigands. Enough of ignorance of external costs. It's time for real value to be rewarded. That means, simply, accept a change in paradigm or perish. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
Daily Kos: What Is This Money Even For?
It's more hype than real risk. A nasty recession is possible, but the bailout will not cure that. So it's mainly relevant to the financial industry. Actually, a nasty recession is more than possible, it will happen. It is happening already. The housing bubble was the last spasm of our latest Gilded Age, which is now over. We've been living beyond our means, on money borrowed from foreigners, and we can't do that any more. People who spent their lives nurturing small businesses will see their creations destroyed. People who struggled all their lives to build a modest nest egg will see their retirement dreams evaporate. Hunger and want will grow in the land. This will not happen because the credit markets lock up and hedge funds and investment banks fail. It will happen regardless. There is much that the federal government can do to ameliorate the pain and hasten the day of recovery. In addition to enhancing the safety net for the people who will be seriously hurt, we need to invest in a sustainable future, in real job creating and wealth producing activities. What we don't need to do is rescue the socially destructive, unproductive and parasitical financiers of Wall Street from the horrible prospect of losing a portion of their billions and ending up as mere millionaires. The legislation the Congressional Democrats are talking about now is certainly more defensible than the outrage Henry Paulson tried to impose on us, and it might even have some desirable elements such as help for distressed homeowners and limits on executive compensation. Best of all, they're talking about committing only a portion of the money, maybe $150 billion, and taking another look before they pony up the rest. A case can be made for passing something like that, so everybody calms down and the markets stabilize and we can get past this and go on to a serious discussion about the nation's future. But right now, we aren't having that.
It's more hype than real risk. A nasty recession is possible, but the bailout will not cure that. So it's mainly relevant to the financial industry.
Actually, a nasty recession is more than possible, it will happen. It is happening already. The housing bubble was the last spasm of our latest Gilded Age, which is now over. We've been living beyond our means, on money borrowed from foreigners, and we can't do that any more. People who spent their lives nurturing small businesses will see their creations destroyed. People who struggled all their lives to build a modest nest egg will see their retirement dreams evaporate. Hunger and want will grow in the land. This will not happen because the credit markets lock up and hedge funds and investment banks fail. It will happen regardless.
There is much that the federal government can do to ameliorate the pain and hasten the day of recovery. In addition to enhancing the safety net for the people who will be seriously hurt, we need to invest in a sustainable future, in real job creating and wealth producing activities. What we don't need to do is rescue the socially destructive, unproductive and parasitical financiers of Wall Street from the horrible prospect of losing a portion of their billions and ending up as mere millionaires.
The legislation the Congressional Democrats are talking about now is certainly more defensible than the outrage Henry Paulson tried to impose on us, and it might even have some desirable elements such as help for distressed homeowners and limits on executive compensation. Best of all, they're talking about committing only a portion of the money, maybe $150 billion, and taking another look before they pony up the rest. A case can be made for passing something like that, so everybody calms down and the markets stabilize and we can get past this and go on to a serious discussion about the nation's future. But right now, we aren't having that.
