Posted by: McQ on Monday, July 14, 2008 Willem Buiter of the Financial Times does a pretty good job of laying out the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae debacle. I don't necessarily agree with his solutions, but he does hit the high points as to why they're in trouble. What I found much more interesting than his description and his solutions was this passage hinted at in his title: There are many forms of socialism. The version practiced in the US is the most deceitful one I know. An honest, courageous socialist government would say: this is a worthwhile social purpose (financing home ownership, helping my friends on Wall Street); therefore I am going to subsidize it; and here are the additional taxes (or cuts in other public spending) to finance it.He nails it. And he properly nails both Democrats and Republicans as well. But as far as I'm concerned, it is Republicans and Republican administrations which deserve the lion's share of the blame. It isn't a secret that Democrats are far too comfortable with moving us toward socialism and if you listen to Barack Obama, such a desire is plainly evident when he gives any specificity to his usual generalizations. However it is Republicans who, over the years, have bought into the socialist premises which have led to the existence of such institutions. It is their complicity through the decades that have ensured not only their implementation, but their survival. You can't fault a dog when it acts like a dog. Democrats pushing socialism are Democrats acting naturally. But Republicans, given their rhetoric and supposed principles, don't have that excuse at all. In reality their problem has been lack of will, lack of spine and lack of principles. Or at least the principles they've claimed for at least a century. Now, again, we see something government initiated, cobbled together and promised to oversee teetering and creaking and making noises that sound like collapse. And the solution? Why more government of course - and more of your money. Enjoy. [Note to commenters: if you plan to use the word socialism in your comment, please write it like this: soci*lism. The reason you have to do that is socialism also has the word "cialis" in it which we filter to cut down the comment spam] |
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