America Without a Middle Class

POST #1 While you can't blame the administration for getting us into this mess we should absolutely blame them for doing a poor job of getting us out. Obama needs to hire a Wall St. trader who knows that you first ask for everything and then start negotiating. That way you have a chance of getting something close to what you really want. This isn't rocket science just common sense. Don't be so naive and think others will feel so contrite that they just give up. Instead this administration asked (meekly, I might add) for what they wanted and then had even that negotiated away.

They did a poor job.

This was Obama's 9/11 on a worldwide economic scale. He has to learn what "landslide" & "mandate" actually means.

He could have said "Medicare for all" - very nice and simple and by using that as a starting point for negotiations, he would have gotten MUCH more then the paltry bill they're talking about now.

As for the banks there is almost too much that could/should have been done to go over, but here's a short list of what they should have done:

(cont.)
About The Recession
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

America Without a Middle Class

POST #2

(cont.)

1) Nationalize the zombie banks and then sell them back out to the public when the market recovers (like Sweden in 1992). This would have dealt with most of the issues that we're dealing with right now, i.e. bonuses divorced from reality, updating lending standards, restructuring the mortgages (which I think is totally wrong if they were legal and did not mislead the borrower - those borrowers deserve to go under. It would also have the benefit of having the housing market come down more and let people who were responsible a chance to afford a home!

2) Transaction tax on Wall St. It would have a negligible effect on investors but would curb speculation that only helps those institutions pad their pockets but adds little else to the overall economy (unless you still believe in trickle down) Oh, did I forget to mention that it would bring in over $150 BILLION PER YEAR, according to the CBO, to help fund the bailouts of Wall St that helped create this mess. I say "helped" b/c the public has to take responsibility for their role in taking out bad loans and the gov't their part in destroying meaningful regulation over the years.

The list could go on and on. The Obama administration has let a great opportunity slip away through timidity and weakness. Let's hope that that is not his lasting legacy.
About The Recession
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost