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Monday, November 21, 2011

Supercommittee fails so America wins

Most analysts that predicted the failure of the much vaunted US congressional super-committee on deficit reduction predicted failure because 'nothing gets done' in DC anymore.

But what is the postmodern view? That tells us that nothing political happens by accident or mistake. (Why? check out Foucault's concept of 'productive power).

Ergo, this recent political 'failure' could be read as a success. How? Well one problem it helps solve is the overly strong dollar, which will hurt exports and what few decent jobs are left in the USA. US Treasuries have just been too hot lately. (Frankly EU and the US trade back on forth on this in a game of chicken over who has the least valued major currency).

This failure also brings back attention to DC and the drama of feuding parties and a President seeking a path to success. Nothing is worse than seeming irrelevant. It's good for the national media too which lacked good stories for pundits to chat up.

Sounds like a win to me. Might even be good for Main Street too. Economists say deep cuts will throw USA into a depression.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Greek referendum in a Post-TARP World

There may come a point when historians talk about times before and after TARP. That policy by Bush and co. was the equivalent of ancient Rome's Sulla, who upset the longstanding balance between the society's estates or classes with in-your-face policies that promoted one group over another. Recall that bailout did not make it past the House of Representatives when it was first voted upon, sending Wall Street into a tizzy.

Now the Greek PM has set the stage for round two of this great drama. Wall Street tumbled again today at the prospect that 'the people' (of Greece) will vote down the latest TARP plan (for Europe this time). They are right to fear for the European voters have always voted against Europe, the EU, and its plans.

A referendum is worrisome to world elites for it leaves no room for maneuver. The banking crisis of Europe cannot be dragged out as it has been this far. It is a showdown at the OK corral, which is a relatively unfamiliar scene today.