The Abyss of Romneyism Recedes Harmlessly into the Distance

In 2008, the “HOPE” poster, a stylized portrait of Obama became ubiquitous. “Progress”, “hope” and “change” were words linked to Mr. Obama’s brand. Paraphernalia were sold and slogans proffered (“change we can believe in” and “yes we can”). The Obama machine, using the internet, raised hundreds of millions in an unprecedented grass roots mobilization of people and resources . It became a spectacle. As Obama gave his victory speech in Grant Park before a crowd of 240,000, Oprah wept. America, apparently, was on its way.

I’ve found little comfort in the words “change we can believe in”. I often wonder if President Obama ever regrets using them?

Last night, I watched a Frontline documentary entitled “The Untouchables”. The program outlined the financial crisis and discussed and described that not one Wall Street banker has been prosecuted for their involvement in the near collapse of our nation’s financial infrastructure. The short documentary discusses the fact that the vast majority of high level investment bankers walked away with billions while many Americans lost their jobs, security and confidence. Angelo Mozilo, ranked second on a list of worst American CEOs of all time, and the founder and CEO of Countrywide (a mortgage banking firm), walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars as millions of American citizens have had to face home loss, impoverishment and humiliation. He is an egregious example of capitalism run amok, fueled by the greed of Wall Street bankers and traders who bought and collateralized loans, rating them AAA and selling these products to anyone who would buy them.

For me, the “tell” of the financial meltdown was encapsulated in the testimony given by former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan (the Wizard), when he admitted that his long held world view of capital markets was wrong. Perhaps he should have taken to heart a financial capitalist model different than that of Ayn Rand (the purveyor of unregulated, uncontrolled laissez-faire capitalism).

Until the elite are held accountable for their egregious profiting from average Americans, I don’t hold out much hope for this administration (the financial services industry has 5 lobbyists per member of congress). No meaningful reforms have been implemented and the largest of the Wall Street banks have grown in size and scope.

Solving national issues including the debt crisis, national infrastructure decline, and the many other ills facing our society, won’t occur in any meaningful way until citizens demand that those who engineer our economy for short term gain, at the expense of the citizenry, by privatizing profits, maximizing risk, and throwing off this risk to the public sector (bail outs), are held to account and regulated.

There is nothing more powerful than an engaged and active public. The “Occupy Movement” offers average citizens a voice. After all, who would lobby for a small business owner other than those who have seen the decline of small business ownership (small and local capitalism) in favor of multinational corporations who are not beholden to any community in which they operate.

We are fortunate indeed to have access to a great deal of information online. We should thank the valiant work of people like the late Aaron Swartz (a gifted social activist), who was a major force in stopping a bill (SOPA), which would have allowed our government to control internet content and access. I would hope that Dr. Peterson agrees with what Aaron Swartz held as an important right of an informed citizenry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl0vHBsapBc

Are Barney Frank and other members of Congress, past and current, going to be held acocuntable for pressuring mortgage lenders to make home loans to people who were at high risk of default, so they could appear to be “helping” the poor?