spare change?

I remember taking both macro and micro economics during my foray at the University of Iowa: I hated them both, but for different reasons. All you need to know about my micro economics class was that it was in the basement of a very old university building at 7:30am two days a week.

"When we add an additional trillion dollars to the debt, the burden of the taxpayer, sooner or later there's got to be a reckoning," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala), ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee.

I’m onboard with Sen. Selby – and I think I’ve seen him during various hearings and no doubt laughed at his generally horrible behavior. I’m only letting him participate in this entry because he has said it best. Not only that, remember last month when Freddie and Fannie were in “trouble” and the government passed a bill that only authorized a government takeover “if” it was needed for the two mortgage giants? Everyone pretended that authorizing the use of force was not the same as actually saying you could use force. Wait, wrong fuck up. What they said was it was only an authorization to move further into Freddie and Fannie if needed. No worries they said, it won’t be needed. I could be forgiven for thinking that we were reckoning this out six weeks ago but there’s no way that authorization wasn’t going to be used. Shoot, if they send me a credit card with a $20,000 limit there’s no way I’d actually use it, right?

What we’ve got now is another reckoning. In the most basic economic terms I can sort out, it comes down to a proposed ~$700 billion Treasury buyout of mortgage and mortgage-related failing investments. The breadth of the buyout is limited to Wall St. banks and corporations and not specifically to individual buyers and mortgage holders – call them ‘the people’. Sec. of the Treasury Paulson wants a quick and clean move to get this rolling line of credit up and running. Some in the Congress, on both sides of the aisle, appear to be pushing back against a straight, uninhibited, no oversight, limited control, three-quarter of a trillion dollar check. For differing reasons (the fighting Republicans dismiss it as a bailout; the fighting Democrats want more oversight and more help for ‘the people’) I think it’s probably a solid idea to hold off and take the time to bang more heads together until there’s a much more solid piece of work. I see how desperate everyone on the Hill seems to be but why is it that suddenly, beginning on a Friday afternoon and carrying through Sunday meetings, did everyone decide that we were in a 60-hour time warp where we’d just discovered the problem? Wasn’t it clear over two years ago that the housing and mortgage sector was collapsing? Haven’t I listened to endless talking heads discussing whether or not we were in a recession yet because the official term ‘recession’ can’t be used until two consecutive quarters of a crappy economy have happened? What worries me most about Paulson in particular is what the hell has he been doing since he was appointed? It looks like he’s been sitting in his office playing minesweeper and watering the plants. Imagine someone who actually was taking steps as the problems arose and attempting to sort out solutions in a serial manner. Instead we get everyone running around over a weekend with their hair on fire as if this was all a surprise.

You know what? I don’t have the solution. I know that’s pretty obvious. But…I’m not paid to have the solution. If you want me to kick some ass on PowerPoint, I’m your man. I’m all for the reckoning that’s coming and I know it’s going to hurt…a lot. This is an opportunity while we’re standing in dire straits for someone to come out and say the words I long to hear, “This son of a bitch is going to hurt for a good long time. You might need to lock down that seatbelt and get ready for a rough, rough ride.” And I want them to mean it. I want them to quite blowing smoke up my skirt. We aren’t children.

And the next time a pile of politicians come out for a press junket and stand line abreast like they’re a stern and supportive looking YMCA basketball team, I’m going to kick them all in their shins. Nothing says “we’re so confused and useless” then a flight of unblinking, alleged leaders.

Ah. Monday.

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