Competent Politicians

I meant to title this oxymoron or paradox. The day after the House originally rejected the Bailout Bill I heard a republican congressman on the radio explain why he voted against the bill. His reasons included that he thought other means could provide aid to banks without actually just writing them a government check (even though a large portion of the final/amended bill that was signed and passed today). While I agree that there are some other measures to provide some degree of aid, they cannot resolve everything (don't go calling me out on the fact that I said bailing out the banks is bad. It is bad and always was - but it may be the only solution to prevent banks from having to unwind their positions during the chaos and emotional exaggeration - but it still stinks).

So this congressman was going on and on about other ways to help the banks. He rattled off a number of things matter-of-factly, as if to imply that they were so readily available and feasible. The radio show host asked him to explain just one of the ideas, which had to do with modifying the mark-to-market rules (incidentally this idea really does stink because it proposes to change accounting rules/laws to make them help banks out. Essentially it suggests that we should allow a company to say something is worth X dollars when market buyers will only pay a much lower price for it. This is akin to me at my garage sale trying to convince someone that my discman is worth 80 bucks since that is what I paid for it in 1997. And either way, whenever you have to change laws/accounting rules to make something look better, you know something is awry) as he would to an old lady standing in line with him at the grocery store. The congressman said he "really didn't understand it well enough to explain it."

Well that's terrific. Great plan. Contest and cry about the ideas others have (as ridiculous as they may be) while proposing something you lack the ability to comprehend let alone educate others about? You're incompetence is staggering! Do you expect that you can overhear your banker friend talking at church on Sunday about some principle and then just go running around declaring it public policy? The fact that people like this pile can sit there in Congress, vote against bills without knowing anything about the issues, and then complain that a democrat Speaker of the House's partisan drove you to such childish antics is preposterous! Could there really have been congressmen there who waited to make their voting decision with regard to the bailout bill until Pelosi got up to speak (right before the vote on the bill)? What are you guys in third grade? What a bunch of cry-babies.

And then they had audacity last night of patting themselves on the back and complimenting their eventual peacemaking that led to a bipartisan conglomerate bailout bill of poop. Great job guys. Hate to break it to you, but while your vanity consumes you as you throw shakas and wink at yourselves in the mirror, banks may just barely avert complete unraveling before a severe recession and inevitable inflation humbles the economy even more and more long-term improvements and adjustments enable the system to finally heal itself.