It’s the Economy stupid!

Even though a reader gave me a tip on how the Bush-isms books, videos mugs and other artifacts she saw in Washington DC last week, reminded her of Super Paul’s greatest quotations, they will have to wait another day. If I don’t vent my feelings on the day’s economic news I’ll jump out of my basement window.

That screeching sound and breaking glass is not a pile up on the freeway, it’s all the former supporters of Bush’s economic policy making a u-turn in the middle of the road trying to distance themselves from the pending disaster.

What I haven’t heard is commentary from anyone on either side of the pew regarding the credit crunch and the record earnings of the Wall Street Bankers that was being hailed as a sign of the successful Bush policies. Roll back the calendar a year. All the Wall Street Bankers and especially Goldman Sachs were reporting record earnings and as I recall record bonuses, pay raises and other perks for the deserving CEO’s and other top management wizards.

So now as they are scrambling for government bailouts, yes dropping interest and weakening the dollar (which allows the Chinese and other foreign bankers to buy a larger chunk of Citibank or whoever for less money is a bailout. Be not deceived the interest rate drop and programs to keep poor people in their homes a little longer is not for the sake of the poor homeowners.

There are those too that are not poor but bought on speculation that would default save for some interest and cash flow relief. The difference between them and the poor that will lose their homes a little later is that the speculators now knowing how bad the market is may be able to use the reprieve to bail out of their bad decisions.

This is really just another Enron and corporate accounting scandal in a little different packaging. What the regulators ought to look at are the accounting and consulting firms that flit from client to client telling them how to raise their “earnings” and hence their pay and benefit packages and sell their still management friendly boards of directors on how their performance somehow entitles them to earn as much as athletes and other providers of critically vital services to the American public.

We haven’t heard nor felt the magnitude of the problem yet. But for all of you that were just about back in your retirement account to where you were pre Enron, well you can start over again. You are only seven 6 years closer to retirement than you were last time. But then you always have social security to fall back on don’t you?

And hang onto your socks for the inflation shock yet to come. Who truly believes that Bush put the push on ethanol for energy conservation or independence from foreign oil purposes? What first year econ student could not have forecast the effect on food prices that would result from farmers shifting as much production into corn as possible to sell the ethanol plants. This resulted in shortages of other feed and food crops as well sending up the prices for milk, eggs, beef, pork, chicken and all commodities that use any of those items as components.

Believe me there was big money made as a result of these policy decisions. Couple that with the inflationary effect of the war spending and the weakened dollar and Wallah! You have a rapidly deteriorating economy.

Didn’t someone just recently post on Wallah about the 52 months of growth? About how wonderful the economy was doing. Why were people not giving Bush the credit he is due? Well, step up to the plate Mr. President and acknowledge your accomplishments. The really really scary part is that we are likely still being fed the sugar coated version of the state of the economy. Unless Bush is trying to throw the next election we won’t know the true state of affairs until after he retires to Crawford in 2009.

He probably would have skedaddled over the line into Mexico but he has already burned that bridge. Corn being a mainstay of the Mexican diet, Mexican citizens were among the first to question if Senor Bush and the rest of America had gone loco sticking their food into their cars and trucks instead of drilling for oil in their own country.

Finally the trial balloon floated today for an $800 tax rebate will help who? It certainly isn’t a long-term fix for the average American. It might cover one year’s worth of gas, heat and food inflation but it is not a cure for their economic woes. Maybe some enterprising law firm will offer a flat rate $800 bankruptcy package to solve their longer-term financial problems, you think?

For those that want a regime change, remember it’s the economy stupid. Or maybe, Like Father like son.