Grampa and Barbie on the Economy

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Grampa and Barbie on the Economy
By Ruth Conniff, September 18, 2008


The economy is in a meltdown, and John McCain can't figure it out. On the day the Dow tanked and Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers fell, he declared that the fundamentals of the economy are sound. Then he had to try to explain his comment away--by "fundamentals" he meant "American workers." Now he is calling for putting "an end to the abuses on Wall Street."

How is that, exactly? On the campaign trail, McCain has repeatedly declared that too much government regulation is the problem. A decade ago, an article in the Washington Post points out, he and Senator Phil "a nation of whiners" Graham teamed up deregulate the financial industry helping to set up the current collapse.

McCain's economic advisers haven't done him a lot of good lately. First Graham had to quit after his "whiners" comment about the country facing a "mental recession." Then, this week, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina had to cancel interviews after admitting that she didn't think Palin or McCain could run a large company.

Oops.

Bad economic news makes the idea of electing someone who has admitted to knowing little about the economy, and a running mate who knows even less, considerably less attractive.

McCain has clung to the old Republican cut-taxes-and-government-regulation mantra far too long, even as the economic ground has shifted under his feet. His sudden burst of populism on the campaign trail--complaining about "greed" on Wall Street, doesn't change the fact that his tax plan is startlingly regressive--giving only $19 a year in tax cuts to the bottom fifth of taxpayers, and $140,000 to the top 1 in 1000. For the middle class, he offers considerably less than Barack Obama--$319 to Obama's $2,136.

Stirring up the base with a "culture wars" message has worked for the Republicans in the past as a distraction from dull policy debates. But with pension funds losing money, a "psychology of fear gripping investors," as The New York Times put it today, credit drying up, interest going up on mortgages and student loans, and job cuts looming, voters are not feeling quite so distractable.

more...

http://www.progressive.org/mag/rc091708.html