That Sinking Feeling

Maybe this is how people felt at the advent of the Great Depression.  Uneasy, not really sure what the hell all the politicians, economists and financiers were talking about.  Maybe they were being distracted and wondering what sort of shoe Hoover's VP was wearing? 

Well we are going through the most stupendous economic crisis since the Depression, and those are some pretty hot pumps.  (Really how do you stand up in those things? Can she shoot and field dress a moose in those?)

The Bushes and Congress are in the process of buying a bunch of bad loans and investments with our money. These were made by wealthy people wanting to get richer still.  Read this post to get a much smarter persons run down on this hole mess.  

We are again socializing the financial system in this country. They are giving up toward $1 trillion of our tax dollars to the financial class to prop up their failed economic policies of the last 30 years. It is socialism, not for the benefits of the masses, but for the upper classes. It didn't have to happen, and this isn't the first time in the last 30 years. 

I have always been suspicious of this retirement system with the 401k accounts. It has placed many more Americans directly in the stock market. Now we are psychologically invested in these markets. When we have social workers and cashiers at the grocery store concerned about how the Dow is doing, then the job of getting the American people to pay for these bailouts is taken care of.  We obviously have to pay for a bailout as everyone's retirement is invested in these corporations.  And many people want to double down with this system and privatize Social Security. This idea is brought to you by the same people who brought you the Savings & Loan Crisis of the 80s, the energy deregulation in California and Enron, and now the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Be afraid, very afraid.

But really what gives me that sinking feeling is that realization that in this 2 party system the Democrats have abandoned their roll as a vocal opposition.  If Obama is elected, any swing to the left or towards more rational policies will be meet with howls of resistance, while all this deregulation and exposing our economy to ever increasing risk was meet with what? I have to keep chanting "avoid overwhelming sense of cynicism, must avoid overwhelming sense of cynicism." If that takes over then what?