The Budget According to Faith

If ever we needed proof of the political power of money, we have only to look at the latest craziness in Washington D.C. From watching the posturing and the namecalling, one can easily see it's not about the budget--it never was--it's about cramming social and economic philosophy down the gullets of everyone else. It's budget by a series of  faiths and beliefs offered without a shred of evidence beyond mere enthusiam. You can't debate this nonsense rationally because people are entrenched in what they think they "know" about economics--without ever having studied it--and about human behavior--without ever having examined their own.

Does this sound like religion anyone? I think so. We now have budget built by enthusiasm and faith.

On the one hand, we have those with "faith" in the free enterprise system. They don't know much about it really except that they think they'll get jobs from it and it fits in with their illusions about what it means to be the type of personality they think they approve of (while not living up to the standards they want to impose on others). Notice--most of these types are over 55 and they aren't calling for changes for that age demographic. Who do they think they are: Congress?  These folk are paid for by corporate leaders (notice who's funding the Tea Party), a fact they ignore because they are too busy trying to legislate punishment for people who a) don't have much money--how dare they exist? b) women who want to control reproduction--they should be practicing abstinence, and c) anyone who wants an education--if their parents couldn't afford to send them to decent schools they shouldn't have had them.

Primitive, Old Testament stuff--but how satisfying to the rich who can feel morally superior.

On the other hand, we have those with "faith" in the economic theory of spending ourselves rich. If we have to thank Reagan for the trickle down theory which turned out to have dams, we can thank Keynesian economics for the idea of government manipulation in the economy.

Now, I have NO problem with government presence in the economy and financial markets because the equation is simple--down goes policy up goes greed. Think back to Enron. The California legislator who pushed for deregulation of the California power grid didn't even bother to run again as his promises of benefit sank amidst the rolling black-outs. There are things the government should control in the public interest.

But, government is hampered by too many competing interests. Every one of the regulations put on industry and investment is there because someone gamed the system. If nobody cheated, we wouldn't need regulations. However, believing that we can anticipate every single way that people can cheat one another or screw the system just leads to a mares nest of regulations that ultimately protect no one. And it's not just business who cheats--there are plenty of the unrich who are gaming the entitlement programs too. We live in a climate of cheating--but that's something we need to address rather than just pointing fingers at the other side while ignoring our own responsibility.

We need common sense--not slogans, not winks, not private conflicts of interest, not legislators whose only purpose is reelection and lining up a cushy job later. We need rational heads and a national debate over where in the heck we are headed as a country.  I really wish our current administration would cease trying to moderate and conciliate amidst this very ugly climate; let's cease the name-calling and have that unpleasant conversation in which everyone (including the rich) are both part of the problem and part of the solution.

In the meantime, save me from the enthusiastic--please.