[clue-talk] Fwd: [clue-tech] Was: ... Giveaway

[Michael Fierro]

On Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:38:45 -0600
"Collins Richey" <crichey at gmail.com> wrote:

> > PRO! This includes the Games package for Linux. Talk about a great deal!
> > All because Bush destroyed our economy so completely that the price of
> > oil hence the price of gas - bottomed out.
> 
> I just love these little lefty digs (here and at CoLoCo) you slip into
> the boring Linux topics <grin>.

Hehehehe. What can I say, this time of the year kinda lends itself to political jabs.  Though I claim complete innocence in the case of CoLoCo, since I don't post there. Or if I do, I don't know that I do.


> Last time I heard, people were blaming GWB for high gas prices <double
> grin>..

I think that was more blaming the Bush administrations policy of non-regulation. Putting some kind of restriction on futures speculators would've kept the price of a barrel of oil from skyrocketing like it did. The fortunate side of the stock market crash was that speculators were no longer willing to speculate on oil. Once that artificial demand was removed, combined with a wholesale change in how much gas people were using, prices were destined to drop like a lead balloon.

The question is where the price of a barrel of oil and a tank of gas will finally stabilize. I would guess around $2.20 a gallon here in Denver, but I have absolutely no evidence, nor is it an informed guess. It's just a gut feeling. And I've got a whole lot of gut in which to grow a feeling, if you know what I mean. :)
 
> GWB had plenty of help in destroying the economy - it was a bipartisan
> effort from start to finish. The greedy fat cat Democrats and the
> greedy fat cat Republicans had a field day. McCain made an effort to

True on the fat cats from both parties. I don't think that John McCain had any hand in anything with regards to stopping the crisis, however. The economy has never been McCain's strong point (as evidenced by his own admission, stating that “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should,” and he has a habit of following his peers with his votes.

But that said, the Fanny/Freddy bit was a small part of the collapse we've seen. They pale in comparison with the failure of Lehman Bros., the government bailout of AIG, the takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America.... Now, of course, there's the socialism of banks, but that is a separate topic.

Anyway, I always point people to two great episodes of NPR's "This American Life" which do an excellent job of explaining exactly what led up to the crisis, and the impact of the crisis. The eps are:
* Another frightening show about the economy: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1263
* The giant pool of money: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1242

Distilled down, the point is: if the Bush administration had allowed regulation of the mortgage market, we would not be in the mess we are currently in. That's simplified, of course, but works as an elevator pitch.


-- 
Michael Fierro                                  miguelito at biffster.org
Y! Messenger: miguelito_fierro                           AIM: mfierro1
http://biffster.org                           http://weightjournal.com
--
"First, Richard Pryor had a heart attack. Then I had a heart attack. Then
Richard set himself on fire! Then I said, 'Fuck that, I`m having
another heart attack!'" - George Carlin (RIP)