I didn't want to say it. But I'm glad that somebody did.
One of Hoover's greatest failures was that he chose to not act when unemployment skyrocketed. If he had done something -- anything -- to try to reverse that trend, he might have been remembered entirely differently.
Nevertheless, we also must remember that Roosevelt had to be dragged kicking and screaming toward progressive policies. And even then, he tried to seek bipartisan support with Republicans. That, of course, resulted in the recession of '38.
Already it's clear that the magnitude of unemployment has caught this president by surprise. But he's not seeking fresh voices or alternate opinions among his economic advisors, even though it's clear that the massive amount of money given to the banks as part of his recovery and stimulus plans has done almost nothing except give that industry more money to use for political contributions.
Obama is a star, and a very popular one. In fact, he's a hit a parties. It's just too bad that he's not an economist and that he listens only to bankers for advice.
by
EveningStarNM on
07/03/2009 05:55:19 AM EST