Banking Reform

In the Corner, Jim Manzi calls Obama's banking proposals excellent while Rich Lowry thinks its just politics and Nicole Gelinas claims that the proposed reforms don't do anything about the actual causes of the financial crisis. Vox Day questions the seriousness of the banking reform. The proposals are probably politically motivated but I'm leaning toward supporting any reining in of Wall Street and the banking industry. Allowing the financial sector to grow so big has created a culture of debt in our society and increasingly the entire world. It's bound to end in disaster so whatever Obama's motivations I'm supportive of these kinds of efforts, although I'm going to try to learn more about it. It is reassuring that Paul Volcker, the tough minded guy who ended inflation in the early eighties, is behind the plan. My advice to the Obama administration and Congress is to forget about health care and concentrate on banking reform.

Taxing Wall Street

I liked David Stockman's op-ed in the NY Times. I agree that restoring health to our economy and society requires the rolling back of Wall Street's influence and power. How can anyone maintain that Wall Street is doing anything productive? It's a place of out of control greed and speculation that is no long related to productive activity. Although I don't like high taxes and regulations, it's important to control such a potentially destructive force that can derail the whole economy. We should give freedom to productive areas of the economy where individuals and companies are actually provided productive goods and services but not to parasites and speculators who can bring down the whole economy.

What Harry Thinks

Harry Reid has apologized for his remarks regarding President Obama's light skin color and lack of a 'Negro dialect.' I wonder if he has apologized to the right people. What's strikes me about his comments is not that is offensive to African Americans but that it is very insulting about all Americans. He is saying that the American voters could only bring themselves to vote for Obama because of his light skin color and because he can speak like a white person. In other words, he isn't too black. Left-wingers are constantly saying how racist American society and this comment reveals that attitude. He is downplaying the achievement of Obama being the first African American president so he can continue to insist that Americans are racist and we will continue to need all kinds of affirmative action programs.