That Giant Sucking Sound

To say this has been a tumultuous week would be an understatement. First, we start with a loss of $1.3 trillion in value in the stock market, more than the value of the much discussed bailout package. I shudder when I think about it: In one day we lost more than the value of the bailout package that is supposed to save the financial system of this country, and the entire world for that matter. It puts a couple of things into perspective. Number one, if the financial system ever passes the point of no return there is no way to stop it. We cannot just keep pouring piles of money in sums that no one can actually envision into a poorly regulated system forever. Someday, the well will run dry. Second, all the assurances and the advertising of the financial sector meant absolutely nothing. When it came right down to it, the court jesters were at the wheel of the sinking ship, milking the investing and hard working public for every dollar they could while they paid themselves obscene bonuses for poorly executed diligence. The sucking sound in this case was the noise of wealth disappearing into thin air.
Second, we have the total absence of leadership in Congress. Our elected representatives could hardly have shown their lack of character more than by the partisan wrangling that took place while the bailout package was being debated. What was crystal clear was that they were in uncharted territory. Most of them had no idea what they were talking about. I don't necessarily blame them for this. Only the people who invented the derivative products that brought us to this point understand them. These derivatives were invented to circumvent regualtion in the first place.
What was also clear and tragically laughable were the reports of constituents who were calling to protest the fact that the bailout package rescued the very people who put us in this predicament without providing direct relief for the people most affected by it. They undoubtedly have a point. However, the vast majority of the people calling in have no idea what they are protesting and the people they elected to represent them have no idea of the scope of what they were contemplating. The whole thing is downright Shakespearian. The sucking sound this time was the notion of credible government evaporating.
The next perfect example of tragic theater was the vice presidential debate. Sarah Palin and Joe Biden stood on a stage and made a wonderful show of their egos, but they didn't discuss the solution to a single substantial problem facing this country. No wonder you couldn't find any objective analysis of the debate in the papers. The liberal papers said Biden won. The conservative papers said Palin won. The big loser was you and me.
The sucking sound this time was the sacrifice of meaningful discussion for the sake of empty entertainment.
Yesterday, there was a small piece of good news. As I read in the New York Times yesterday, a joint venture between PSE&G and a company called Deepwater Wind was approved to build a wind farm off the coast of New Jersey. The turbines will be placed 16 to 20 miles offshore, avoiding the complaints of idiots who say the sight of turbines damages their precious ocean view. I will state this emphatically. I love the ocean. I would never want to live anywhere that prevents me from getting to the ocean in a few hours. Sitting next to the ocean is an inspiring reminder of the power of God and Mother Nature and it should remain that way forever. But to complain that the view is spoiled because forward thinking people take advantage of an infinite resource to solve a pressing social problem is well beyond stupidity. I would love to sit in the sand and see turbines constantly whirring. It would be a reassuring sign that we have discarded our complacency and selfishness for the good of others and future generations. The sucking sound this time is wind being used to power homes, a sound I want to hear for the rest of my life.
So where do we find ourselves at the end of the week? In a position that remains just as insecure as it was at the beginning. Without leadership, without the courage to stand up and say that things are going to be changed in a meaningful way, we are nowhere. The financial industry, unless it is brought to heel, will find a way around any regulation and attempt to place us once again in a position of impending crisis. Unless the American people can shed their shortsighted approach and get that message to Congress, our problems will keep us in crisis or near crisis mode for generations to come. The sucking sound this time is the hope of future generations being blown into space.