[quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=CA renter][quote=EconProf]Amen Ctr70.
Reminds me of one definition confirmed by the recent election: majority rule democracy is when two wolves and a lamb vote on what to eat for lunch.[/quote]
Seems to me that the thousands of sheep got sick and tired of the small (but very powerful) pack of fat, rapacious wolves that have been decimating their herd…and they finally voted to do something about it.[/quote]
CAR: Except that a vote for Obama does nothing to change the status quo ante. You’ll recall that in 2008, Obama received the lion’s share of Wall Street donations (more than any presidential candidate in history, if I recall correctly) and since his election has done virtually nothing to hold those responsible for the financial meltdown accountable, let alone bring them to justice. If anything, things are largely the way they were before, in spite of Frank-Dodd and all of the promises to “clean up Wall Street”.
While Romney was not my cup of tea, he certainly wasn’t the mustache twirling plutocratic villain the Obama campaign made him out to be. If anything, the GOP and the Dems are aligned closely, fiscally-speaking. Yeah, there are differences on social issues, but when it comes to major policies on defense, spending, entitlements, etc, they’re more alike than different.
Wall Street is still pulling their shit, subprime is back (you didn’t think those inflated auto sales had anything to do with well qualified buyers, did you?) and it seems like everyone in power is hoping that the great mass of Americans will simply forget and move on, rather than demand action.
I don’t think this election represented some massive electoral movement from the populace, nor was it a collective call to action. People either don’t give a shit, are too ignorant to give a shit, or are simply looking to get over on Mommy Gubment and keep the gravy train rolling.[/quote]
Without a doubt, Obama has been terribly weak WRT the financial sector and reining in fraud. The financial firms that were entrenched before they caused the “financial crisis,” have even less competition and more power today. Even MoveOn.org has been very critical of Obama in the past, and that’s saying something. Still, what are our *viable* options? We are only given the option of the puppet on the left hand or the puppet on the right, but the puppet master is the same in either case.
I think many people are hoping that Obama does the right thing(s) during his second term. At the very least, we do know that Wall Street has been less supportive of him this time around, albeit slightly less so.
