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Famous political commentator and author Kevin Phillips agrees with iTulip, on how political decsions interacted with Wall Street to cause today's mess. We can only hope that wiser political decisions in future will help get us out of it.
He's just written a new book called "Bad Money: Reckles Finance, Failed Politics and the Global Cisis of American Capitalism".
He was a conservative Republican who worked in the Nixon White House and is one of the authors of the Party's "Southern Strategy" in the 1970's. He calls himself a "cloth coat" Republican who believes in the values of fiscal prudence, small business, a concern for the average citizen, etc. generally the values of his Party before the 1980's.
He now calls himself an Independent and seems to dislike Republicans and Democrats both, as politians increasingly pass laws and favor policies that protect and enrich campaign contributors, at the expense of the average American.
From Bloomberg article:
"
April 21 (Bloomberg) -- To hear Kevin Phillips tell it, the U.S. is a world power on the skids, an overstretched empire slumping toward the fate of Hapsburg Spain, the maritime Dutch Republic and imperial Britain.
The culprits: Wall Street and Washington.
What sets ``Bad Money'' apart from a stack of recent books on these topics is its emphasis on the symbiotic relationship between politicians and big money. Solving the debt and oil mess will be tough enough. It will be made harder by the millions of dollars flowing from bankers and hedge fund operators into the campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain.
In Phillips's view, U.S. politicians have made the fatal error of betting the nation's future on finance. In 1950, manufacturing represented 29.3 percent of U.S. GDP, while financial services accounted for 10.9 percent, he shows. By 2005, the roles had reversed, with financial services accounting for 20.4 percent and manufacturing for 12 percent.
Like the Spanish, Dutch and British hegemonies before it, the U.S. has let itself ``luxuriate in finance at the expense of harvesting, manufacturing, or transporting things,'' he writes. ``Doing so has marked each nation's global decline.''
...
Hence the long, sad history -- from the Latin American debt crisis and the S&L bailout to the subprime mortgage meltdown -- of the U.S. government and Federal Reserve rescuing our failed financial wizards. He gives a name for what happens when taxpayers rescue profligate bankers: ``Wall Street socialism.''
..."
He then adds a note of hope, similiar to iTulip's them:
"What can be done? Phillips is frustratingly short on solutions, though he suggests that the U.S. could -- like Germany, Japan and Switzerland -- focus on high-value-added manufacturing. He also offers this ``hopeful context'':
``Spain, Holland and Britain are far more prosperous today than they were at the heights of their global reach,'' he said.
"
"
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...W0E&refer=home
He's just written a new book called "Bad Money: Reckles Finance, Failed Politics and the Global Cisis of American Capitalism".
He was a conservative Republican who worked in the Nixon White House and is one of the authors of the Party's "Southern Strategy" in the 1970's. He calls himself a "cloth coat" Republican who believes in the values of fiscal prudence, small business, a concern for the average citizen, etc. generally the values of his Party before the 1980's.
He now calls himself an Independent and seems to dislike Republicans and Democrats both, as politians increasingly pass laws and favor policies that protect and enrich campaign contributors, at the expense of the average American.
From Bloomberg article:
"
April 21 (Bloomberg) -- To hear Kevin Phillips tell it, the U.S. is a world power on the skids, an overstretched empire slumping toward the fate of Hapsburg Spain, the maritime Dutch Republic and imperial Britain.
The culprits: Wall Street and Washington.
What sets ``Bad Money'' apart from a stack of recent books on these topics is its emphasis on the symbiotic relationship between politicians and big money. Solving the debt and oil mess will be tough enough. It will be made harder by the millions of dollars flowing from bankers and hedge fund operators into the campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain.
In Phillips's view, U.S. politicians have made the fatal error of betting the nation's future on finance. In 1950, manufacturing represented 29.3 percent of U.S. GDP, while financial services accounted for 10.9 percent, he shows. By 2005, the roles had reversed, with financial services accounting for 20.4 percent and manufacturing for 12 percent.
Like the Spanish, Dutch and British hegemonies before it, the U.S. has let itself ``luxuriate in finance at the expense of harvesting, manufacturing, or transporting things,'' he writes. ``Doing so has marked each nation's global decline.''
...
Hence the long, sad history -- from the Latin American debt crisis and the S&L bailout to the subprime mortgage meltdown -- of the U.S. government and Federal Reserve rescuing our failed financial wizards. He gives a name for what happens when taxpayers rescue profligate bankers: ``Wall Street socialism.''
..."
He then adds a note of hope, similiar to iTulip's them:
"What can be done? Phillips is frustratingly short on solutions, though he suggests that the U.S. could -- like Germany, Japan and Switzerland -- focus on high-value-added manufacturing. He also offers this ``hopeful context'':
``Spain, Holland and Britain are far more prosperous today than they were at the heights of their global reach,'' he said.
"
"
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...W0E&refer=home
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