The New Economy - Part II (Continued)

Before I begin this post let me state a caveat. To emphasis a point, much of the following may sound conspiratorial. While I am sure that, as in most aspects of our human society, there are thousands of "conspiracies" going on constantly within our financial institutions, there is no single overarching conspiracy and that much of "my explanation" is simply a perspective, utilizing the benefit of hindsight. So, please keep in mind, that I believe much of this "just happened," perhaps driven in certain directions by free market forces. Indeed, the principal advantage of the free enterprise system is that it is an economic expression of free choice and democracy, neither of which are particularly "efficient." We are free to be "wrong," as defined by hindsight. Economic "bubbles," are the price we pay for free markets, just as government inefficiency may be the price we pay for democracy. Neither is "perfect."

However, I believe that over the past twenty years or so, we as an electorate have been led to believe that "free, unrestrained, markets" are intrinsically "good," while government is intrinsically "bad." This attitude reached a peak with the Bush Administration. Rather than leading the government, Bush has largely been a competitor to the government. In numerous non-partisan, reasonably objective studies, which show a given task of government could be accomplished at less cost by the civil service than private enterprise, privatization moved ahead based on principle, rather than efficiency.

As a result of this ideological approach to management, much of our national strength (and capital) has been sapped up in "free enterprise economic bubbles." I would include Iraq in this category, wherein the invasion and occupation seems to have stimulated more through venture capitalists than a clearly thought out instrument of American foreign policy.

I believe that it is time to give the other side equal time. To try and make Americans understand that national greatness cannot be solely measured by an over-valued GDP; that much of our greatness comes in the strength of our institutions, our infrastructure, and our democratic processes, as inefficient as they at times may be.

Economic strength IS largely concerned with efficiency and the productivity such efficiency produces. However, "economics" is a subset of society and not vice versa. The point of my own "economic interpretation," is to call for a pull back in the national march to a globalized economy, without abandoning that ultimate goal; to call for a greater balance between a manufacturing based economy and a service economy, rather than reliance on a global division of labor; to call for more national investment in deteriorating infrastructure; to call for improvement in health care and education; to call for a reform of our political system to return it to "original intent" and rid it of the graft and corruption spawned largely by the run away costs of our electoral system; to call for a sensible solution to saving social security and medicare by improving its efficiency, cutting benefits and moving toward some method of graduated means testing; to call for an overhaul of our tax code, without abandoning the principle of "progressive taxation," which is nothing more than an admission that no matter how much wealth you've acquired, that accumulation was, at least in part, due to the society in which you live; to call for an overhaul of our armed forces to adequately meet the anticipated threats to our national security in the 21st century.

And so forth and so on...the point is that I believe there is a viable and practical "middle course" between a socialized state from the left or an oligarchy from the right, but "common sense" has been obscured through political polarization. To begin to find this middle way, it might behoove us to postpone our rush to globalization for a bit and do some entrenchment at home; to shore up the very aspects of our society that have made us great and which, I believe, we are on the verge of losing.

I'll return in the next post to how our financial institutions "reformed" corporate power and put us on the road to globalization with "stockholder value."