Finding a way out of economic blunder

March 5, 2009 by Chelsea Milko 

Attention to past blunders and present divides is necessary

This global economic downturn is on one fearsome, gripping ride. And there does not seem to be a kill-switch within arm’s reach. Just weeks ago, President Barack Obama laid down the most intricate blueprint for stabilizing the economy. His $787 billion labyrinthine stimulus plan includes provisions for spending reductions, tax increases, infrastructure investments and expanded public subsidies. 

In Obama’s first and likely most important address to a joint session of Congress, the stimulus plan as explained by the president appeared convincing and bold. Not even Vince, the sprightly peddler from the ShamWow television spots, could compete. His sales pitch was delivered in an unwaveringly authoritative and tranquilizing intonation that may just have had the power to both lull raucous prison inmates into a deep sleep and hypnotize international leaders to do whatever we say. Well, not really. But the theme to rebuild and recover was a laudable attempt to comfort weary, angered Americans and call for responsible, all-hands-on-deck optimism. 

The big fiscal stimulus is stuffed with all sorts of neat provisions: recapitalize banks, restore confidence to stockholders and consumers, unburden Americans holding a mountain of debt, slash wasteful spending, bolster revenue, halve the deficit, address climate change and give our hair an enviable healthy shine. 

Did his team of wizards and brainiacs really draft the behemoth budget in just one month? More pressingly, will such a costly, ambitious plan be our economic savior? 

The jury is still out on whether the stimulus scheme will work or not. One thing is for certain, its long-term survivability rate depends on a review of what has worked and not worked in other countries faced with similar challenges. Let’s see. The banking crises of Sweden and Japan in the 1990s already serve as policymaking lessons on the tactics of selective nationalization and balance sheet cleanup that float or flounder.

And take a look at California. The biggest state in the union and the eighth largest economy in the world is somersaulting into financial collapse. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is waging a budgetary battle in which not even Sarah (Connor not Palin) could intervene. Similar to the national-level turmoil, lack of regulation and oversight is partially to blame.

What is more needed than a history lesson is an end to the entrenched bureaucracy, dysfunctional policies and partisan squabbles that will block any path to reinstate confidence and capital. I guess it is a bit optimistic of me to think that we can get past the minutia and focus on patching up the deep gashes. 

There are hints that a possibility for consensus exists. For example, the GOP’s response to Obama’s address given by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal included a reassuring statement that “where we agree, Republicans must be the president’s strongest partners.” 

But then came along Rush Limbaugh. Can someone please give Limbaugh a Valium and banish him back to the hinterlands of extreme talk radio? His incendiary desire that all the wellspring of Obamaian hope dries up and the stimulus plan fails is the wrong signal to send out as the de facto ringleader of a Republican Party grappling to relocate its mission.

His tirade seems like the type of white-hot rage that can spread like a contagion through party ranks and splinter the disharmonious conservative base. Add to that the resistance felt from other strong wonks and hawks in both parties to White House propositions and we will most likely see a breakdown of tenuous across-the-aisle partnerships needed to be repaired. 

Our president pledged to lift this nation from the depths of this crisis. The day of reckoning may have arrived but it will be short-lived unless the systemic distress can be removed. Striking a balance between reactionary policies of fear and irresponsible allowances for greed will help. So will quieting the tiresome talk of the return of big government and the rise of scary socialism. 

I too am concerned that hasty maneuvering may stuff money back into the hands of the cowboys of capitalism that got us here in the first place. And I am worried that scale and scope of federal control will continue to breed inefficiency and inequity.

Tell me, who other than the government can intervene and inject public funds into a paralyzed system that is totally unable to correct itself? Right, I thought so. Let’s end the empty overtures and posturing that ruffle some feathers but offer no hard solutions, because any more bickering originating from calcified ideology will have unimaginable global consequences.