Originally Posted by mwillman

Libertarians are nothing to worry about.

They are a fringe group of right wing nihilists.

I worry much more about the ones that vote republican.
Big spending aristocrats have more power then back woods dreamers.

Originally Posted by Chan

And you stupidly believe that wealth must be fairly distributed - just admit that you're a communist or socialist or big government nanny-stater (take your pick).



Well, you certainly need enough consumers to buy the products that are produced.

Originally Posted by Chan

No, it doesn't need to be helped. If left alone, the free market will correct itself.

Originally Posted by Twig

There is proof against your statement.

Originally Posted by Angel Of Mercy

I don't know if it's the end of capitalism, Jojo, despite the fact that that it's long been considered a failed economic concept, but it certainly is the end of a number of core elements of Republicanism. You must admit that last week was historic. It may well be a week that financial and economic people will study for generations...and it finally revealed the flaws in the rightwing ideology.

"We are the party of small government!"

Actually, this week simply added to the the end of this claim. Under Bush II, discretionary spending has increased from $640 billion to $1.040 trillion dollars. Also remember that Bush had a Republican controlled congress for 6 of those years. However, Paulson is scheduled to send a package to Congress which totals $800 billion. The Treasury may well create a new agency to buy bad debt (which the WSJ's Marketbeat blog has called the Treasury Garbage Machine). In short, when the Republicans control all branches of government they spend like drunken sailors. One down!

"We Support Free Markets!"

Last week the SEC banned short-selling in financial shares:



In short, markets are supported when they are going up. But when they are going down, we're going to do everything we can to prevent them from going down.

"We Are the Party of Fiscal Responsibility!"

No they aren't. And NEVER have been! No Republican president has ever balanced a budget. Not one. While Republicans have argued that Reagan had to contend with Democrats, Bush II did not for 6 years. Under this scenario where the Republicans controlled all branches of government they never even came close to balancing a budget.

"We are the Party of Personal Responsibility!"

No they're not. When companies make really stupid decisions, the Federal government bails them out. Just ask any shareholder of AIG. Or any taxpayer who will not help to finance the latest government bail-out.

Simply put, this week has demonstrated a key point: when the going gets tough, the Republicans become SOCIALISTS!



We now see that the grand experiment of deregulation has ended, and ended badly. The deregulation movement is now an historical footnote, just another interest group, and once in power they turned into socialists. Indeed, judging by the actions of the rightwads in power, and not the empty rhetoric that comes out of think tanks, the conservative movement has effectively turned the United States into a massive Socialist state, an appendage of Communist Russia, China and Venezuela.

Whenever a Republican talking head says they are for any of the above mentioned things they should be questioned to explain how that statement (I'm for free markets) jibes with banning short selling of an entire sector of the market. Whenever a Republican says he is for smaller government, have him explain the nearly doubling of discretionary spending when the Republicans controlled all branches of government.

Simply put, this week demonstrated how hollow many of the Republican values are. They sound great on paper, but aren't put into practice when that result might cause financial harm to another Republican.

Originally Posted by Pragmatist

Yes I do, typically those who follow a political philosophy fervently enough to operate a site dedicated to one I would consider partisan.