I’ll never understand which ignorant, racist comments in the media are going to get someone in trouble and which ones go by without anyone seeming to notice. Lysella and I sat with our mouths agape as a white NFL broadcaster, while referring to a black running back as a workhorse, proceeded to stretch the metaphor by clumsily stammering out something about hooking the guy up to a wagon and whipping him. So far, there’s nothing in the media about this . It appears to be one of those things that just goes by without comment.

deregulation of banking and finance

deregulation of insurance, combined with the above

de-unionization

federal college grants largely replaced with federal student loans and lately private student loans

rising healthcare costs

destruction of the manufacturing base

de-nationalization (or multinationalization of corporations)

stock bubble

housing bubble

These and a bunch others that have built up over the last 25+ years will contribute to a major economic meltdown at some point.

Some of them plus things like the massive federal debt and deficit may prevent our government from doing much about it when it comes. Don’t think for a second that the massive debt that built up under Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II was any kind of accident. Whether you want to read Naomi Klein’s recent work or look at Cato Institute and Libertarian Party stuff from the 80s and early 90s, they want our government to be incapable of fixing the big meltdown when it comes. They want us to be left with no choice other than to privatize everything, so that they can overturn all of the progress that the middle and working classes made in the 20th century. They want a world where the wealthy and powerful call the tune the rest of us have to dance to it or starve.

An out of character rant for this blog to be sure.

Tony Kornheiser is the worst person to ever call an NFL game. He is awful. Monday Night Football was damn near unwatchable last year solely because of the douchebag. He is stupid. He is not funny. For a professional sports journalist, it is amazing how shallow his knowledge of the game seems to be. The only thing I enjoyed last year were the subtle ways in which Joe Theismann would sometimes put him in his place. Even saying that he put Kornheiser in his place probably overstates the case. I think Kornheiser is too dumb to be put in his place by someone demonstrating a true knowledge of the game and contradicting what just came out of Kornheiser’s mouth.

So what does ESPN do? They can Theismann. They do that so they can bring in the knowledgable but sycophantic Ron Jaworski. Jaworski is a frequent guest on Kornheiser’s radio show and, apparently, a friend. Jaworski would have been a great addition to the broadcast if he were replacing Kornheiser. Bad move, ESPN.

Maybe the answer to my last post is that there is no next bubble. The International Herald-Tribune is not exactly a radical, conspiracy theorist kind of news source. In an article from yesterday’s edition, they talk about the real possibility of the dollar just collapsing over the next couple of years–just like it did in the 70s.

Which, of course, if it happens means that you end up with the possibility of a one term Democrat getting blamed for the fiscal stupidity of a two term Republican (again). If this IHT article ends up being prescient, maybe we’d be better off with another Republican winning the presidency in 2008.

What’s the next bubble?

In the 80s and early 90s, our government started dismantling all the FDR to LBJ era regulations that kept our economy from hitting deep highs and lows. That enabled the speculative rush into the stock market during the 90s and the bubble that resulted from it. We hit a recession in 2001 that was worsened by 9/11, but rather than take the full reckoning that was due, our government intervened to create another bubble. The federal reserve lowered interest rates to unprecedented lows for the modern era. The government gave massive tax cuts to the wealthy. Both of these things pumped a ton of liquid cash into the economy. The low interest rates and the gutted regulation started another boom in real estate. First, it was just people refinancing higher interest loans and cashing out some modest equity. The lower monthly payment plus the infusion of cash was good for consumer spending. Unfortunately, other people saw their friends “cashing in” and wanted to get in on the same game. Low interest rates and easy access to credit pushed people into home ownership who probably wouldn’t have normally purchased. That drove up prices and the bubble started to inflate. Just as had happened with the stock market, the whole economy turned into a giant pyramid scheme. Those who got in early made a lot of money. Those who got in later just had to hope that they got in early enough not to be left holding the bag when it ended.

This bubble has ended and its consequences will be dire unless our government and economic leaders are able to intervene. They’ve shown some willingness to do that. The fed has bailed out hedge funds by pumping a little more liquidity into certain capital markets. Even George W. Bush seems willing to help out homeowners by easing the limitations on who can refinance their existing loans with the FHA. These things can certainly lessen the effects of the reckoning, but it’s long overdue. I strongly doubt that our leaders have the ability to engineer a “soft landing”. Remember, it was their attempt to engineer a “soft landing” in 2001 and 2002 that caused this bubble.

So, does anyone have any thoughts on what bubble will be created by the steps put into place to deal with this bubble?

Are you disappointed or upset by theactions of the Democratic Majority in congress? You might want to blame Rahm Emanuel for the quality of people who make up that majority. In 2006, Emanuel used the resources of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to defeat progressives in several primaries. He worked against candidates who were in favor of a withdrawal from Iraq or who were in favor of fair trade. He recruited Republicans to run as Democrats.

To borrow a phrase from my friend Mark: what kind of sick, twisted, Handmaid’s Tale shit is this? FoxNoise is calling Katie Couric a bad mother for reporting from Iraq.

John Edwards picked up two important labor union endorsements on labor day. The Steelworkers and the Mineworkers endorsed Edwards. He was endorsed earlier this week by the Carpenters and Joiners as well. Labor Unions are one of the best sources of ground workers for Democrats. This is a sure sign that Edwards message of rewarding work over investment is resonating with some powerful constituencies in the party.