Friday, October 3, 2008

Can democracy survive without virtue?

Well, I just watched as our Representatives voted in majority for the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008" and with this muddy, pork-filled concoction handed over more power to the Executive Branch, more spending and who knows what else (because you know none of these members actually read all 450 pages).  As the commentators on the news just noted, "we may know in a month or so if this thing worked."

Wha?  

If it didn't work, can we get our freedom back?  Nope.  We dodged this critical self-correction and will take the credit-laden novocaine and continue on our merry way.

Deneen posted this yesterday in wondering where our democracy was headed:  What I Saw in America: Democracy in America.  What do you think?

2 comments:

BrentR said...

Can democracy survive without democracy?

Clearly, congress felt that it new better than the general public. Depending upon who you ask in economics, several already know that this plan is doomed. Not on technicalities, but at the root: the myth that government intervention works to benefit the economy.

How does a government solve a problem by inventing resources to solve failing businesses? We don't give cancer patients air in a paper bag and call it a miracle drug. That's what our representatives have just done.

Today is a disheartening day.

BB said...

And today (Monday) you see how things beyond our "control" may be contributing to the problem - the first day the market is open since passage of the bill and the DJ is down 700 points.
This American Life ran a program yesterday (podcast-able) that takes different views of the bailout plan and how language was "hidden" in the plan that may allow the Treasury Dept to take a different path, if they choose to do so, that follows closer to what many economist were pushing for. Though it seems that the more conservative members of congress liked that plan less because it was even more socialist in nature than the Paulson plan.