WHY SANTA'S BAG IS STUFFED WITH COAL
Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:48:39
Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, has seen the light. He gets the fact that as important as stabilizing the deficit in the long run might be, pump-priming the economy in the short term -- and that means now -- is our primary and overriding priority.
For ever so long, Ben and the rest of the financial Wise Guys were guided by "the light at the end of the tunnel" leading us out of The Great Recession back to The Promised Land. That light has dimmed considerably of late, prompting Ben to take off his rose-colored specs and gaze across the grim economic landscape that stretches before us.
What does Ben say?
"On its current economic trajectory, the United States runs the risk of seeing millions of workers unemployed or underemployed for years. As a society, we should find that outcome unacceptable."
Forget "should," Ben. We must, from the very depths of our immortal souls. find that outcome morally repugnant and demand that it be rectified.
But it won't be easy, because the heartless hordes are gathering in Washington. Back in August, budget buffoon Stan Collender warned Bernanke that the GOP sees "economic hardship as the path to election glory." Those bastards want to bring Obama down on the backs of the working poor and unemployed.
The Democratic House has been no help. They just let unemployment benefits run out for two million more Americans. Those folks won't have the moolah to make hay in the malls. Black Friday, Ben, is turning a paler shade of gray.
Feels like we're back in Dickens' days, when naughty children found lumps of coal instead of sugarplums in their holiday stockings. That's how the compassion-free Republican ideologues are treating us: like bad boys and girls who have to be punished for having our lives blown apart when the bubble burst.
Lumps of coal, Ben. That's not the way we planned to get back into the black.