Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

A tragic symbol for the U.S.A. banking system collapse is former Chief Executive Officer Kerry Killinger of Washington Mutual, the 119 year old bank in Seattle, Washington.  It had formerly been one of the strongest banks in the U.S.A.  But when Killinger told his loan officers, according to their testimony, to give loans to borrowers with poor credit and few if any assets, Washington Mutual Bank was doomed to fail.

Killinger received over $100 million during his tragic reign as Washington Mutual's CEO.  

Paul Krugman, in his New York Times column on August 3, wrote:

"Americans are angry at Wall Street and rightly so.  First the financial industry plunged us into the economic crisis.  Then it was bailed out at taxpayer expense.  And now with the economy still deeply depressed, the industry is paying itself gigantic bonuses.  If you aren't outraged, you haven't been paying attention."

When Obama had the opportunity to bring about the real change he repeatedly promised on the 2008 presidential campaign trail, we got more of the same.  

The second $700 billion bailout package budget was 1,070 pages long and presented to congressional members on the same day Obama asked them to sign it.  

Of course there was not sufficient time to read and debate such a lengthy, far reaching budget breakdown.  There were no caps or limits on bankers' salaries or bonuses. The Democratic $700 billion bailout was no more than a blank check for bankers.  

Was this the change Obama promised?

ABC Evening News anchor Charles Gibson on September 2 reported that the average salary of 2008 for bank CEO's of the top U.S. bank CEO's was $13,780,466.  However, the average bank employee's salary was $31,000.

This was not the change people voted for.  The Obama administration had carried forward the same protection of the vastly overpaid CEO's of the top U.S. banks.    

The recent meeting of the G8, the world's leading economic powers, continued this abusive policy by refusing to place appropriate caps or limits on bank executives' salaries or bonuses.

The gap between the rich and poor worldwide, including the U.S.A., is reaching dangerous levels.  

Once Bill Clinton had signed the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement entire manufacturing companies took off for nations with cheap labor.  While the stock market benefited from this betrayal of the U.S. manufacturing base, the American laborer was hard hit.  Naturally unemployment rose dramatically.  

Out of a 30 nation study by the Organization for Economic Development, the U.S.A.'s percentage of citizens earning less than 50 percent of the U.S. population was above only two nations -- Mexico and Turkey.  

With better than 9 percent unemployment in the U.S.A. today, and after two infusions of $700 billion plus stimulus money handouts, the nation is still mired in a deep depression.

Climbing out of this economic downturn with our manufacturing base having moved to Mexico, India, and an assortment of cheap labor nations will not be easy.  Some say the task is impossible.

Now with 34.5 million U.S. citizens depending on food stamps for their existence and 9 million unemployed, a homeless crisis plagues U.S. cities.  

There are tent cities in Seattle, large numbers of homeless people in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and 60,000 homeless in downtown Los Angeles.  

Obama's borrowed billions helped bail out General Motors.  Days after the infusion of a few billion for GM., they used some of this U.S. taxpayer supplied cash to enlarge the automobile corporation's Mexican manufacturing base.

When these billions hadn't pulled GM out of its economic downturn, Obama's money tree shook $3,500 to $4,500 loose to trade gas guzzling old cars for new vehicles that obtain good mileage for every gallon of gas.

This cash giveaway program will cost U.S. taxpayers more billions.  It worked so well that Washington couldn't keep up with the sales by quickly reimbursing auto dealerships.  

Some dealerships complained, saying the government was slow in paying them the money promised, making meeting their monthly payrolls impossible.  But the government assured them all that the money will be sent and has only been delayed.

As for the frightening 2 ½ million home foreclosures generated by banks along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government mortgage lenders responsible for over 50 percent of house mortgage lenders, to people who couldn't keep up payments, foreclosures are going forward.

The Obama administration's borrowed money came to the rescue of the battered housing industry.  The game plan was to tempt first time buyers to buy with an $8,000 government giveaway, of course courtesy of the taxpayer, to purchase a residence not costing more than $400,000.  

Exceptions to the $400,000 limit were big cities with higher prices like New York and Boston.  Competing against government giveaway plans proved an obstacle to residences over $400,000, which remained in effect for the majority of the nation's cities.

It was amazing how Obama had the answers to bankers, the auto industry, auto dealerships, and the housing industry.  It was always the same economic handouts, courtesy always of U.S. taxpayers!

Obama claimed he had the answer to the high dropout rate of minority students in public high schools before graduation.

A Time September 14 article by Gilbert Cruz explained how the strategy of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will work:

"For all the money ($5 billion) at his disposal Arne Duncan is not making it easy to get.  To qualify for the cash, states are being encouraged to remove laws limiting the expansion of public charter schools (which are typically exempt from union rules and other regulations), sign on common standards, develop a strategy to turn around their worst performing schools and work toward building a better data system.

"But the provision that has provoked the greatest outcry is a requirement that states drop any legal barriers to linking students' test results and teacher performances.

"To the powerful teachers unions, however, the idea that their jobs could hinge on a set of standardized test results is anathema."

This policy places all the blame on a teacher for student academic performance, this narrow policy completely fails to take into consideration the student's home environment, as well as a complex constellation of factors having a direct bearing on what the student is capable of achieving academically.

It is an absurd policy, as any reasonable educator recognizes.  No matter how many billions Obama and his crew dangle temptingly, ethical teachers will not disqualify themselves as educators because of failures of inadequate students.  

And we thought that Republicans were the union busters!

I have a certificate to teach in high school and the first two years of college issued by the state of California.

I would be compelled to give President Obama a failing grade for his warped strategy to reform the public education in the United States by placing all the blame for students not achieving on teachers.

Frankly, this is an unfair, discriminatory policy, Mr. Obama!