Political Bloviation

The Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

Writing in Vanity Fair Joseph Stiglitz, former head of Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers, offers a blistering exposition of the long term damage done to the American economy by the Bush administration. Sadly I don’t think the current political environment lends itself to making the tough choices the situation demands. As always, there’s no constituency for tough choices in Washington.

I don’t think Obama or Clinton have the stomach or desire, respectively to really take on the problems looming for the next President. Edwards means well and has a good grasp of the growing inequality in American society. But I don’t think anyone can really push through and end to farm subsides, restore progressivity to the tax system, end corporate welfare, correct massive trade imbalances, restore healthy savings rates, invest in education and infrastructure and make meaningful health care reform. It’s a decades long project that vested interests will oppose at every turn. <sigh>

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