To get out of a hole, first stop digging.

The Democratic Party never fills in the holes it digs. It jumps into them and digs them deeper. Do not dare to throw them a rope. They are insulted by any solution that does not leave them in control.

After Enron, Congress passed Sarbanes-Oxley. Did that help? No. Part of our current problem is the answer to the question we should have asked, "Then what?"

In the Depression, to encourage home ownership, Congress started Fannie Mae. Did that help? No. In addition to the corruption, part of our current problem is the answer to "Then what?"

In 1970 Congress created Freddie Mac to artifically attract more capital to the mortgage market. Any time the market tells us that all is not well Congress reacts by making it worse. Did that help? No. In addition to the corruption, part of our current problem is the answer to "Then what?"

The Community Reinvestment Act was created to force banks to become charities. Did that help? No. Poor people did get houses. For a while. Now they have neither house nor good credit rating. Congress intended to help them. As always, Congressional help did great harm. No one in the federal government asked the question, "Then what?"

The Federal Reserve Bank caused the Depression. Instead of repealing Wilson's Folly, Congress blamed the stock market and created the SEC. Did that help? No. Part of our current problem is the answer to "Then what?"

And the grandaddy of them all, the Fed, has done the most damage. It was created by Congress to gain control of the currency so that the economy would follow election politics instead of market reality. Did that help? Yes, it helped Congress and the President. But the Fed has harmed us, all of the rest of us.

"Then what?" is the question I now ask about the current proposals to "fix" the current "crisis." Congress will use this as an excuse to increase government power, even though they create these problems and they profit from the problems they create.

What idiot proposes fixing a problem by making it worse? The problem is not markets or America or we citizens (except as voters and whiners). The problem is Congress and the silly laws they pass.

"Then what?" is the question no one asks when the federal government steals money from people on high ground and gives it to people who build on the flood plain. There will be a next disaster and a next and each new one will steal more money from the rest of us. "Then what?"

Corporate income taxes are nutty. They only hurt the customers of the corporations, you and I. Corporations do not pay taxes, we do when we buy stuff from them. The corporate income tax is a scam and needs repealing.

The capital gains tax is nonsense. Much of the gain is no gain at all but inflation cause by government. How dare they tax us for their mistakes? But they do. So, those who chose stocks poorly pay no tax and those who chose well pay tax. Punish the smart, successful, careful, and alert. Reward mistakes. That is Congress.

Repeal the capital gains tax, corporate income tax, progressive taxation (a shell game to take money out of our pockets while pretending not to) the Fed, the SEC, the Community Reinvestment Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. That would fill in the hole Congress dug.

Then what? The markets, world wide, would take off and fly. 

Charles Johnsen
The Faithful Heretic
westernabzu.us
chj3@westernabzu.us