Wall Street Got Drunk
At a recent fundraiser for a Texas Congressional candidate, President Bush joked about Wall Street being “drunk.” When asked about the struggling economy, President Bush said, “There’s no question about it. Wall Street got drunk. It got drunk and now it’s got a hangover.” He then went on to pose the question, “How long will it take to sober up and not try to do all those fancy financial instruments?” With that question President Bush was referring to documents representing a legal agreement involving monetary value which some blame for the current mortgage meltdown.
Now some would consider his comments reckless. However, I for one find his comments refreshing. The President of the United States talking candidly, and realistically, about what’s going on with the economy. Some are trying to make this a big political stumble because he made the comments “off camera.” Obviously those tactics are not working. No one is picking up on his comments. Could it be the President is on to something here? Wall Street and other financial institutions spend their days shuffling paper, and in many cases, non-existent funds. Somewhere along the line the bubble had to burst, and I believe that’s partly what we’re seeing here.
When Wall Street figures out speculating on non-existent funds, and in many cases, non-existent goods, is simply not good practice, maybe the economy will turn around. Wall Street got drunk on power and a sense of false-security. Now it’s hungover and everyone is trying to figure out what to do next. In this politically correct world, many are afraid to say what’s really going on. There’s a fear among many in the political world to say what’s really going on. They’re afraid they could lose votes. Even more importantly many politicians are afraid money from the same Wall Street millionaire paper pushers that have tumbled the economy into the situation we’re in now, will suddenly dry up. That’s right, the same paper pushing millionaires that drove the economy into the ground, give thousands, and in some cases, millions of dollars to re-election campaigns.
I for one applaud President Bush for his candidness and openness when it comes to saying Wall Street got drunk. Maybe it’s time for others to realize many of our so-called politicians are nothing more than puppets on a string for the millionaires who give to their huge campaign war-chests every year.
Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus
