Skeptical view from the left

Well, Obama delivered a masterful speech last night and promised to do some good things for folks. Mostly, he seems to be interested in trying to drive the economy with tax cuts on the bottom and reimplementing taxes at the top, slightly reimplementing our progressive tax structures of the more prosperous past after many years of increasing regression, while continuing massive bailouts of huge private corporations, which we are then vaguely promised will be reregulated. Oh, and after Obama explained that we have all borrowed too much, he explained how he'll save the economy by reigniting lending. I have a lot of doubt that we can rebuild the American economy from the top down while we continue to fight two wars and while the purchasing power of the average American (long financed by tremendous debt) continues to shrink and we try to make sure that everyone can borrow more in the interim, but I'm stubborn like that . . .

The Real News Network interviewed Thomas Palley on these issues and I thought some very fine insights resulted:



Dean Baker has also been providing great and accurate commentary on the bailouts.

I would like for myself and all these critics to have it wrong, but it's so hard to believe that paying all this money to failing companies near the top of our economy, where too much wealth is concentrated and too many near-monopolies run major industries and most banking and finance, will actually restart the economic engine that makes the world hum with vigor and prosperity. I think only spreading prosperity to average people will do that and I don't really see that plan on the table yet . . . I believe that until the fantastic disparities of wealth are addressed, we'll be in trouble.