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Perhaps the most glossed over fact in this entire financial upheaval has to do with Social Security. Even your guest blithely mentioned SS in his example of a soon-to-be retiree planning for retirement. Where would Social Security be had Bush & his "free market" proselytizers had their way and privatized Social Security? Can you imagine the disaster we'd be facing right now?
Furthermore, it seems that Greenspan, Bernanke, Phil Gramm and other Milton Friedman acolytes failed Economic History 101. They never really understood the underlying causes of the Great Depression and never appreciated the extraordinary restructuring of banks and financial markets that was necessary to drag the world economy out of the Depression. Consequently, they have led the charge to systematically destroy the regulatory structure that was needed to save Capitalism from itself.
The question is: Can we rebuild the regulatory oversight and adequately modify it in time to deal with this current debacle and head off a new worldwide Great Depression?

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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Concerning the lottery, there is often a discussion about its fostering gambling addiction in individuals. However, there is NEVER a discussion about the consequent State's gambling addiction! Frankly, it is the height of fiscal irresponsibility to use gambling of any kind as part of a Financial Plan - be that personal or societal.
In short, how irresponsible would I be were I to base by personal spending on my anticipated lottery winnings?
No, the Lottery allows the State Government and Oregon's citizens to be fiscally undisciplined and utterly bereft of any responsibility when it comes to making hard decisions about how to raise money (taxes) and how to spend such money. After all, as your guest commented, the economists say Lottery Gambling is just "entertainment".

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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