Regulation Is For Pussies

The gist I got from The New America Foundation, by means of fellow Michael Lind in today's New York Times analysis of the Fannie/Freddie nightmare, is that regulation is for, well, for pussies. Tough talk from a tough think tank. But isn't this a bit like blaming a rape victim for dying in the middle of coitus? I mean, what a drag for the rapist.

And what's the money shot? "If you're a socialist, you should be happy." The quote has a ring of bitter grapes to it, and betrays the larger mood of the far right. They're mad as hell and that makes me mad. There's something desperately wrong with the notion that the government's latest (and as of today impending) big bank bail out amounts to a socialist's wet dream. Didn't we get here because organizations like The New America Foundation -- not to mention a certain Hungarian-Jew with an Ayn Rand fetish - have been crying and stomping their feet for less and less regulation in the first place? Or am I making that all up in my confused head?

The Federal Reserve Bank stepped in last March to try to help save Bear Stearns. It then went on to push madly on as many levers as it possibly could to avoid the mother of all economic trainwrecks, which would have in turn caused a worldwide concussion. Had they not acted we'd probably all be buying loaves of bread with wheelbarrows full of 100's by now, and there'd be a seventeen mile-long rhumba-line in the mountains of Afghanistan.

To think that not stepping in now is a good idea is probably as insane as giving corporations options to "self-police" in lieu of regulations in the first place. It's not just about irresponsible lending practices anymore. Our entire economy is experiencing tribulations not seen since the 1930's. Keeping us solvent is not an act of the far left pinko commie committee. It's a responsible act of a usually sober and clear-eyed governmental body.

Michael Lind is a freaking idiot. His lack of integrity is matched only by his naked chutzpah. People like this make me less afraid of shuffling off this mortal coil when I finally reach the end of my road. If it means getting away from neo-conservative whack-jobs, I'll welcome death like an old friend.

...unless of course I'm kicked downstairs for being an atheist queer. Then I'll have to spend eternity with these assholes. (Dammit!)