A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.
James Crook
Miscellaneous Notes
- Sunday Talk Soup: George Will: S&P Rating Cut. It's not often in this blog where I've taken issue with George Will, but his diatribe in a recent ABC This Week against S&P--brings up the ratings issue with mortgage-backed securities, arguing effectively the "one bad apple" issue. I understand the frustrations over the general problem of crony capitalism and the real estate bubble, but I want to point out that many MBS had the implicit guarantee of the federal government. There is no doubt that many of the MBS did not sufficiently control for geographic risk, particularly given high-volatility housing prices in places like California, Nevada and Florida. However, didn't the offering of these securities go through some regulatory hurdles and what about the more egregious failures of these regulatory entities? The government is part of the problem, not the solution. I want to point out that there were a number of points of failure, not just credit rating agencies: e.g., banking regulation, accountants, etc. It seems to me that Will's stand is more populist than substantive in nature. Rating sovereign debt based on criteria like GDP, debt to GDP, and government revenue is a fairly well-defined process that has been robust across generations. George Will should know better than to raise an ad hominem objection against S&P's substantive point questioning the sustainability of trillion dollar deficits. I think that Will's more legitimate point is that S&P's discussion pays more attention to the deficits than unsustainable spending, largely ignores the fiscal implications of Democrat spend-and-promise first, balance later policies with a predictable unethical post-passage demand that Republicans or fiscal conservatives in general serve as politically unpopular toll collectors to pay for Democratic policies without paring back federal commitments. The fact of a federal budget impasse is not the result of GOP intransigence but Democratic myopic lawmaking that ignores fiscal realities and refuses to reform unsustainable programs.
- Dr. Marc Siegel, "Medicaid is in the Elephant in the Room": Thumbs UP! There are some nice points made here by Siegel discussing more federal direct employment of providers, moderating any expansion in Medicaid (i.e., ObamaCare), and co-pays to vest patients in the payment process.
Mitt's Iowa Moment: Thumbs UP!
The hecklers in this appearance are from the same departure-from-reality progressive wing as Nancy Pelosi. The fact of the matter is that the revenues raised in supporting what should be, in theory, self-sustaining benefits are inadequate to pay for the benefit in the long term. The idea that we have a right to expect $3 in benefits for $1 in contributions is fundamentally unjust. The progressives reject from the get go anything like a delayed retirement age, adjusted COLA, co-pays, means-tests, etc. Mitt stood up for his beliefs and record.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Seven Bridges Road". I LOVE the harmonies and arrangement. One of my favorite Eagles covers.
