the real problem has been rising productivity without rising wages. As in the 1920s, the economy took off, but wages trailed behind. Eventually, then as now, the lack of sustainable aggregate demand brings the economy to its knees.

It’s not like some people have been screaming forever that if you kill the unions and ship jobs overseas so our homies have half the income then people won’t have money to buy stuff.

It’s not like some people haven’t been screaming forever that if you stay addicted to oil that you’re going to be shipping boatloads of cash overseas.

It’s not like some people haven’t been screaming forever that if you let the health care industry have carte blanche to set their prices that they will eventually bankrupt us all.

It’s not like everybody is blind. It’s just that the ones making money thought their fantasy would last forever and they could just bail out with a golden parachute.

Americans have known what was coming.

Republicans hastened it for their own greedy purposes.

I know that Stiglitz has already ‘advised’ Obama so he might well get an ongoing listen.

Dean Baker is certainly good, and his ‘input’ could only be an equally good influence on Obama.

Krugman was, perhaps, a little too willing to accept the Paulson ‘bail-out’, but that would certainly put him in Obama’s ‘company’.

Nonetheless, it is my hope that Obama has someone who checks in at FDL, to see what you have to say about things, on a regular basis, if for no other reason than that you tend to keep the focus on actaul human consequence in the real world.

This ‘perspective’ which you articulate most ably, can only bolster whatever inputs Stiglitz, Baker and Krugman might be able to ‘impress’ upon Obama.

Nothing in there hegates my thoughts on where our money is going and the institutions through which Bush drug money is being laundered.

Of course, the real problem has been rising productivity without rising wages. As in the 1920s, the economy took off, but wages trailed behind. Eventually, then as now, the lack of sustainable aggregate demand brings the economy to its knees.

“It is the lack of political leadership both currently in office and those seeking office that will not step up to the plate and say what really needs to be done.” that has me so pessimistic(or reality based depending on one’s POV)

in other ‘news’:”Some Signs of a Thaw in the Credit Freeze”
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com…..reeze.html

BUT “Now to place that in dollars and sense terms for the taxpayers of the USA I offer this. On that bond every basis point is worth a little more than $600 per million bonds. Multiply by 40 basis points and you get $24,000 per million. The auction size of $10 billion equates to 10000 million. Multiply by 24,000 and the product is $240,000,000.

In a market to market sense it cost the taxpayers that enormous sum to underwrite the auction today.”

In a sane and rational world, what you say would be true.

However …

If he shares a good part of the blame for the mess we are in he is gone.