With a financial crisis facing our economic system and the bailout and basic nationalization of the financial industry, one has has wonder if conservatives feel like communists did in 1989, realizing that history has shown that their basic beliefs led to an economic meltdown.
When the Republicans took over the White House in 2001, and regained the full control of the Senate in 2003, they took over a country with a budget surplus and great economic potential. In eight short years the failures of tax cuts and the need to keep the economy going through artificial and harmful methods (not properly regulating the banking system) conservatives have managed to bring the U.S. economy, and others around the world dangerously close to collapse.
Just as communists protested they weren't at fault during the fall of the Soviet Union, conservatives today say the key to economic recovery is the same methods (tax cuts) that led to the destruction of the economy. What the conservatives don't realize is that many in the public now realize that government regulation is all that separates business from acting recklessly and without regard to the public and the long term interest of the country.
The amazing thing is that the conservatives truly believe that their failed policies were not the cause of today's economic problems. They have looked for other scapegoats, such as homeowners taking on too much debt. After all was it really the financial system role to work with their customers to make sure that they acted responsibly with their assets? Or was their role to make as much money in the short term without regard to whether those actions could lead to the collapse of the system?
Imagine if an autoworker asked their employer for a salary of $1 million saying they would be more productive with the higher salary. Is it the boss's responsibility to truly evaluate the deal or just give the employee the money and worry later if it bankrupts the company?
Most people, and most conservatives, would say the boss would be crazy to pay the $1 million salary, yet on home loans some how it is the homeowner's (employee) fault and not the banker's (boss) fault.
If you can't trust the financial system to act responsible, how can one trust conservatives that their policies, based on the free market, will work?
