On the Nature of the Test and its Meaning I

Or How an Unpopular Republican Governator Could Succeed and a Popular President Fail -- Part 1

Proposing a test for officeholders that holds them to their obligation to the people has become uncommonly ignored by the public. No one can argue that we are running a government dictated by the whims of the proletariat in this nation. After years of a Presidency run by men who massacred the meaning and purpose of our constitution in spite of oaths to the contrary we are used to politicians running amok.

Perhaps we actually need more than just an executive branch that keeps telling us how safe we are under their care and tutelage. Maybe what we need is a President and even a governor who listens to the people more often. Maybe a President with a governor to slow him down a bit would be a good thing. The accelerator pedal has never been held to the floor for so long in our history. Possibly there are some dangerous curves just ahead and we all ought to Just Slow Down.

 The tendency to react immediately is fed by the twenty four hour news cycle and the speed of communication today. Any number of excuses could be constructed for that tendency but it runs contrary to our interests in creating and keeping a stable society a bit too often. In the issue of the nationalization of our zombie banks we have a great example. Our course was chosen in the last administration and it is purely wrong by any rules of capitalism ever written or spoken. Rules of capitalism are simple and understood by nearly everyone in this nation. Breaking those rules as a political leader is a fools errand.

The primary rule is if you bet on a company and it fails you lose your money. No one bails you out. Nor does anyone feel it is their obligation to repay the debts that the bankrupt entity owed to shareholders or even debtors who are unsecured. Only secured creditors may recover part of their money it the assets remaining are worth anything. This is a bit harsh perhaps but it is mitigated by the fact that we generally allow anyone to start over after a business failure.

Capitalism is the Phoenix brought to life and it has served us well through much of our history.

Except we now have these zombie banks. Their stock values sort of reflect that fact. They also reflect the hope that the taxpayer will pay back all of that debt and leave the shareholders intact. Not a capital idea at all. What do you call it when the shareholders cannot lose and the creditors cannot lose, only the taxpayers stand to lose?

It ain't capitalism anymore Toto!

That is half of the story, the part where the popular populist President could lose everything if he fails to end the reign of the Zombie Banks. The night of the living dead could go on and on and on if he isn't careful. We need a cleansing fire. It doesn't have to create chaos. We need to carefully manage the bankruptcy of these banks. They must be replaced with smaller healthier institutions that serve their purpose without threatening the whole system if they fail.

Or How an Unpopular Republican Governator Could Succeed and a Popular President Fail