Political Ironies from the Financial Crisis

The financial crisis of 2008 has revealed a lot to me about the impact of politics. I am unimpressed and underwhelmed. Here are some of the ironies I have observed:

The people that with oversight before the crisis are developing the solution. The House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Barney Frank, is the group that promoted the use of risky home financing and is now going to regulate the financial system back to health.

I would prefer to have new people with relevant experience, who have a track record of success in difficult situations, leading us out of this mess.

The President-elect has gone from inspirational to nearly invisible. I don't recall a "Yes, we can" or "Change we can believe in" since his election. While I understand his comment that there can be only one President at a time, I also remember that he said, "We cannot afford four more years of Bush economic policies!" Therefore, why does Mr. Obama let the Bush administration manage the economic crisis alone when the new administration can begin to have an impact two months earlier? Instead, the Obama team seems to be publicly distancing themselves from direct involvement in the TARP and from automaker bailout discussions.

In this time of extreme crisis, I would have preferred to see much more early involvement from the President-elect than just being "present."

The controlling party seems paralyzed and unable to act. I fully expected the Democrats to use their control of the legislative branch and future control of the executive branch to quickly deal with economic issues, such as the auto industry bailout. Instead, the Democratic leadership seems to have focused their effort on persuading someone else, i.e. the Bush administration, to take action.

The Democrats need to understand that they're in charge now and are accountable for future results, whether they act or not.

If these situations are indications of the way of the future, 2009 will be a very interesting year.

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This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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