Positions series, Pt. 1: The Economy

I believe that in September/October 2008 we saw the inevitable failure of the neo-liberalist free market economy. Greedy corporate robber barons fleeced the middle class for so long that the middle class could no longer carry the burden. I believe that the Government MUST regulate big business. If the government doesn’t guard the financial integrity of the middle class, no one will.

Look, people are greedy, it is a fact of life. This greed can only go unrestrained for so long before those who are being taken advantage of can't be taken advantage of any longer, because they have nothing more to take. For example, the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Banks and mortgage companies saw the opportunity to make quick money, by getting people whos credit could not support a mortgage to buy one anyway at an incredibly high interest rate with the promise of quick refinancing. They would then sell these so called "freedom loans" to bigger banks and reap the profits of these deals without the consequences of people defaulting on their loans. Now we are facing a global economic and credit meltdown as a result of these foolish and unethical lending practices. If there had been strong government regulation to ensure that practical and ethical lending practices were being followed five to ten years ago, this crisis could quite possibly have been avoided.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the free-market is a bad thing, I think that big business should be able to function independently of state control. They should not however be free to operate independently of government regulation. When big business operates free from regulation there is no one to protect the middle and lower classes from the extortion that can result from large scale businesses which control necessary commodities. For example, because of a lack of regulation over the last 5 years, the American people have had to pay more at the pump than any other time in the history of the country while oil companies have recorded record profits. In this case, the peoples interest simply isn't being considered. The people can only be ignored for so long. The interests of the middle class must be represented and it is the job of a nations government to do so. It would seem that we in American have forgotten that.

-Brad