4.1.2010
A good article and audio (further below):
Excellent thoughts from Bill Fleckenstein (extremely intelligent money manager) on the financial ramifications of the health care fiasco in this article:
MSN Money Contrarian Chronicles
. Poignantly he pointed out that a health care bailout is only expected after 2 decades of crony capitalism and Wall Street bailouts. Quoting a reader of his:
I loved Animal Farm, and while I certainly don’t like this healthcare bill either, I think the quote you used is probably more relevant to the Wall Street crowd and the bailouts it has received than the healthcare bill. I see the healthcare reform as just one more example of how slowly but surely populist anger will continue to creep into… our lives in the form of entitlements for the masses (not a particularly surprising response to the widening wealth gap spawned by the crony capitalism we’ve been practicing in this country for the past couple of decades).
I personally blame the greedy fake capitalists (Greenspan, CEOs and their lobbyists, and the Wall St. marketing machine) that have been running this country into the ground since the mid-90’s. . . . Had the pendulum not been allowed to swing so far out of balance, there wouldn’t be such a high degree of anger to tap into and you couldn’t sell these sorts of things to a normally conservative public.
To which he follows up with:
This reader has made many important points that I truly agree with. The era of greed was fomented by incompetence and irresponsibility at the Federal Reserve, paving the way for reckless behavior on Wall Street (and nearly the entire banking industry), abetted by the abdication of responsibility by the so-called regulators.
Had such egregious behavior not taken place, perhaps the mentality of those who feel ripped off (probably a good portion of the country) would be different.
he further follows up on his points and other financial problems including the “funding crisis” in an audio interview from Wall Street Cheat Sheet here:
Post Page – “The Federal Reserve is Public Enemy Number 1”
As Fleckenstein says, we need to be adults about our problems – everyone is living in fantasyland:
To be clear: I am for reforming the health care system
and trying to help those truly in need. But I’m against this political fiasco that’s being called reform.
Over time, this bill is going to be an epic financial disaster. And the accounting by which the Obama administration claims to pay for it sets a new low in financial honesty (or, said differently, a new high in government financial chicanery).
For everyone who loves socialism and all the things that socialism can bring, over the next 20 years you’re going to get the health care system in this country that you’ve longed for. And for those of you who don’t, it won’t matter. You’re going to pay anyway.
he further goes on to say:
I don’t know how folks can advocate the pursuit of these policies and look young people in the eyes, telling them we’re doing the right thing.Of course, you can also ignore the next generation if what you’ve got is not a conscience but a heavy-duty case of crony capitalism. Yes, my views on the health care bill are deeply held, but they are just as strong regarding that version of capitalism being practiced in America.
Enjoy the article and audio!
