One year down, three to go

I can praise Rahm Emnual’s dedicated efforts for the stimulus package and healthcare and the teamwork of Robert Gates and Hilary Clinton (Defense thinks State should be bigger and get more money). These peoples’ hearts and yours and Axelrods’ are in the right place.

These good efforts have been undermined by your failure to mind the store and the economy has sunk. I never fail to remind you how Geither has failed you. In March, he never produced a plan to address the banking credit crisis. He gave away billions of dollars of Tarp money that ended up as Goldman Sachs bonus pay, yet the bad debts still remain on the bank books. You talk of taking more care to get out of Iraq than was taken to go to Iraq. Geithner said he was unprepared to think of exit strategies during Congressional hearings. Your failing is that you don’t have a clue as to the difficulty to extricate tax payer money from the bailouts Geithner dived into. When debating whether to bail out the car manufacturers, certain members of Congress asked, what assurances there are, that more bailouts won't be needed. Well GMAC came back and asked for more. Someone told me that your Grandmother was concerned that you if didn’t manage your money well, someone would take advantage of you. Her fears were well founded.

If you want to salvage your Presidency I would create a true economic recovery team. Bill Clinton, Alan Greenspan and James Baker. Each man brings a great talent, Clinton the vision, Greenspan the specifics and Baker the implementation). Sadly you bring nothing.

I perceive an intellectual smugness on your part (some would call it cockiness). If you think you can win in 2012 because the Republicans are divided, you may not see the surprise attack. I will be following the Michael Bloomberg candidacy for President. He can buy the Republican election machinery and appeal to enough Democrats, Republicans and Independents to wipe you out in 2012. He is truly purple. Frankly speaking, six words can wipe you out “The economy, stupid. Jobs, jobs jobs”.

If you see the light and concede that you are a lame duck, you could finish your days by doing the right things such as:

-eliminate farm subsidies. Farming is too fragile to be a naked open market. Build a farm marketing board that charges a 3% surtax on profitable farm income, but guarantees a break even selling price when market prices are below farmer’s costs. This board allocates quotas to define how much of a farmer’s output will be covered by the break even guarantee to prevent overreach by farmers.

-downsize the military budget. The military budget is filled with political payoffs that are not functional if not wasteful. Better to pay these people unemployment rates than the marked up rates.

-introduce election reform. Geithner gave AIG money that flowed through to Goldman Sachs, before the CDS were valued, because Goldman Sachs was the biggest contributor to the Democratic election campaign. Anti-trust suits against Goldman Sachs are not forth coming for the same reason. Fanny Mae should be forced onto Goldman Sachs and Freddy Mack forced onto J.P. Morgan Chase. You cannot do the right thing because your very election and re-election attempt are beholding to Goldman Sachs. Government fails the people. The same could not be said if Bloomberg wins in 2012, he could use the full force of the government to serve the people.

-for the energy independence dream, focus on the energy conservation stuff, kick this issue down the road.

-immigration reform is a dead issue in a recession that feels like a depression.

-my personal concern is the huge and growing gulf been the haves and have nots. The social unrest among the poor will explode into crime and then riots and cries for revolution. You worked this beat. My life experience tells me that oppression breeds a powerful revulsion. You seem so out of touch with main street (people who buy a loaf bread and gallon of milk) never mind the mean streets. This does not appear to be an issue for your administration.

These measures address serious problems with the deficit that most President’s can’t touch. You got a million from the Swedes, you could split some with Axelrod. I think President elect Bloomberg would hire back Emnual, Clinton and Gates and I know he would fire your 38 czars. Geithner will get hired by Goldman Sachs with the flow-through government money he gave AIG.

This bitter tone stems from the frustration that you must accept that this economic fiasco is of your doing, since you never intervened when the problems were pointed out to you along the way. I told you so.