"Economic growth should be our #1 national priority right now, but the truth is that nothing Washington does – neither the biggest stimulus nor the deepest tax cut – can get our economy back on stable footing until our financial markets are fixed as well.
Unfortunately, the status quo politicians are digging in their heels. Former congressman Charlie Bass helped loosen Wall Street regulations back when he was in Congress, and now that he is on the campaign trail again he is calling the pending reform “extremist.” I couldn’t disagree more – either with his point or with his fringe-courting rhetoric.
Better rules for Wall Street are hardly “extremist.” Coherent regulation helps all of us – it helps families who are trying to save for college or for retirement and it helps businesses that are growing and need stable capital to fuel more hiring. [more]"
When the market crashed last year, I thought that the resulting pain would be the final nail in the coffin for the champions of privatizing Social Security. Sadly, I was mistaken. Already, former congressman Charlie Bass is resurrecting his own call for privatization, just as he did when George W. Bush was trying to sell the idea to a skeptical country a few years ago.
Privatization was a bad idea then, and it is a worse idea now. Here is why:
from James Pindell's NH Political Report: "in New Hampshire one candidate made her position clear nearly a week before a national debate erupted . . ."
