Re: Bush and Cheney remind us how we got into this mess

Yes, I am quite disappointed in Obama. I really wanted Hillary Clinton for the job. Obama promised us so much and has yet to deliver. He does seem genuinely committed to do the job and not run off to Camp David every month. I was excited when he presented the health care plan, but he compromised so much that the present result is useless. If the public option plan had actually been included, people could have paid reasonable premiums to medicare (ie not free but lower cost than private plans) and the influx of cash would actually have helped the plan. But that was compromised away.

He's just compromised the EPA's clean air act so now the corporations have free license to continue to pollute the air.

But, as far as the economic mess we're in.....The fault lies squarely in the Republican court. The Republican control of congress deregulated the banking industry so banks unwisely offered liar loans, and other risky loans to thousands of individuals who had no business getting mortgages. The deregulation of the financial industry led to investing in speculative loans that became part of investment portfolios. The result: large banks on the brink of bankruptcy, thousands of homes in foreclosure. The country in 2 wars, recovering from damage of severe hurricanes and the former president pissing away a large surplus causing the the national debt to climb to the trillions before the new president came into office. When Obama was sworn into office, the country was on the brink of another depression.

What makes me furious, though, is not so much the president but the republican congress for not doing their job to help run the country. They're too busy grandstanding, drawing lines and spouting sound bites to work together with the president and the democrates to get us out of this mess and get the unemployment rates down.

What I would like to see is congress to pass legislation to severely penalize corporations who outsource overseas and to reward companies who stay in the country and keep jobs here. The old carrot and stick idea.

I would also like to see legalization of marijuana and cocaine. This would free up dollars spent fighting the drug war, eliminate the horrible drug related killings in Mexico. A portion of drug war dollars could be diverted opening up drug clinics for those who need help with addiction.

I would also like to see the financial reforms reinstating the previous legislation that was deregulated. We don't need mega banks so big that if they fail, the country is plummeted into a deep recession. Banks are buying up each other so fast that I fear that soon we'll have either an oligopoly or a monopoly. In my city of Richmond ( the capital of VA), we are down to 3 banks from 5 in the last 2 years. Banks should not be an investment house. They should be in the business of lending only. Speculative investing should be severely restricted. All it does is drive up prices. The investors win, but consumers suffer.
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