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One of the sad things about the harder times that are apparently coming is that no one will be admitting that they were wrong. Lets look at an example from each side.
It is well known that the Clinton era produced surpluses and actually reduced the debt (not just the deficit but the debt itself). However, the Republicans will certainly not acknowledge that their unwillingness to go back to the Clinton tax rates has contributed to the rise in the debt.
On the other hand the government engaged in a huge interference in the economy in 2008-09, then pumped an 800+ billion dollars of stimulus into the system, then overhauled the health care system in a way that promises that the government will spend trillions of dollars more on our health care. Meanwhile the Fed has pumped over a trillion into the money supply. All this government activity has not led us to the promised land. You might expect someone on the left to acknowledge that their program had some problems. Maybe some will. But I expect most will say that the government should have done even more.
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Morning Joe Gets Antsy
9 hours ago
The Ninth Ward - Mistakes were admitted by none of the following: Bush, FEMA, Brown, Chertoff, Blanco, or Nagin. Still, 6 years after the event, the Ninth Ward resembles a ghost town because mistakes WERE admitted. A large number of individuals admitted that buying or living in a home that is below sea level and bordered by 3 bodies of water is a mistake.
ReplyDeletePeople do things because they perceive that doing those things has a benefit. So, in the scenario YA described in this blog entry I would not expect the Rs or the Ds to admit a mistake in creating the current financial crisis because admitting (doing something) culpability has no perceived benefit.
But there is one group that can benefit by admitting a mistake and that would be the voters. In the 2010 election there was a clear message that many think (perhaps admit) that voting for more free ice cream is a mistake.
The root cause mistake was made by the voters. Are they ready to admit their mistake?
That's one of the root problems with people who have bought into ideologies. The world is filtered to such a degree that even with their policies fail, they are able to filter that out and still blame thier failures on those who disagree with them.
ReplyDeleteSolomon Kleinsmith
Rise of the Center