Tuesday night's second presidential debate was an eye-opener, if you kept your mind open and your expectations not too high. Our analysis on These Days was an eye-opener for me because although I actually enjoyed the exchanges, several of our callers found the debate boring and uninspired. My comment at the end of our analysis to the effect that it's hard to be inspired when you are experiencing a hangover, was itself inspired by these observations from debate moderator Tom Brokaw:
Sen. Obama, as we begin, very quickly, our discussion period, President Bush, you'll remember, last summer, said that "Wall Street got drunk." A lot of people now look back and think the federal government got drunk and, in fact, the American consumers got drunk. ( full transcript )
That's where the hangover comes in. And hangover cures range from " the hair of the dog " to various nauseating concoctions. Unfortunately, with the credit market and lending institutions totally frozen, the dog's hair just isn't available to Joe Six-Pack. But here are some nauseating concoctions to contemplate. As the saying goes, choose your poison:
- Completely replace Congress. That means don't vote for any incumbents who were in office when the financial meltdown began and accelerated.
- Legislate paybacks from CEO's of failed lending institutions who earned eight or nine-figure salaries.
- Pull back our troops from overseas assignments and limit Pentagon spending to within the approved new, tighter and more restrictive budget forced by the financial crisis.
- Require any borrower to prove without a shadow of a doubt that he/she/they have the income to pay back the loan.
- Mandate one credit card per person with a low limit and to be paid off within a short deadline (one to two months).
- "Waste not, want not." Time for frugality, even though President Bush advised us to "go out and shop" after 9/11, according to Senator Obama's statement in that second debate.
- Dump those gas guzzlers once and for all and turn to public transportation or, better yet, walking and bikes.
- Give up the American dream and move in with your in-laws.
And do let me know if any of the above work. I'm rooting for all of us.
