The idiots screaming about the bank “hoarding” of the bailout money, because the banks are merely “bolstering their balance sheets” with it, are evading the fact that in doing so, they are ensuring that our checks don’t bounce and that our ATM cards work.

Unfortunately, that bailout money — unlike the dollars we put into our checking accounts — do not represent wealth; they came from nothing.

So, if you are a Citibank or BofA customer, you are likely spending new dollars into the economy already.

So, inflation is already seeping into the system now, even if the economy stays prostrate — and there is no way in hell the Fed tries to soak that liquidity back up under these circumstances.

Tada, “stagflation”. This depression will have 1970′s characteristics, but with the 1930′s depth.

I think I will have to disagree with you here. He might want you to think of him as a Peter Keating type, but in reality he is more of a Ellsworth Toohey – which is actually much worse. In fact if anyone is a likeness of Keating, it would instead be John McCain.

Obama has the same charisma as Toohey which has allowed him to acquire those who follow him blindly. Both have been accused of being “cult leader-esque”. They both preach there is no virtue in selfishness, Obama explicitly sating so on at least two occasions. They seek to kill off the mind and leave the masses dependent on the rulers, who are then in full control.

I used to believe that Obama was a puppet; that they were using him to gain power because of his charisma. However recently the true evil behind him has shown through. He does not say what people want to hear so they will like him, but so he will remain in control. If they start to doubt his intentions they might start thinking for themselves, which is the bane of the Left.

Put another way, 65 years ago:

The true aim of political propaganda is not to influence, but to study the masses. The speaker is in constant communication with the masses; he hears an echo, and senses the inner vibration. In forever setting new and contradictory assertions before his audience, Hitler is tapping the outwardly shapeless substance of public opinion with instruments of varying metals and varying weights. When a resonance issues from the depths of the substance, the masses have given him the pitch; he knows in what terms he must finally address them.

– Konrad Heiden, “Der Fuehrer”

1) Myrhaf writes:

“The crisis happened because of greed. People are naturally greedy, which is why government must regulate the economy.”

This reveals Obama’s deepest metaphysics and that is that people are inherently greedy or stated another way that people are sinful. This is the Original Sin premise which is the legacy of Christianity. It is the foundation of the welfare state and the regulatory state.* Mankind can not be allowed to be free because if he does than he will harm his brothers, so he must be reigned in and he must be forced to support those less fortunate. Its amazing that this religious concept still lives in the 21st century. Also, it never fails to amuse me that it is the foundation of today’s Left which is supposedly secular.

2) If Jindal is representative of what we can expect the Republicans to give us in 2012, then Obama will reign for 8 years. Further, the Right may be dead as any type of “limited government” party (which it never really was). What we will have is what Europe has, a far left party and a slightly less far left party (with more religion thrown in).

I too get a sense that we “have turned a corner.” I am trying really hard not to get depressed but it is hard. Increasingly, to borrow Heinlein’s expression, I am feeling like a stranger in a strange land.

* I also think it is one of the foundations of environmentalism. Original Sin with regards to environmentalism would read as follows: “Mankind if left free will destroy himself with his own technology. Therefore, he must be restrained from this by placing limits on (or ending completely) industrial society.”

Principles are practical. A true principle does not have to be constantly re-examined the way a pragmatist is forced to do by his rejection of them. Imagine if an engineer were a pragmatist in his method. How could he ever rely on the proven strength of steel or the effects of gravity when he designs a bridge?

Imagine a “trial and error” methodology applied to bridge building. Yet, that is what is happening to our economy with our leaders eschewing the method of principles (or, if they have them, having false principles).

I also agree with two other points:

(1) Underneath the pragmatist method, Obama’s true principles are collectivism, statism, and altruism. Those principles will steadily come to the fore in his policies and actions, as they have already.

(2) Because of Obama’s social metaphysics, if the media does turn against him, it will be ugly. I have had this sneaking thought for awhile. Will the media turn against Obama? If they do, Obama will not know what to do.

In less free societies than ours, what a dictator does is close down the media. We are not in dictatorship yet, but government power is getting stronger. What will Obama do? The answer is he may not be able to get away with much, but a successor will, enabled by powers such as a new Fairness Doctrine, if Obama gets away with implementing that.

Thank you for an interesting discussion. There is much to enjoy and think about here.