The first came when he was asked about all the plumbers, teachers, doctors and cops out there who are ready to set lower Manhattan ablaze to exorcise our economic demons. Obama acknowledged his and the country's anger at those who are "enriching themselves on the taxpayer's dime." But, he cautioned, the country "can't afford to demonize every investor or entrepreneur who seeks to make a profit." So much for Obama the supposed Commie.
Then, when pressed hard by a CNN correspondent (so much for the liberal media conspiracy) about why he "waited two days" to express his outrage at the American International Group bonuses, the President, clearly a bit miffed, responded, "because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."
Kudos, I say. Instead of mindlessly glomming on to the oversimplified political point of the moment — those greedy Wall Street bastards are ruining the country and should be drawn and quartered in front of Federal Hall — the president actually wanted to explore the facts in all their complexity. (As I've noted previously, Americans today seem to have a hard time grasping complex subjects).
But it's too bad Obama, along with all the "regular folk" out there ready to pillory Wall Street scum, didn't have a chat about a week ago with Jake DeSantis. An 11-year veteran of AIG, DeSantis' resignation letter, published in today's New York Times, powerfully and poignantly captures what all the uninformed populist mouth-foaming neglects: most of the people who work on Wall Street are at least as decent, honest, hardworking and patriotic as people from other walks of life. This includes the vast majority of the hundreds of people who work in the demonized Financial Products division of AIG.
A son of rust-belt schoolteachers, DeSantis studied hard, got into MIT on financial aid and did very well for himself as a Wall Street trader. He had nothing to do with the credit derivatives that helped bring AIG and the global financial system to its knees. He earned his money fair and square. If you do nothing else today that faintly resembles civic duty, you absolutely must read his letter. Here's the link again in case you missed it above.
To be sure, there are plenty of other folks out there who have lost jobs and compensation despite doing nothing to damage the financial system or the global economy. I'm not suggesting that DeSantis and other AIG employees shouldn't expect that problems with their company — even problems they had nothing to do with — won't negatively affect their employment prospects or incomes. What isn't right is how he, others in AIG's Financial Products unit and indeed, all who are gainfully employed in finance, have been demonized as the cause of all our woes.
Never mind those "regular folk" who took out mortgages and bought homes they knew they couldn't afford. Or the local mortgage brokers that inflated their commissions by signing "no documentation" loan applications for those borrowers. Never mind the members of Congress who gutted financial-services regulation in the 80s and 90s yet now have the audacity to fuel the witch hunt by pointing fingers at Wall Street. Never mind the Federal Reserve, which flooded the financial system with so much liquidity following the dot-com bubble and 9/11 that risk became a quaint notion. It's much easier to blame the Wall Street fat cats.
This is wrong not because it hurts the feelings of those who work in finance. Rather, it's dangerous because it is directly linked to the policy that Congress, the White House and regulatory agencies will make in response to the crisis. To ensure that we have the right laws, rules and policies in place to prevent another meltdown, we need to first understand the problem we're trying to fix. Not as a 5-second sound bite in a Congressional hearing that gets wedged between Natalee Holloway and American Idol on the evening "news," but in all its nuance and complexity.
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2 comments:
I am a bit like a stalker in the way I post my thoughts almost every time you have a posting, but I do so as catharsis, not b/c I really assume anyone cares about my opinion (an ironic statement from someone as opinionated as me, huh? But it is true.)
Anyway, we (Pete and I ) noted ourselves last night how refreshing it was that Obama
1. likes to know what he's talking about b4 he comments and
2. that he does not think the entrepreneurial spirit should be punished ( proof he is not a socialist, sheesh!)
Our family is one of those partly funded by a Wall Street bonus that is totally earned and more than deserved and I have a hard time feeling like all bonuses are bad and greedy , yadda yadda.
I also am one who agrees that America , and people in general, are not so smart and do not see the complexities of things very well. I made reference to this in my last response on education reform when I said that on certain topics a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Those 'regular folk' as you aptly named them, hear a summary of something, anything it seems, perceive it in a vacuum and then begin running off at the mouth. Funny they see, nor take any responsibility for any of their tiny parts in it all- like the examples u noted. No big problem is ever caused by one thing, nor is it ever solved by one thing.
Being a teacher I see everyone as the type of student they must have been. Some can memorize and regurgitate the facts but do not internalize the larger concepts and its applications and implications. Some conversely, are able to see the whole picture, forest and trees. The nuances are a challenge for people to acknowledge and accept. BUT the grey areas are where all of real life happens, not in the blacks and the whites. Thankfully, Obama seems to get that.
I agree with every word that you wrote and I was so happy to see someone actually voice those opinions.
I also love that the President likes to explore the facts before he speaks - and I'm very happy that he was so blatant about it.
On a different note, I'm very afraid for all of us - not only have you been vocal about the impending demise of newspapers, but I've been seeing other news outlets sounding the same alarm. We are in big trouble once we're down to the soundbite, blogospere and John Stewart as our main sources of news.
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