... BROUGHT TO YOU BY VIAGRA

On my radio program this past Saturday I thought we had a very good adult discussion about the challenges we face as a country. From Sophia's opening comments, through our discussion with Mark (who rarely agrees with me), we touched upon the transformation of the American economy, and why we're not out of the financial woods just yet.

Our discussion on the Great Depression, Glass-Steagall, Nixon's de-linking the dollar from the gold standard, deregulation that began under Carter (culminating in the incredibly stupid Garn-St. Germain bill), the Financial Modernization Act (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 1999), and other market-related developments, gave me hope that we (America) might be able to continue this level of adult conversation through the elections.

At my age, and in my profession, you would think I would have learned by now ...

I was glancing at the news/talk shows this morning, and what did I see? The market has miraculously "recovered" and, apparently, everything in America is fine once again. We're now back to the same Jerry Springer-like banalities that keep republican electoral hopes alive ... the guy who survived being cut in half by a train ... the Emmys ... the story of a speed boat going too fast and disintegrating ... and other media trivialities that remind us all that Rome's days of Bread & Circus have returned. Only this time, rather than Caligula, it's brought to you by Viagra.

This, my friends, tells me that we may be only a day or two away from lipstick politics, once again. This is not good.

For those of you who listened to the program on Saturday, and are serious about the problems that confront America, here's an excellent post on what has happened to the American economy and why we should still be worried. It's kind of long (especially if your attention span is governed by People Magazine) but I especially like this post because it seems as if the writer got his cue by listening to our program on Saturday (thank you Sophia and Mark).

For those of you who tuned in, you'll understand what I mean once you read the post. For those of you who didn't listen, this is a good opportunity to catch up on what's been happening in America over the past 30 years.

- Mark