Tuesday, January 20, 2009

New Era of Responsibility

I know there will be times ahead where interventionist policies surely to be enacted in this economic downturn will make me wish I hadn't voted for Obama. But today, watching his inaugural address, it seems hopeful a semblance of reason and ethics may return to the political forefront.

Favorite line: "Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions—that time has surely passed." Also: "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."

Briefly, he made a reference to the "market"...

"Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous."

...and I hope he didn't mean free market, which has almost nothing to do with the current predicament, but rather the subsidized market which protects the interests of the establishment, as it now stands.

That the DJIA fell today below 8000, led by banks, I consider a good omen of a return to sound fundamentals.

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