Obama on the Economy

We've been covering McCain's ineptitude, confusion and bad policies on the economy pretty often at BH recently. So what does that other guy, Obama, have to say?



TPM Election Central has the transcript. Whether you like all of Obama's economic policies or not, it's refreshing to hear a candidate speak at length on these issues. To date, McCain's mainly offered the conservative orthodoxy in terms of sound bites and disastrous policies. (He's also either confused again or misrepresenting what he did on the Senate Commerce Committee.) One of his chief economic advisors, Phil Gramm, is a key culprit in creating the current mess, and another, Donald Luskin, recently repeated the Gramm-McCain-Bush line about the economy being great and the problems being all in your mind.

I do wonder – I know greed blinds many, but how many practical, country club conservatives are really eager for McCain at this point? Sure, Obama will raise their taxes, but are some of them now starting to realize that their personal wealth may drop precipitously if the same irresponsible Republican policies continue? (Maybe they'll all just move to the Cayman Islands.)

There are quite a few good posts on Obama, McCain, the economy and related matters, so here's a roundup:

New York Times: "In Candidates, 2 Approaches to Wall Street" and "How Obama Reconciles Dueling Views on Economy." Also, Paul Krugman, "Financial Russian Roulette."

McClatchy: "Wall Street crisis is culmination of 28 years of deregulation."

Obsidian Wings: "Donald Luskin Reclaims His Title" and "20 Million: Give or Take?"

Mahablog: "Economy in Meltdown?" and "Bogeyman Regulations."

Newshoggers: "Laissez-faire leads to nationalization."

Digby: "Mr Fix It."

I'll also throw in a late August post of mine, " The Needy Rich and the Unwashed Masses."

Hoover economics are the problem, not the solution.

(Cross-posted at The Blue Herald)