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2008-09-28 Home Front Economy

Oil Drops on Expectations of Slack Demand

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Posted by Steve White 2008-09-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 Traders nervously bid crude lower in the absence of a deal,

Does this mean as soon as "the deal" is signed oil prices will skyrocket? Lovely second-order effect.

Posted by Besoeker 2008-09-28 08:43|| 2008-09-28 08:43|| Front Page Top

#2 So basically the middle class is screwed no matter what happens. Deal, no deal, good deal, bad deal, we get the shit end of the stick. The richest 1% and poorest 5% come out fine.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-09-28 10:10|| 2008-09-28 10:10|| Front Page Top

#3 Time for a new government.

I'm all for the Army taking over and shooting all of congress and then returning the government to the people when they've instituted term limits.

Am I dreaming?

Posted by Hellfish 2008-09-28 14:04|| 2008-09-28 14:04|| Front Page Top

#4 Congress is probably the most culpable, as they enacted the legislation then enabled the irresponsible financing. Then Wall Street and their buddies ran with it.

The problem is that members of Congress have little accountability, other than getting turned out of office. But even with that, their bennies are secure. How many of you Rantburgers have that kind of cushy deal with your employers?

I just see no real way out of this in the long term until we start doing the public business based upon sound financial principles, and that will not happen until present members of congress are removed and independents come into office.

Then you can reform congress and the rules under which it operates. Once that is done, then you can attack the federal bureaucracy.

But you cannot get good people to run for office because it is nothing but a massive slimey environment that you would not want to put your family through, witness the Palins.

So we middle class taxpayers are all f*cked, which can lead to #3. And violent revolution does not work in the long run very often.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2008-09-28 15:16|| 2008-09-28 15:16|| Front Page Top

#5 Actually, #3 is sort of the conventional Pakistani approach. We don't need that.

We need term limits. Two terms max in the Senate (12 years max) would clear it for some useful folks to serve. There should be no way to be a career politician at the federal level.

Posted by Darrell 2008-09-28 15:30|| 2008-09-28 15:30|| Front Page Top

#6 I've been opposed to term limits, because it penalizes experience. That just doesn't make sense.

I've recently come around. I finally realized that, in this context, more experience = more sleaze, not better legislators.

Problem is, how do you convince sitting members to essentially vote away their own cushy jobs?

Posted by Kirk 2008-09-28 16:50|| 2008-09-28 16:50|| Front Page Top

#7 When you get term limits for lobbyists, it will work.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-09-28 16:58|| 2008-09-28 16:58|| Front Page Top

#8 Apply #3 to lobbyists, heh.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2008-09-28 17:45|| 2008-09-28 17:45|| Front Page Top

#9 Problem is, how do you convince sitting members to essentially vote away their own cushy jobs?

There is one way to make it happen Constitutionally. It still is the United States of America. Consequently if the smaller states call for a Constitutional Convention to avoid the utterly corrupt big ones, you can convene a body to write amendments which would then be sent back to the states for ratification. That way the few large states, beyond redemption, can not inhibit change through their numbers in the House of Representatives. Thus the political machines of IL, MA, NY, CA, NJ, and the like can not stop such a movement to remove their pawns from the game. The mechanism exists, just lacks the will.

Posted by Procopius2k 2008-09-28 19:33|| 2008-09-28 19:33|| Front Page Top

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