They played dumb when they knew what they were doing all along...

It is not an accident or done by stupidity! It's the plan...


Government Economic Leaders Surprised that Real World Isn't Responding to their Magic Pixie Dust

Fed chief Ben Bernanke told the financial crisis inquiry commission today:

If the crisis has a single lesson, it is that the too-big-to-fail problem must be solved

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Too-big-to-fail financial institutions were both a source ... of the crisis and among the primary impediments to policymakers' efforts to contain it ....

That's funny, given that Bernanke has been one of the biggest defenders of the too big to fail banks, arguing strenuously against breaking them up, throwing trillions of dollars their way, and begging the banks to play nice with one hand, while patting them on the back with the other hand and giving them a big wink.

And Christina Romer - Obama's outgoing chief economist and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers - said in her outgoing speech yesterday, as summarized by Dana Milbank at the Washington Post:

She had no idea how bad the economic collapse would be. She still doesn't understand exactly why it was so bad. The response to the collapse was inadequate. And she doesn't have much of an idea about how to fix things.

Many have tried to explain to the neoclassical economists running the show exactly how bad the economic collapse would be, why it was so bad, and how to mount an adequate response to fix things. But Bernanke, Romer and the rest of the gang ignored them.

Not only have our government "leaders" in the Fed, Treasury, Congress and White House ignored the real world, they have taunted it - like monkeys who pull the tail of the lion and then are surprised when the lion attacks:

They have:

* Let the largest U.S. banks go bankrupt repeatedly due to wild speculation, then blessed the speculation and helped cover up the bankruptcies

* Privatized profits and socialized losses, trashed the real value of the dollar, and let corruption run rampant

* Covered up all of the fraud which led to the crisis

* Rewarded looting by the big banks

* Given trillions in bailout or other emergency funds to private companies, but then refusing to disclose to either the media, the American people or even Congress where the money went

* Let banks buy the government lock, stock and barrel (and see this and this)

* Blown bubble after bubble

* Plundered the treasury to effect "a massive redistribution of wealth to the bank shareholders and their top executives"

* Allowed high-frequency trading to completely warp the markets

* Waged unnecessary wars all over the world, so that even our top military commanders are begging to slash defense costs, and otherwise buried our nation under mountains of debt (see this, this, this, this, this and this)

* Failed to take any meaningful steps to stabilize - let alone fix - the economy (see this and this)

Under these conditions, it is impossible to have a decent economy. After pulling these kind of shenanigans, of course the lion of debt and depression is going to eat us alive.

Link:
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/