February 24, 2009

Policy disputes, not partisan personal attacks

The times, they are a changin'. And not for the better.

It's increasingly apparent that the people at the financial controls in Washington are guessing their way through the rescue/repair/recovery process. It doesn't inspire confidence.

Because these are momentous times when ambitious federal government policy prescriptions are being debated, I expect a number of our blog links may gravitate in that direction.

None of our comments, I trust, will be disrespectful of our president or congressional leaders as individuals (and we ask that your comments avoid these sorts of attacks as well). But, when appropriate, our posts will take issue with their policy prescriptions which we believe, based on historical precedent, are misguided.

All this is to say that, while we don't intend these to be partisan posts, they might come across that way due to the stark lines now being drawn between the two political parties. Don't interpret our disagreement with policy proposals as a personal attack on any individuals.

Personally, I'm an equal-opportunity critic. The eight years of spending and government expansion under President Bush were, in my view, a disaster. On balance, congressional Republicans were complicit in the pork barrel spending, and many of those who lost their seats in recent election cycles deserved to do so.

Unfortunately, the congressional Democrats, in control since 2006, are proving to be as spendthrift, as corrupt, and worse. And President Obama has started his term with spending decisions that will haunt the country for many, many years to come. So long, "change we can believe in." Hello, "spreading the wealth around."

The articles we'll be sharing in the coming weeks/months reflect our free market perspective. Consequently, they will often focus on the specific dangers and weaknesses inherent in the "solutions" being proposed (and enacted) because we believe it's important you be informed of opposing viewpoints.

Naturally, in addition to these matters, we'll continue to comment on the market and other financial topics. But the changes being proposed for our economic system - to our tax system, Social Security, health care - are so significant that they merit our concentration and study as they come to the fore of the national debate.