Good Morning, from snowy northern Indiana.  We were hit over night (continuing till noon) with lake effect snow coming down off Lake Michigan.  Evidently someone up there painted a bull's eye on us.  The best part--I don't have to go out in it.

I just finished reading Ronni's post at Time Goes By this morning.  I totally agree with her--trust(?), confidence(?), in the economy and those who run it??? NO WAY.  You don't hire the doctor who broke your leg to set it.  You don't hire the cook who served you tainted food to cater your kid's birthday party.  But our government has asked us to trust a Treasury Secretary from Goldman Sachs???  What I wrote in an earlier post about President Bush ('he won't suffer') goes equally well for the Princes of the Universe who have driven the car off the cliff.  They will exit the scene (probably temporarily) with their salaries, bonuses, and golden parachutes in place.  And I see another problem.  Right now we have two competing world views fighting for control of our political economy.  One says that all we have to do is get out of the way and let the market work.  We can't burden the economy with regulations because that will stifle competition and innovation, the economy won't grow, and everyone will suffer.  The other says that we need prudent regulation and transparency in our economy.  Unfortunately, the difference is more one of degree than substance.  Each depends on the good will, self-discipline and ethics of the participants, especially at the top.  I have seen very little of that.  They suffer no great consequences from bad decisions while those consequences fall disproportionately on those who have no power to influence the decisions.  As many bloggers and critics have noted: the profits have been privatized while the losses have been nationalized.  Capitalism only works if those who are making the decisions and taking the risks have, as the saying goes, a dog in the fight.  That the top officers of our major companies do not have.  

I think I will leave this for now.  The recent snow forced me to take out my winter jacket and I have to spend some time repairing it.  I could have done this sooner but the snow forced the spirit to move me to get it done.