The Freedom Minute

The Crisis of Confidence No One is Talking About

It’s fairly well known that much of the problem we are experiencing in the financial markets is due to a crisis of confidence. Bankers have lost confidence that their loans will be repaid, home buyers have lost confidence in real estate values, investors have lost confidence in the stock market, and consumers have lost confidence in their continued ability to afford the goods and services they wish to purchase. When confidence is lost, we get cautious. This leads to less demand, which leads to lower prices. Credit tightens, stocks lose value, the economy slows. Eventually, confidence begins to build and the process is reversed. There’s nothing new here, especially if you have even a rudimentary understanding of market forces.

Now Congress and the White House have put forward a plan to boost confidence in the financial markets. But their proposed $700 billion bailout bill has hit a snag. Not enough members of the House are willing to vote for the bill because they know their constituents do not support it. Although the President, Treasury Secretary Paulson and congressional leaders have tried to assure the public that the bill is absolutely necessary, that we’re in dire danger without it, and that it will help all Americans, the people just aren’t buying it. But why?

The answer, of course, is the other crisis of confidence brewing in America – the American public’s loss of confidence in their elected and appointed officials. For too many years we have seen our politicians enrich themselves and their friends at taxpayer expense. We have seen our tax dollars squandered on pork-barrel projects, giveaways to those with access and influence, and a war we should never have started. We have seen our hard earned wages confiscated by our government to create government program after government program and we have little to show for it. Waste and mismanagement are the norm.

And we have been directly lied to. We have previously been warned about other crises and that we must give up our civil liberties in order for our government to keep us safe. We have been promised that our government will do the right thing, play fair, and watch out for our best interests. But time after time we have been disappointed. We have seen the hypocrisy, double dealing, and politics as usual practiced by our elected officials.

So now, once again, they say “trust us”, “we need this bailout”, “we will look out for the average Joe”, “this time we will do it right”. But the American people have had enough. They no longer feel they can trust Washington. Whatever little good will was left evaporated along will billions of dollars in investments, much of which found its way into the pockets of the very people who our politicians say we now need to bail out.

Is it any surprise that our members of congress can’t seem to get the support of the people? Is it any surprise that they can’t seem to get their constituents on board with this bailout? Not when you realize that the crisis of confidence that Americans have in their elected officials has been brewing for some time, far longer than the current financial crisis. We simply don’t believe them, and it is their own fault. Our politicians in Washington must take a long hard look at themselves and their actions over the last few decades and realize that they are to blame for this particular crisis. And it is only when Washington cleans up its act that our confidence can be restored. Until then, this crisis of confidence will continue and they will find it difficult, if not impossible, to engender the support of those they are supposed to put first – the American people.

September 30th, 2008 Posted by freedomminute | Federal Government | 9 comments