Scott Brown: The End of the Economy

Some East-Coastie with a nosebleed-level office, I suppose. Probably an oxygen-deprived problem as a result.

So why did stocks collapse the moment the vote was tallied in Massachusetts?

It's because the immediate reaction to the Brown election—in both parties—has been a dangerous lurch toward antibusiness populism. The Obama administration's strategy has been to latch onto something that both parties can agree on: lynching Wall Street.

That can only be called the most juvenile, thumb-sucking, fact-free opinion unleashed since Obama gave himself a B+ on his first year in office. There could be several other reasons for the DowDump--such as a head-and-shoulders pattern, the Greece problem, or the possibility that there WILL be a double-dip recession.

But Scott Brown is handy.

The author goes on to tell us how 'Helicopter Ben' Bernanke, Greenspan's #2, simply HAD to be re-appointed. Never mind that Helicopter Ben and his demi-senile boss never saw any bubbles.

And, of course, the author approves of bonus payments to bankers whose banks are sitting on more than $5Bn of US taxpayer-supplied capital. And he's very happy to learn that there will be no 'bank reform' legislation--which may only mean that Dodd and Shelby have collected enough campaign donations for the time being.

Naturally, when this essayist defines "populism" the way he does, he gets the results he wants.

Maybe he should consider the possibility that his definition is wrong. As Birdman mentions, maybe populists just happen to believe that old goose/gander/sauce thing.