Hanging offenses

LAT columnist Michael Hiltzik writes today that what America needs is a show trial in which Wall Street titans, a former Federal Reserve chairman, a former SEC chairman, former Treasury secretaries and anyone else still having a positive net worth are brought before a Henry Waxman tribunal and convicted of lying, fraud, poor judgment and bad hair, guilty or not. Hiltzik's 401(k) is down 40 percent and somebody must be made to pay.

The trial will require a prosecutor having no political ambitions, or else he or she must be a Democrat or a socialist or both. Lacking crimes to prosecute, the prosecutor must make stuff up. Judge Waxman will be helpful.

Hiltzik wants to be fair but he wants convictions more.

Keynesian economics

The LAT's Peter Gosselin today explained the economic theory of John Maynard Keynes in an unrecognizable way, describing it simply as timely deficit spending. Keynes must have rolled over in his grave.

Keynes argued that government spending is expansionary but that taxing and borrowing are contractionary. If spending equals borrowing then they cancel each other out. Maybe there's a new twist but Gosselin's isn't it.

What recession?

On Saturday at Fry's Electronics the parking lot was full and you had to be careful, otherwise you could be flattened by a shopping cart.People were hauling out televisions,computers and printers. Don't these people know the economy is poor? Aren't they unemployed?

At Stater Bros. today it was like Fry's yesterday but not as bad. The cashier said business was good and Staters is hiring.

Who do you believe, Barack Obama or your own eyes?

Hype

On today's front page, the LAT's headline reads: "Job losses highest since 1945." But in 1945 the population of the U.S. was half what it is today. So, for current year losses to equal 1945 losses proportionately, they would need to be twice those reported in today's LAT. The LAT headline obviously is hype. Why would they want to hype the jobs report? Not because they have high standards and seek to report the news objectively.

Overstatement

Is it a Democrat tendency or what? Do Democrats naturally overstate how bad things are or how good their policies will make them? Are Republicans inclined to understate except on national security issues?

Listening to Barack Obama's speech yesterday brought those questions to mind. Then Tom Daschle's testimony before Congress yesterday reinforced the curiosity. Daschle couldn't have portrayed a more negative image of health care in the U.S. and Obama couldn't have protrayed a more desperate picture of economic conditions in the U.S. and around the world. Do they believe in what they're saying or is this just salesmanship? Will they continue to exagerate or was yesterday a fluke?

What does he know?

Barack Obama claims the U.S. is in desperate economic condition and the situation is becoming more desperate. How does he know? Nobody can predict the future but Obama seems to think he can.

Obama is taking a huge gamble. If it turns out he's wrong, he will have cried wolf once too often. Even if he's right about how desperate economic conditions are, the results of his gamble could be disasterous -- the dollar may tank, the deficit certainly will mushroom, the economy may remain in the tank.

If nothing is done and the economy remains in the tank, Obama may get the blame. That's probably what he's trying to avoid.

Another voice for tax increases in California

LAT columnist Michael Hiltzik joins other LAT columnists and the editorial board in arguing for higher taxes and repeal of California's constitutionally required two-thirds majority in the legislature for passage of tax increases and budgets. He also argues for repeal of Prop. 13 and against budget cuts of nearly any variety.

Budget cuts aren't necessarily bad, Hiltzik seems to argue, but nothing California now spends money on should be cut -- like schools or welfare. A cut in military spending apparently would be OK with Hiltzik if California had a military budget.