Sunday, November 30, 2008,6:44 AM
Senator Webb Comes A'slummin'
James Webb came to Southwest Virginia on Friday and proved to the people here that, without the Iraq war to complain about, he's completely lost.

For some inexplicable reason he decided show up and yabber about the Wall Street financial crisis at the town hall meeting over in Scott County, and proceeded to prove to the world that he hasn't the first clue as to what he's talking about or about how to solve the problem:
Town Hall Meeting Focuses On Economy
By Darius Radzius*, Bristol Herald Courier

Although this ended up being the best week for stocks since 1932, government fixes for a struggling economy continues [sic] to dominate conversations on and off Capitol Hill. Friday, U.S. Senator Jim Webb sat down in southwest Virginia for a town hall meeting on the financial crisis facing our country.

“It’s been dodge city [sic] out there the way people have been throwing this money around,“ said Sen. Webb. He says all of us are paying the price for the liberal lending by banks, giving people loans they can’t afford.

“The financial markets themselves were deregulated, which is why you’re seeing this economic crisis right now,“ said Sen. Webb.

While congress passes rescue bills, Senator Webb says putting those regulations back in place will fix the economy long term. He says there was no control over how deals were made and much of the money was going to the top one percent of this country. He compared their salaries today to CEOs in 1968.

“The average corporate CEO made 20 times what the average worker made. Today, the average corporate CEO makes 400 times what the average worker makes in this country,“ said Sen. Webb. He proposes that corporations seeking taxpayer money, salaries of executives should be capped, even suggesting they receive the same compensation as federal workers. [link]
Four points:

(1) Too much (boneheaded) regulation caused the financial crisis, not too little. You might want to get your arms around that Community Reinvestment Act and its consequences, Jimmy. But then you can be forgiven for not knowing what you're talking about; you're now a Democrat.

(2) So, was the cause of the problem the fact that bankers were "giving people loans they can’t afford" or "much of the money was going to the top one percent of this country"? You can't have both, dude.

(3) Cut CEO paychecks? That's your big idea? News flash, pal: You could force the heads of GM, Ford, and Chrysler to reduce their annual income to zero (when you get your way and declare yourself to be emperor) and it wouldn't reduce the price of a new car at retail by one dollar. Talk about majoring in the minors ...

(4) Stick to Iraq. It got you elected. Try this: "All's lost! Out now! Our reputation is in ruins! Lives wasted! Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!" Honestly, Jim, it's the only thing that's going to work for you. A financial expert you ain't.

Oh, and (5) Stay out of Southwest Virginia. We don't suffer fools well here.

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* Don't even think about changing your name, Darius Radzius. It's just too cool.
 
posted by Jerry Fuhrman
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