David sent me a link called Rattling the Cage: Waiting for Bibi's New Deal:

In other countries, beginning with the US and Europe, a new economic era has begun. Laissez-faire, anti-tax, anti-government capitalism is understood to have failed (it sure as hell didn't prevent this disaster, did it?), and the response has been a turn to the Left. In other countries, it's understood that government has to step in with more liberal, social democratic, Keynesian, New Deal-style policies or the economy is going to sink through the floor.

Not here, though. Here people are scared of losing their jobs, afraid to spend a nickel, their hearts go out to the factory workers who've gotten laid off, they read about how charities that keep hundreds of thousands of poor people afloat are about to go bankrupt, and what is their idea of change, of an Israeli New Deal? Bibi Netanyahu. The world's last reigning (or soon-to-be-reigning) ideological Thatcherite.

The article is not meant to be flattering; the author apparently wants an Obama. But I must say that when I read that intro to the article, I felt jealous of Israel. They get Benjamin Netanyahu and they're complaining about it.

Dude, I will trade you leaders any day of the week.

Our ship has hit a hurricane, and this is our crew, folks. To the poor and the soon-to-be poor: Don't expect a whole lot from the incoming government. The New Deal under Prime Minister Netanyahu looks like it's going to be a copy of the Old Deal under Finance Minister Netanyahu: Every man for himself.

Yes yes yes! Oh wait, that's meant to be a bad thing?

The whole article is about how Netanyahu didn't "solve the ecominy" last time he was in office; it just righted itself eventually. That's meant to be an insult, that Netanyahu didn't do anything. But in my estimation, presidents or prime ministers ought to stay as far away from touching the economy as possible. The free market will eventually right itself, but not if you tinker with it too much.

Our new president is a tinkerer of epic proportions. I'll take their guy over ours whenever they want to trade.

Not to mention that he ain't so bad on the eyes...

Rawr.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:02 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 I do like Netanyahu. I'm glad he's in Israel right now, although I wouldn't expect our relations with Israel to get stronger - Netanyahu was oil and water with Pres. Clinton, I don't think he'll be best friends with Pres. Obama. But truly, I think that Israel needs to separate themselves from us for a bit. If they hadn't been so close to us the last couple years they might have taken out Iran's nuke reactors already. In any case, Netanyahu is a very interesting story - you can't really judge him unless you do so in the context of his brother. And then there was that whole nanny debacle... Fascinating to read up on, though.

Posted by: airforcewife at March 05, 2009 03:44 AM (Fb2PC)

2 He looks like James Bond! I'm in total agreement with you, on every point. We should propose a trade at the next big national tea party movement! Free trade is good for the economy, right?

Posted by: Deltasierra at March 05, 2009 08:25 AM (fPHZv)

3 Thatcher? Under her Britanistan came so close to becoming like the fascist nightmare of V for Vendetta! Even we wouldn't want that to happen to the occupiers of Filastiiiin! Why are conservatives so obsessed with Thatcher and Reagan? They're so old, man, so 80s. Marx, Engels, Stalin, Mao, Che ... they are the wave of the future! "Every man for himself"? How about every man and womyn for us, the Great Leaders? Under our unerring leadership, we will revive the dying world economy through sheer superhuman desire. What we want will be ... or else! Why do you blindly believe that "he free market will eventually right itself"? It's like waiting for a wrecked car to spontaneously fix itself. Intervention is needed on a glObal scale in the Newest Deal. We are smart. We, not a billion (gag) in-DUH-vidual capitalists and consumers, know what is best for the world. Believe us. You have to. After all, we are all soci@lists now.

Posted by: kevin at March 05, 2009 10:27 AM (+nV09)

4 I would so go for that trade...at least in ideologies re: economics. Please.

Posted by: Leofwende at March 05, 2009 11:40 AM (jAos7)

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