SAR #10308

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

The election was essentially meaningless. At best, the Republicans came in third behind 'None of the above' and 'Off with their heads'. No political philosophy was endorsed, nor rejected. The American voter was simply too self-centered to understand the economic reality that in two years no political party could have repaired the damage done to the American economy in the last three decades.

The voters do not particularly like or understand the Republicans. They voted against. Just against! They just wanted to show Washington how pissed off they are. Yesterday the Democrats bore the brunt. Interpreting the results as a referendum on ideology – either from the left or the right – is to make a mistake. The real story is a failure to deliver as promised. Change, hope. We got neither.

But in turning against the Democrats for not making things better, we voted to make things worse - far, far worse. Republicans have learned nothing. Tax cuts and deregulation are the limit of their economic vocabulary. Tax cuts and deregulation are what got us here.

The Republicans do not care much about the voters or the economy, they care mainly about power. Their main goal is to stand in the doorway, blocking progress, gleefully shutting down the government. When the next financial meltdown occurs it will be be too late to save ourselves. Too late for the voters, too late for the millions of underwater homeowners and one-time home owners, for the unemployed, underemployed,the discouraged and downtrodden. Too late, too, for Wall Street. And far to late for a country that has squandered its heritage and become as bankrupt morally as it is fiscally.

Some will claim the election is a historic realignment in US politics that will last for 20 years. Which is just what they said 2 years ago. But November 2 will turn out to be just another day. The biggest loser is democracy itself, the quaint notion that the citizenry were more or less equal. That idea is now endangered, if not extinct, thanks to the Supreme Court. In its place will be money, more money, more secret money. The never-ending negative propaganda campaign will not stop – it will be our permanent Two Minutes of Hate.

The election was essentially meaningless. Yet it foretells our demise.

[Now back to our regular programing.]

A Rose is a Rose:  Isn't Quantitative Easing just another way of saying we're going to devalue the dollar by printing a whole lot more of them?

US and Them:  The communists in China are underwriting the development of electric car batteries to power the future of transportation so they can capture the market, while the capitalistic US is spending taxpayer money on the continued manufacture of gasoline powered automobiles - 19^th Century technology at its finest.

Is the American Dream Over?  Yes, details inside.

A Box of Chocolates:  Would some of you read this thing and tell me if my leg needs putting back in place?  Thanks.

Too Little, Too Late:   The Fed says it will buy $600 billion in bonds by the end of 2Q2011.  Goldman says it will only add 0.5% to GDP, will not materially lower unemployment by and will fail to reach the Fed's inflation target either.  The only thing it will do is annoy the Republicans.

Light 'em Up:  October's light vehicle sales were up 4.7% m/m and up 17.9% y/y.

They'll Learn:  Young adults, 18 – 24, voted for Democrats over Republicans by 19 points (58-39%).  That makes four election cycles in a row that young voters have been the most progressive segment of the population.  But they do not vote in droves.

Porn O'Graph:  Once in a bunch of lifetimes...