The other names for this course is Econ 101-SP and Special Ed. Economics for Politicians. Economics is the one place where politicians show an ever unswerving lack of ability to get it. This is most recently evidenced with former Sen. Phil Gramm exiting the McCain campaign after saying that we have a “mental recession.” He’s an economics prof. and he has never gotten it. So without further digression, here it is:

In order for the people to survive and “make ends meet” their cost of living has to be below their income.

That means that certain portions of the cost of living like, oh, fuel, need to not rise at over 40% a year over five years. That means that nonsense gimmicry like mortgage lenders financing the land and not the building on the land and then hitting a home”owner” with a balloon note five times their established payment cannot happen.

We cannot Wal-Mart our way out of this with cheaply made goods coming from Asia. The rate the cost of living is increasing in this country has to be brought down to 1% so that it is under most people’s rate of pay increase.

Fixing this is a lot more complicated than I am describing. But when I read about politicians bringing up the same dysfunctional “solutions” like jacking up the taxes on the rich, I know that the whole lot of them are useless, insane and increasingly intolerable. I think it’s in the brandy they’re having with their cigars. They seem okay when they go into office. After that it’s like there is some rave for old fogies and they come out with the same bullshit.

I still want to see Obama elected even though I know he’ll be another four or eight years of the same insanity. Insanity is more than repeatedly attempting the same thing and expecting a different result. It includes thinking that the only reason the attempts have not worked is that the right people haven’t tried them yet.

It really won’t matter who we elect. The government will still be in office.