International Law

WHO IS TO BLAME FOR BLACK MONDAY?

By Karel.Frielink

That remains to be seen 

‘Blaming others is a sign of low self-esteem because in doing so we are not taking responsibility‘

On Monday 29 September 2008, the US House of Representatives rejected a $700 billion bailout plan aimed at stabilizing the financial system, triggering the largest point drop in Wall Street’s market history.

The bill was trounced by a 228-205 vote, with “no votes” from both the Democratic and Republican sides. Fact is that only 141 Democrats voted for the bill and 94 Democrats, or 40%, voted against the measure. Another fact is that 65 Republicans voted for the bill and 133, or 67%, voted against it. What is the message for both Presidential candidates? How can both candidates blame the other party for the failure of the bill? If there is someone to blame at all, it is a bipartisan blame!

Blaming others, however, is a technique used by people and parties that do not have a clue and is a big part of the problem. It is a smoke screen to conceal ones own responsibility.

What I simply do not understand is how Barack Obama can just blame the Republicans for the current economic crisis. He is blaming the Republican economic philosophy … which however has been the economic philosophy of most Democrats too. How can one blame Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush for the crisis now shaking Wall Street, while in between them a Democratic President, Bill Clinton, followed more or less the same philosophy? What happened in those eight years? A presidential candidate should not believe that everything is a simple question of good versus evil. But if he does, we might have another problem.

Karel Frielink

Full post as published by Karel's Legal Blog on September 30, 2008 (boomark / email).