A rant with no solutions

A comment I hear every now and again is that no one responsible for the collapse of our economy or the mortgage crisis at its center has ever been held responsible.  I have a few problems with that statement.

First, who deserves the blame?  I'm not informed enough to know precisely who is responsible.  I suspect blame can be shared far and wide from the bankers and investors who concocted shaky financial instruments to  ratings agencies to regulators to the parties taking out mortgages they couldn't afford.  Did I leave anyone out?

Second, it isn't true that no one has been held responsible.  There have been at least three criminal cases and a handful of civil cases brought against various individuals and institutions.  Still, in an environment where so many people are out of work with little prospect of finding sustainable employment, it is hard to feel like justice has been done when you compare the relatively few fines to the billions of dollars in aid that went to financial institutions that are built on greed and managed by multi-millionaires.  What good are a few fines to people who need economic assistance or even those who have jobs now but are facing decreasing wages in real terms?

I'm not in favor of the class warfare language I see in editorial pages and hear on the airwaves, but I do think there is something broken in our economic system or society.  As undeserving as some of the recipients may have been on their personal merits, our society relies on the credit and cash flow made possible by large banks and investment houses.  Salvaging the savings and investments of the middle class meant propping up the wealth of the privileged.  Insulated from their share of responsibility, those who have the most are securing a larger and larger share of wealth in this country.

What's the phrase?  "A rising tide lifts all boats?"  Maybe so, but that assumes all of the boats are in the water.  Right now, it feels like a lot of the boats are stuck on shore.

No one who looks at our tax code can honestly say we're all in this together.  Nor would anyone come to that conclusion we live in a land of opportunity by comparing the skills produced in our schools with the skills required to fill the jobs that exist.  When we rely on illegal immigrant labor and create incentives for whole classes of people to live in perpetual dishonesty, can we say with any honesty that we are the land of the free?  When we pass legislation creating financial obligations we can't afford or when politicians obstruct our ability to meet the obligations we do have, is that the new definition of brave?

The status quo is not getting it done for this country.  It is not creating wide-spread opportunity.  Simply cutting spending and relying on the business community to create jobs won't work.  Companies are profitable and sitting on record reserves of cash.  Laying off government workers and reducing services isn't going to change that.  Similarly, just taxing the rich to do more of the same isn't going to suddenly create opportunity either.  Funding payroll tax breaks and unemployment benefits through taxes on millionaires won't solve the structural problems with our entitlement programs or refocus government on creating opportunity through infrastructure investments, education and smarter regulation.  None of the above is going to restore moral values or societal norms of honesty, caring for one another and living responsibly.

So what's the solution?  I'm not sure, or at least I'm not settled sufficiently in my mind to put it in writing. But I don't think it is going to be found entirely on the populist left or right of our political spectrum.  I think it is going to take a political leader who looks more like a centrist and is willing to pragmatically implement good ideas wherever they are found.  It is going to take us coming to terms with the outcome we want government to effect in our society and electing leaders who can advance that agenda.

(See how I ducked the question there?  A long answer, but not a solution.  I'll write about my thoughts on some possible solutions—both personal and political—later.)