In the Rubble

AN EDITED VERSION OF THIS POST APPEARS IN THE LETTER SECTION OF NY TIMES ON AUGUST 10, 2011


("While the Markets Swoon")

It turns out that we didn't actually have to default on our obligations to throw the world economy into apoplectic turmoil. We have accomplished the wondrous feat of paying our bills and still creating a crisis of confidence.

I know that money rushed into US Treasuries in the aftermath of our nation's downgrade, which would be humorous if we still had a sense of humor. But no one is laughing these days, and we can ill afford to repeat the charade of the last several months. Hopefully, what we are witnessing is but a momentary, if monumental, response and that the world, and the world markets will soon find its equilibrium

But if there is a lesson to be learned, and there should be, it is that the reckless abandon with which the Republican party threatens our destruction must stop. Their efforts to damage the opposition have instead cast a much wider net and taken down the very value of this country. For all that Standard and Poors has missed in the past, and all that it has miscalculated in the present, it is correct in its assertion that we are a nation that no longer instills trust. And that is a loss far greater than any stock market decline.

It is past time for the Republicans to stop being the bully and start being a productive partner.Hopefully this week's events will wake them up to the reality of what their actions have wrought. If so, then maybe there is a silver lining buried somewhere within all this rubble.