Breaking Their Power

Simon Johnson, former IMF director of research:

"There comes a time in every economic crisis or, more specifically, in every struggle to recover from a crisis, when someone steps up to the podium to promise the policies that - they say - will deliver you back to growth. The person has political support, a strong track record, and every incentive to enter the history books. But one nagging question remains.

Can this person, your new economic strategist, really break with the vested elites that got you into this much trouble? The form of these vested interests, of course, varies substantially across situations, but they are always still strong, despite the downward spiral which they did so much to bring about. And fully escaping the grip of crisis really means breaking their power."

I can't say I'm optimistic about Tim Geithner -- or Barack Obama -- "breaking their power" any time soon.

I see digby liked it, too and added her own eloquence: "Right now, on the issue of the banks Obama is paying lip service to the populists and siding with the elites. The kind of people who try to con the bereaved and blame their own troubles on the dead. There is mass anger around this kind of buck-passing, anger that can be channeled into action. Another bailout for the wealthy and connected would do that."