Putin Goes Libertarian as Democrats Ape Hoover

As we peer out through the swirling dust of the shitstorms , it is clear we have entered a strange world where left is right, and right is left, up is down and most people don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

The Democrats are the New Hoovers, and Vladimir Putin is a libertarian free marketer.

Although, during the primaries, the Democratic presidential candidates yacked it up in Ohio and Indiana, I assumed all their talk of economic protectionism, and scraping NAFTA, was just a pander.

But the Democrats have attached a “Buy American” provision onto the $819 billion stimulus plan.

To those who slept though the swill that passes for history in American Government Schools, this might seem like a swell, common sense idea.

If it were to become law, US federal spending would, wherever possible, be restricted to goods and services produced by US companies. The main promoters of this act of global economic vandalism are the steel industry and the labor unions.

Of course, the unions have new found respect and influence with the dawning of the Age of Obama—we all marvel at the worker's paradise that is Detroit.

And with “Buy American” the captains of industry and brotherhood of workers, will be able to share the Detroit Experience and catapult us into a full-fledged Depression.

Its happened before.

In 1930 Rep. W.C. Hawley of Oregon and Sen. Reed Smoot of Utah earned their place in infamy by sponsoring a bill which would bear their names.

The Hawley-Smoot Act raised tariffs on 20,000 items in an attempt to extend the Roaring Twenties. A petition was signed by 1028 economists in the United States asking President Hoover to veto the legislation.

It was to no avail and a world wide trade war ensued. In 1932 America fell into the Great Depression.

When economists discuss the causes of that catastrophe, Hawley-Smoot is at the top of the list.

This was a big part of the discussion last week at Davos, as the guys who still think they are the Masters of the Universe, but are now just it's branch managers, got together to discuss the global economic mess.

And there was Comrade Putin, sounding as though he had taken a crash course in Austrian Economics:

"The entire economic growth system, where one regional center prints money without respite and consumes material wealth, while another regional center manufactures inexpensive goods and saves money printed by other governments, has suffered a major setback."

Neither Ron Paul nor Peter Schiff nor the Girl in Short Shorts could have described the fundamental cause of the economic collapse better.

And what does Putin advise we do?

"This means we must assess the real situation and write off all hopeless debts and 'bad' assets. True, this will be an extremely painful and unpleasant process. Far from everyone can accept such measures, fearing for their capitalization, bonuses, or reputation. However, we would 'conserve' and prolong the crisis, unless we clean up our balance sheets."

In other words , just let it crash and burn--then permit the market to recover.

Unlike Barack Obama, and the Democrats, Putin has no faith in the government's "excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state's omnipotence."

And then he warns America:

"In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state's role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated."

OMG—Putin is red baiting Barack Obama.

I've lived for the day that Vladimir Putin morphed into a Limbaugh Ditto Head.

It's a strange world.