We Are Rome

Well, it's official. As a country, we have become so indulgent, decadent, and juvenile that not even the menace of economic nuclear winter can't snap us into place.

From Nancy Pelosi's unnecessary blame-heaping on the Bush Administration to the GOP's 8th-grade girl response of voting down the Bailout, the US House of Representatives has shown that it is inherently dysfunctional. My only hope (and maybe I'm just deluding myself) is that the $1.2 TRILLION loss in paper wealth their little catfight yielded yesterday might smack some sense into them. In other words, it will hopefully show them that their actions (or in this case, inaction) can have tremendous consequences downstream.

Consequences or not, the realist in me says that they are beyond acting responsibly. Despite facing re-election every two years, House members are ludicrously removed from the people they "represent". When they are not entertaining top-shelf lobbyists or big-figure contributors, they are surrounded by a wall of consultants telling them to say this, do that, look this way, say something that way, etc. Their only objective is to get re-elected; they don't give a damn about you or I.

But, we have let them get this way. People have gotten so wrapped up in themselves and their immediate gratification, that they have been perfectly content having no idea what happens on Capitol Hill. For far too long, the mantra has been "Me, me, me; Mine, mine, mine". Now, that way of life is circling the drain and people are interested again. All it takes is the average American to see a list of ONE DAY'S worth of House business, and that 99% incumbency rate (yes, 99% of House members breeze through re-election) can be in serious jeopardy.

The reason everyone is so shocked and appalled by this latest twist is because this is actually a time when the House's dysfunction is on full display and has repercussions. Fortunately, optimism rallied the markets today, getting just over half back of what was lost yesterday. But, once again the ball is in the House's court. Let's hope they hit a nice shot down the line at Wall Street, rather than duffing it into the next court.