No New Deal!

There is turmoil and uncertainty in our financial markets these days as the the carnage from housing crisis unwinds on Wall Street. Although the media, along with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, claim the Great Depression of 2008 is at our doorstep, it is not.

President Bush correctly claimed recently that Wall Street got drunk, and we are all living through the hangover. Over the years, firms such as E. F. Hutton and Kidder Peabody and hedge funds like Long Term Capital have bitten the dust. Now, it is Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. When you get overly greedy, you usually pay a heavy price.

As the negativity abounds, do not be fooled by those wanting to take this opportunity to grab more governmental influence on the free markets. The reform mechanisms, many of which have been in place since the 30's, are in need of reform as the architecture has not changed with the times. No new governmental guidance is needed or required. The free markets cleanse themselves, as you are currently witnessing.

Many of those offering commentary about a new great depression are those championing more governmental regulation and influence.

"The best view of big government is in the rear view mirror as we leave it behind" --Ronald Reagan, January 26, 1984.

Errors in thinking in this regard can be grave. Required reading on the lessons to be learned from the real Great Depression are told in The Forgotten Man, by Amity Shlaes. FOX Business's Stuart Varney interviewed MS. Shlaes today on what if any parallels exists. She cautions about many of the policies the Democrats claim are impending should they be elected. Let's make sure they are not!