The power of bureaucracy

Unfortunately, as I predicted in my last posting, lawmakers in Washington DC preferred to allow the markets to nosedive and the Russell 3000 to lose over US$1 trillion in value than to sign a US$700 billion check for Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson. Talk about money out of the pockets of taxpayers.
As I said before, there is no force more powerful than a bureaucrat trying to cover his ass. However, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss briefly the drivers for this decision at the House of Representatives in a day when five banks had failed around the world - in case they needed any more reason to pass the package.
A friend of mine summarized the issue talking to me a few weeks ago. His words: "The ultimate goal of every politician is to be re-elected." In fact, it is as simple as that. On Capitol Hill they are not worried about the country's interest unless that means securing another term for them. The same applies, naturally, to the executive branch, though there, especially in a second term, the dynamics are a bit different.
Once you understand that, it is clear why politicians chose to let the market go down the drain instead of signing a (slightly) controversial rescue package. They are afraid of the consequences. And, just five weeks before a historic presidential election, all actions are blown out of proportion.
No lawmaker wants to risk being thrusted into the spotlight as the one who made the wrong decision - though any of them would love to be the one that made the right decision. And since none of them really knows what the right decision is, they are afraid. Scared that the public will be enraged and not reelect them.
I don't mean to be biased here, but Barack Obama put it best in a quote today: "It is not a time for politicians to concern themselves with the next election. It is a time for all of us to concern ourselves with the future of the country we love. This is a time for action."
McCain completed: "There is no time for inaction."
I think I know what I can do. I will right now start writing my representative - and all the other ones whose emails I can get - to make them know that if I lose my job and this country goes bankrupt because they were afraid of signing that check for Paulson, they are the ones who will lose their jobs. I will not reelect them.
Photo: House republican Whip Roy Blunt, caught by the lenses of Chris Kleponis From Reuters.