Who Monitors the Politicians?

I always find Congressional testimony interesting. You have a panel of elected politicians grilling someone who has taken the stand on some issue. The politicians ask the tough questions and seek to lay blame.

As I write, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is on the stand. The Federal Reserve Chairman has the responsibility to report to Congress two times a year. The politicians are grilling the Fed Chairman on consumer debt and of course the crisis known as sub-prime loans.

One democratic politician just made the statement that the Federal Reserve was a sleep at the wheel. They allowed this to happen. There should have been safeguards built into the system to prevent predatory lending.

Our political system is a joke as are these hearings. The blame lies with our politicians. They conveniently ignore all of these lending practices and allow them to happen for two reasons. First, it gives the economy a short-term boost. It produces economic growth. Second, these banks pay their bills. I might add that MBNA is President Bush’s second largest campaign contributor. You certainly don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you.

Even more frightening is the lack of knowledge that these politicians have regarding these issues. Much of the questioning makes absolutely no sense.

When do we get to put the politicians on the stand and ask the tough questions? When do they take responsibility? They all look shocked that this sub-prime crisis is happening. You could see this train wreck coming a mile away.