by David Singhiser

Created on: April 21, 2010   Last Updated: April 22, 2010

Obama’s economic team seems to confirm at first glance that all his talk of “change” really means more of the same – “more bailouts, more government intervention, more addressing symptoms rather than causes – along with greater deficits, and massive increases in government spending,” which our illustrious leaders in Washington superstitiously believe can restore us to economic health.

As with all superstitions, no logical argument or historical evidence can shake it away. Besides, it gives them reason to spend, which they love to do anyway.

There is nothing our “masters” in Washington: Obama, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, or Barnanke at the Fed can do to improve the situation, but they can prolong it, and that is what they are doing. Although they don’t understand how we got into this situation, we must, in order to find our way out of it.

No novel theories, just a layman’s understanding of our present economy, what should be done next, and some important ideas that have been forgotten by Americans for far too long, a true free-market perspective – specifically the ideas of Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek – explain our crisis which many economist and financial analysts do not fully understand, and which the usual theories fail to adequately explain. These ideas are not new.

They’ve simply been neglected. As usual, government officials first misdiagnosed the problem, giving themselves a pass and blaming others for the problem. They looked at the Great Depression, but got the lesson wrong.

Next, they told America that the government needed to follow the same wrong-headed policies that prolonged the Great Depression in order to save us from the current crisis, creating, as Gerald Celente calls it, "The Greatest Depression."

Beginning with massive bailouts, they are prolonging what the market would have cured in a shorter time. Despite the people’s overwhelming rejection of the Bush administration’s “rescue plan,” Congress passed it in September 2008. Why?

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the securities and investment industry contributed $53 million to congressional and presidential candidates in the 2008 election.

Those voting for the “rescue” plan on 29 September received 53 percent more money in campaign contributions from banks and securities firms than those who voted against it. Surprise. Surprise.

Despite rejecting it

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