Well, I wrote up a long ugly page-long essay today about my assessment of how we have come into this mess with the financial markets failing in this september of 2008. I narrated all the facts of the circumstances of the past decade. But history will give our children and our grandchildren plenty of that kind of hard-to-read text. I think I’d rather summarize my ideas in only a few words here on my blog:

How does a great depression happen? When bankers are fools. When politicians are fools, and when there is enough rancor directed at the politicians to distract them to the point that they don’t give an earnest ear to those who would advise them in the right course.

I imagine the same thing happened during the 1920s, in the usa.

What is the lesson for us? Choose politicians who have good judgement - who will meet the time of trial with wisdom and earnestness. It’s not enough for a politician to look pretty or handsome, or talk smoothly. That person’s judgement has to be sound.

Along a timeline this is what happened: the foolish people in the Bush administration failed a test of their judgement on september 11th, 2001. They started panicking and acting in an imprudent fashion… then there was public outcry. That public outcry was met with obstinance. That obstinance closed down the lines of communication into the halls of congress. And those who would advise congress about the dangers facing the financial markets were not listened to. And then the markets melt down.