The Zairean Model

Obama's comments late last week about Wall Street bonuses were interesting mainly for their stridency, but they were probably inconsequential. We'll see what happens when the next stage of the bailout is announced. This feels like an inflection point where policy could represent a fundamental change, or we could continue the descent into a sort of neo-feudal kleptocracy in which the productive but increasingly hollowed-out parts of society -- teachers, doctors, cops, small business owners -- send tribute to a handful of unelected government officials, who then dole it out to slightly more legit versions of Bernie Madoff.

The parallels to admittedly cruder national systems are wrapped in legitimizing acronyms like TARP, but the basic dynamic in many ways is the same -- from the establishment's apparent disdain for paying taxes (Geithner, Daschle, etc.), to crumbling infrastructure, profound institutional failure, and the economic squeeze on parts of the civil service. Historically, the last in particular has characterized economic chaos and national decline. This report from a few weeks ago is one example. Here's another. And still another is the increasing hardship on Americans serving abroad. Some snippets of a post report from the U.S. consulate in Rio de Janeiro:

Housing: Apartments in either Ipanema or Leblon, which are two of the most upscale neighborhoods in the city. However, the housing pool and the management section's attitude were both appalling while I was there. Several officers were without hot water for extended periods of time, gas leaks, ceilings caving in, broken air-conditioners, lighting wiring held together with electrical tape such that only GSO staff could change light bulbs... all common place. And to make it worse, while I was there, the attitude was "well, the landlord won't fix it and we have no money so just live with it". That's okay for a broken door handle or something like that, but not for major health and safety related concerns. Everytime there was a problem in anyone's apartment, the resident would get a sinking feeling in anticipation of having to go to war with the management section. How do you get and send your letters and package mail? APO, although several times in 2008 there was no money to buy gas for the consulate staff to go to the airport to get the mail. Morale among expats: Varies. At the consulate it is pretty bad because of money management problems there. Having no money for toilet paper and no money for gas for official vehicles makes it difficult to do one's job. Having all consulate cell phones turned off for nonpayment of bills can all take a toll on morale.

Anyone else find this embarrassing? Folks, this is Rio, not N'Djamena. And while Rio isn't Brasilia, it's still a high-profile post in an increasingly important country. Our official representatives are complaining about decrepit and dangerous living conditions, no money for gasoline or toilet paper, and consulate phones disconnected for lack of payment. Isn't that something you'd expect to see in a desperate missive from some central or west African diplomat stationed in New York or London? Are they getting similar dispatches in Beijing from China's diplomatic corps?

We'll see if the actions of the Fed and Treasury start to reflect Obama's rhetoric, or continue to symbolize and effect a broader national decline.