A final thought on the stimulus bill.

For all the talk during the campaign leading up to the Presidential election about transparency and ending politics as usual, the process by which this bill was enacted may have been one of the most egregious examples or old style backroom politics in recent history. Not only was the public unable to read, study and understand what it contained but the people charged with voting yea or nay were similarly disenfranchised.

Yes there were no overt earmarks, they just made their way into the bill via cleverly written provisions that can only inure to the benefit of very specific interests. As Clive Crook notes in the Atlantic we’re just beginning to ferret out the surprises in the 1400 pages that no one had a chance to read.

Maybe “change” will come with the new bank rescue package.