An article in yesterday’s Times summed it up by saying Dodd-Frank was watered down and upon examination the hands dealt to the current administration were so convoluted no one could extrapolate a material gain without losing footing and falling to their death. Thus Lehman Bros. became historical context.

The only proof we have of stimulus is that auto industry workers are not on welfare. That Alcoa and Caterpillar are in business even without a hyper inflated Chinese real estate market. That does not account for the unemployment rate spiral that appears to be declining notwithstanding bearish reactions to QE3.

Outside of MIT where modeling trading activities is a part time lab assignment I don’t know who has enough time to spend on determining the outcome of job replacement and health care while maintaining currency and insurance in place. Maybe the professor does and I hope he is willing to expand on his philosophy. Stieglitz makes a case for sensibility. Housing and welfare, education and health, sound use of resources both organic and not are part of economics. But to run an election on who is more humane is where we are because our bones tell us that a man who ran a hedge fund can’t possible be allowed to enter the White House after taking the oath from chief justice Roberts.

I am optimistic that maintaining the course is better than heading into the prevailing wind. What a flummox we would be in if we were to see our government trivialize our lives the way congress has for the past four years. We can’t indulge this beast of Ryan or the fair weather friend Romney. He’s no friend of the middle class. That is the message for the undecided.