It looks like Hugo Chavez down in Venezuela has more brains than our leaders–he only nationalizes businesses that make a tidy profit. We, on the other hand, seem to be adopting a “drawbacks only” style of socialism, where profit remains privatized, but failure is socialized.
Yes, I know that the collapse of AIG would be Very Bad, but I also know that any future profits generated by AIG aren’t going to get returned to the people who had to hand over part of their paycheck to come up with the money the Feds are now so graciously fronting. The dividends and profit shares are going back to the Feds, who will then spend them like sailors on shore leave. It sure is awesome when you can buy stuff just by signing a promise that other people’s kids are going to pay the bill with their future paychecks. That kind of financial management would be inexcusable and unsustainable when practiced by a middle class household, but somehow we tolerate and excuse it in our country’s leadership.
I could not agree more. I find it laughable that the same lawmakers (the GOP) who created this mess are not up in arms over the need to bail out AIG. The hypocrisy and doublespeak is astounding. For the last 8 years we’ve been mindless sheep just following along with the Bush-Chaney plan and a predominantly Republican Congress (up until the last two years). I think it really is time for a change–we’re way over-due, in fact. Wake up America and take back our country from the rich, greedy lawmakers who work for lobbyists and special interests.
Ray,
if you think we’re going to see a big change when the next Democrat gets into office, you have another thing coming.
The “most ethical Congress in history” has been in session for two years, with a Democrat majority, and they’ve accomplished precisely zilch (if you don’t count shoveling pork homeward just like their predecessors.)
My first reaction to the news was, “And when do the taxpayers get to share in the profits — if they ever return — of these bailed-out companies?”
I object to having my hard-earned funds going to subsidize bankers and insurance companies that should have known better. They are the financial experts, right? So why are they failing?
“tolerate and excuse” less than “not quite want to start a revolution over it”. Which is what it will take to say “no” to this kind of bullshit, and make it stick, barring a miracle at the polls.
The same lawmakers who created this mess(the GOP) – it is to laugh.
I suggest you take a trip down memory lane and see whose friends have been running the fannie and freddie and which party’s members were being bought by their lobbyists.
And by the way, I’m not sayin’ that the repubs are total innocents here – but they’re more like total stupids.
@Ray Yeo
There is PLENTY of blame to spread around.
Curious to know who were the top congressional beneficiaries of money from Fannie and Freddie since 1989?
1. Dodd, Christopher J D-CT : $133,900
2. Kerry, John D-MA : $111,000
3. Obama, Barack D-IL : $105,849
4. Clinton, Hillary D-NY : $75,550
Keep in mind that Obama was only in office for 4 of those 19 years and still made #3 on the list.
No, you can’t blame all of this on the GOP.
One side is “tax and spend” … the other side is “borrow and spend”
As far as blame goes, there is one blogger trying to exonerate the GOP…I don’t buy his particular emphasis, but he does a decent best job of outlining the important events.
At any rate, direct action by Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, combined with other actions taken by Congress (led by Phil Gramm), George W. Bush, and the decisions of bankers, loan officers, and Federal regulators, exacerbated by easy credit and a desire by many Americans to use that credit to hilt, all generated the mess we know as the “Mortgage Crisis.”
theflatwhite, I don’t think partisan mudslinging about who took money from who gets even close to the real issue. For political people, everything looks like a political problem. This was not a case of corruption, but a case of the stupids by the (actual) geniuses on Wall Street. Sure the problem was made worse by the government, but that just seems to me to be a given.
Here’s a link to what I posted about it on my blog.
@CCW
That wasn’t the point of my comment.
Greed and irresponsibility are why we are in this mess. I was merely pointing out that partisan knee-jerk reactions to blame the non-ruling party in congress is blind. It’s stupid to be throwing stones.
Yup, Marko. But it’s even worse than that. Can you say “print and spend”? The Fed stopped publishing M3, the measure of the money supply, for a reason…
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