Bailout Frenzy: Will the Last Capitalist in Congress Please Turn Out the Lights?

First it was TARP, the $700 Billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, intended to provide liquidity in the mortgage lending sector of our economy to "keep our economy running."

Congress wisely said no to this socialist obscenity when it was first proffered as THE solution to the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and mortgage-banking industry collapse. Even having that powerful fiscal Conservative, John McCain "suspend" his campaign to fly into Washington DC and bless this disaster wasn't enough to sway Congressional Republicans.

Ah, but Conservatism's victory was short-lived. Congressional wonks simply did what they usually do and sweetened the deal with another $150 Billion in pork...you remember pork, John McCain, don't you? That did the trick.

Suddenly congressmen who became dyspeptic at the thought of asking American tax-payers to fork over three-quarters of a trillion dollars, overcame their initial nausea and readily voted in favor of this, even more egregious, obscenity.

Even the usually fastidious swinophobe John McCain couldn't wait to place his imprimatur on this porcine abomination. Urgency was all the rage. We were told that TARP was essential if the American economy was to survive. There was no time for careful reflection; no time for debate or even serious questions. Just trust Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson...or was the Pat Paulson, hard to tell the difference...and he, in his infinite wisdom, will show us the way.

Well a fool (337 of them actually, 74 in the Senate and 263 in the House) and his money are soon parted and on October 3rd the House voted to approve the TARP-Revised (the Senate approved it on October 1st). They did this in spite of the very vocal and strenuous objection of a majority of tax-payers; if congressional phone-calls and e-mails and national polling data are to be believed.

Such is the arrogance of our elected representatives leaders.

A couple of weeks later, the news comes out that the Fed (Federal Reserve Bank) had already handed out over $2 Trillion in loans to various banks (the names of which are being withheld) in a further effort to boost liquidity (an effort which to date, has failed miserably). So suddenly the $700 Billion (which was rejected as fiscally irresponsible) that evolved into $850 Billion (apparently fiscal irresponsibility depends on whose pork is being basted), ballooned to $2.85 Trillion.

Ah but the United States Santa Claus (a.k.a. Congress) isn't finished. Now they have decided, in their own generous (with your tax-dollars), socialist way to extend their (our) largess to corporations in financial distress.

Corporations are queuing up for their turn at the tax-payer trough.

• General Motors, $50 Billion? Sure, why not?
• AIG (recipient of $85 Billion already) another $25 Billion? Go ahead.
• Chrysler? Ford? Hey, the more the merrier.
• Airline industry? Well, everybody needs to fly.

What's next, Joe's Bar & Grill? No worries! Our government is rich. If you need more money, no problem, they'll just print some more.

Now we are seeing cities begging for their fair share. There's no end in sight.

Even President Bush, generous to a fault...no I mean it...really, to a fault, is having second thoughts about this treasury free-for-all. Sorry George that horse is out of the barn and you're the guy who opened it. A lot of us could have told you this was going to happen, but you wouldn't have listened.

Oh and the real kicker; Swami Hank Paulson knew his plan wouldn't work. He told the press:

"It was clear to me by the time the bill was signed on October 3rd that we needed to act quickly and forcefully, and that purchasing troubled assets—our initial focus—would take time to implement and would not be sufficient given the severity of the problem.”

Err...WHAT? What's that you say? You lied to us? What was it that Paulson told us back in September?

"I am convinced that this bold approach will cost American families far less than the alternative-a continuing series of financial institution failures and frozen credit markets unable to fund economic expansion. The financial security of all Americans...depends on our ability to restore our financial institutions to a sound footing."

Uh...excuse me Mr. Secretary, you left out a few things back then, didn't you? Like, well, let's see...

"This is just the thin end of a huge wedge aimed at the backsides of every American taxpayer."

Or maybe,

"My goal is the eventual institution of a Socialist Economy."

Or probably most appropriate,

"I haven't got a clue as to what I am doing or how to solve this problem, but I figure if we just throw money in every direction, something is bound to happen, so trust me."

The really bad news is that this ballooning "$700 Billion bailout" has shown no signs of slowing down as it is now approaching the $5 Trillion mark. Whatever legacy President Bush had left has probably now been flushed down the toilet of history with his blind trust of Hank Paulson.

By the time this economy shakes out of the upcoming catastrophe, President George W. Bush will be lucky to be rated above Richard M. Nixon, or "GASP!" even Jimmy Carter.

Folks, Paulson was a Democrat before he was Treasury Secretary, so none of his Socialist Economic and Fiscal Policies should come as a surprise. He's a believer in a big, interventionist, paternalistic government. It was this moronic concept of "bi-partisanship" that gave us Mr. Paulson. President Bush has some sort of burning need to be looked at as a nice, reasonable guy. That's why so many of us were rankled by his term "Compassionate Conservative." It was a kowtow to those who falsely asserted that Conservatism was cold-hearted and uncaring.

Now we are paying the price for his personal insecurities. They have arisen time and time again, first with his retention of (Democrat) Norm Minetta as Transportation Secretary and his naming of (RINO) Colin Powell as his Secretary of State (we see how appreciative Powell was when he endorsed Obama for president); it has culminated with (Democrat) Paulson, now dismantling our economy piece-meal by handing out tax-payer money willy-nilly to everyone who requests it.

Unfortunately Corporations have decided to cash in (literally) on this Government Boondoggle and who can blame them? In one fell swoop, they have abandoned the concept of "laissez faire" for "lend me some cash."

Frankly, I'm wondering if I can figure out a way to wrangle a couple of million for myself...hey, if they're giving it out to everyone, I want my "fair share." Of course, by the time the US Treasury finishes printing all this new money, it'll only be worth about 20 bucks.

Bailing out businesses that are failing because they are poorly managed and deserve to fail will only further weaken American businesses and rewards those failed managers and their over-paid union employees.

Bad businesses are supposed to fail. That's how the free-market works. Poorly run businesses fail and are replaced by those whose management understands the market and can succeed. What we are doing now is the equivalent of feeding the weakest and sickest of a herd of cattle and culling the healthy.

Thanks a bunch, President George. You are really trying to wrest the last vestiges of respect I have for you out of my grasp.

Long Live Our American Republic (or is that Socialist Republic?)!!!!

Oh! Will somebody please pass the pork rinds?

What do you think?

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