It’s time to dupe the American public once again. There are brand new talking points, so grab a pencil and paper.
We must save the big three automakers. We must act quickly or suffer unimaginable consequences.
TOM FRIEDMAN
The great Thomas Friedman was more than happy to join the panic by sounding the alarm on “Meet the Press.” Fundamental fairness is out the door. This is no time to worry about the dutiful, who’ve been paying their mortgages all along. They too will benefit from saving the American economy as we know it.
Confused? Let me explain. We’re all supposed to foot the bill, while Democrats and Republicans argue over to whom socialism’s bounty should be handed, no strings attached.
Republicans decry the S-word, blasting the average guy for taking on a mortgage he couldn’t afford. They then turn around and cut a check to Hank Paulson, so he can enrich his friends at the big banks, no real strings attached. Our friends at Treasury demonstrated what a lack of oversight looked like last week by announcing they’d no longer be moving ahead with their original plan to buy so-called toxic mortgages.
Democrats blast corporate giveaways, though they can’t wait to pay back their union friends in the Motor City with a big three bailout of their own. Let’s reward Detroit for the kind of short-sighted management, which saw it produce warehouses full of gas-guzzling SUVs, all in the name of turning a fast buck just a few short years ago. That fast buck came at the expense of any sort of meaningful planning. You know, the kind of thing for which good businesses are known.
I’m guessing you’re starting to understand. The little guy is supposed to plan ahead, manage risk, and be responsible for staying in the game. As a bonus, Democrats and Republicans will provide you with bickering theatre of the absurd, all the while doling out the grandest of welfare programs to society’s most irresponsible.
We can’t give money to the wino on the corner. He might fritter it away on more wine. We must give money to bad businessmen. They need their massages, Christmas bonuses, and golden parachutes.
Amidst all of the dire warnings … here’s something to consider. Maybe the greatest danger of all is the message being sent to the dutiful. Why play by the rules? What’s the point in making that mortgage payment? Won’t big government spenders of one stripe or another eventually get around to bailing you out?
Our economy needs a little pain, maybe a lot of pain. While I’m by no means well-off, I’ll take my chances.
While I’m glad to have cleared this up for you, I’m really getting sick and tired of the public’s whining. Democrats and Republicans have done a lot for our country and you really should be more appreciative. Your problems are their problems and they’ll get right to fixing them, once they’ve seen their doctor courtesy of their Congressional health plan. They’ll get to that later.
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Tags: bailout, big three, Chrysler, Democrats, economy, Ford, GM, politics, Republicans, socialism
