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On "My Thoughts Regarding the $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout."

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This entry was posted on 9/24/2008 1:26 PM and is filed under Politics,Insanity,Business,Law.

OK, I'm so far from an economist, it's not even funny. Yet, I think I'm a pretty smart cookie, so I've had some thoughts brewing on the proposed "bailout" plan of the financial sector of the economy. Anyhoo, unlike most of my other, more prose-oriented posts, I think this one can be numbered out in points.

1. Is it just me, or was the Paulson-Bernake proposal like ridiculously short? Something around 4 pages? C'mon guys! I know we're living in the era of tabloid-sized communication...but that's more like a book report on the actual report, no? For $700 billion, I want pages. Reams of paper.

2. Why does it have to happen right now, today, with no delay or deliberation? (And for that matter, why bring something that can't be deliberated to the branch of government required to fucking deliberate?) Yes, I know that action should be taken in some way, but should we not think before we act? After all, it's that lack of thought and that utter assurance of correct action that brought us into Iraq.

3. Why are the Wall Street people who got the financial markets into this mess in the first place going to be the ones in charge of the massive cash "required" to get us out of it? That makes little sense. It's kind of like putting Kurt Cobain in the office of the National Drug Czar.

4. This kind of seems like socialism for the rich, and cutthroat capitalism for the rest of us. The $700 billion doesn't erase the debts of we, the people, for example. You can't have it both ways, guys. We deregulated a great deal of the economy from Reagan onward, and just like prior to the New Deal, these are the results. Unbridled capitalism is a bitch to ride. She giveth and taketh away with violent speed, no? (For those of you not up on your history, it's why we regulated our economy in the first place: the 1880-1930 period was full of these violent waves in the market.)
 
5. Which leads me to my next point...it's a profound irony that during the apex/nadir of the most conservative presidency of the New Conservative Epoch, we're basically natiojnalizing the finance industry. Shit, we just nationalized the mortgage industry! So much for shrinking government interference....

6. ...or is this something more sinister? For example, with the new $790+ billion in debt (on our already large load,) it's a much easier argument against National Health Care and for privatizing Social Security. I can think of a lot of things that Obama would like to do in office that won't have funding. 

7. I love the "we can't constrict CEO pay" bullshit. Really? Fine. Crash, then. This one line of thought nearly made me dismiss the entire plan. How much money do you want again? 

8. I'm a centrist that leans left. This plan is so bizarre to me: it's like left-wing socialism paired with right-wing market supremacy. Does this convolution finally mean the end of the radical right? Has it finally lost it's meaning? I'd say "yes," but I was in Florida when they kept that vegetable alive, honey.

9. Is there not a better use for $700 billion? 70 cities could create $10 billion subway systems, for example. We could finance NASA's new plan to send people to the moon 35 times...creating new research and ships for each launch. We could write every citizen a check for $2500 or so. That's a lot of cash.

10. So, in the end, can we have a real new Deal? Please?

 

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