Common Sense Politics

Straightforward Talk of Politics and Media

Wall Street Soars on News That You Are Bailing it Out

Posted by Ray Davis on September 19, 2008

Here’s a question. What’s the difference between two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner and the new government program to bailout Wall Street? The answer: lipstick.

We can all go to back to sleep. All is well! The media, the government, and Wall Street are saying so. That must mean it’s true. These are the same folks, of course, who have told us numerous times over the past several years that the housing crisis, the credit crisis, and everything else was well under their expert control. Gosh, they weren’t right about that, were they?

Anyway, Wall Street is leaping for joy this morning on news that its bad debt is going to be passed on to you, your children, and your grandchildren. The Dow climbed more than 400 points in early trading. The talking heads – the same ones who tell us outsourcing our jobs is good – are on TV acclaiming the brilliance of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

That sound you hear is the fleecing machine gearing up. I’m sure you can guess who is about to get a trim. In addition to your own mortgage, you are now on the hook for bad mortgages and all the Las Vegas-style bets Wall Street used them to place over the past few years.

Well, maybe John McCain or Barack Obama will stand up for us. I mean, after all, they do want us to vote for them in just a few weeks. The two main party presidential candidates – awash in Wall Street money and influence – are applauding the move.

In fact John McCain, being the small government guy he is – has come out with a proposal for a new massive government agency to assume responsibility for banking debts. He’s calling it the Mortgage and Financial Institutions (MFI) trust.

Look at who is running McCain’s campaign. Who do you suppose wrote this proposal? Wall Street critics? This seems to be a proposal aimed at allowing deregulation to continue, but offering government intervention before irresponsibility reaches crisis.

Mr. Obama, for his part, seems as unsure what to say or do as he did during the Russia-Georgia situation last month. On the positive side, though, he was voted the presidential candidate more voters would like to watch a football game with.

The shell game with America’s debt continues for one more dance. Now that the government – I mean you, your children, and grandchildren – has assumed responsibility for the irresponsibility of the banks and insurance companies, everything is all better. They can continue doing what they were doing and further leverage every penny ten times to make a profit.

All this move does is allow us to deny the reality of the massive debt tsunami we have created in the United States for a little longer. Well, maybe the Chinese will keep lending us some of the money we send them everyday to make everything we use. Maybe our friends the Japanese and our new (again) enemies the Russians will do the same.

I’m pretty sure there was one presidential candidate this year discussing these kinds of things. I believe his name was Ron Paul, but McCain, Romney, Huckabee, and the media were too busy snickering at him in the debates to listen. Maybe people will listen now.

My common sense question today is this: If my credit score is now better than my bank’s, can I lower my interest rates and charge them fees for doing business with me? No, I guess those things only work one way.

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