Socialism, Bear Stearns (Robber Barons), Adam Smith, Rousseau and You!

Skull & crossbones, Exclusive Brethren.
You people have no Idea who runs America.
Democracy?...Ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...........
Americans are Fat Lazy cowards each and every one of them, easily led and easily fooled by false patriotism or smart ad's or punch lines. They have no stomach for the "Truth" and no education to work out the consequences of their actions.
Bush/Cheney Plan all going smoothly thank you very much.
Call always call in Peatraus to put down any discontent on American streets?.....you signed the Patriot Act didn't you ?, allowing the president to sieze control during a time of "National Emergency" as decided by the "Decider".
Its not your money it's their money and they will destroy you to keep it.
Give onto Caesar that which is Caesar's.....

— dunnyart, Woomera Prohibited Area South Australia NY Times Comments Post 21 March 2008

Lest you think otherwise, we're in for one hell of a rough economic ride. As Yogi used to say, this is deja vu all over again. We lived though the idiocy of Reagan’s foolish adherence to unregulated supply side economics, and we paid with the massive costs of the S & L crisis, not to mention the recession that doomed the first Bush presidency. George Junior, upon assuming the presidential throne, promptly returned the economic focus back to unfettered capitalism with a supply side flavor. . .lower or no taxes etc. Old Adam Smith became God again, and probably because his cataract covered eyes couldn’t see, he was still pushin’ that blind guiding hand shit that so endeared him to the Robber Barons the first time this financial merry-go-round went round. We're now reaping that whirl wind--YET AGAIN! Batten down the hatches! This baby is going to blow for a while.

Of the people I read regularly, no one has been better at forecasting our economic situation than the Princeton University, New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman. The socialism basic to this Bear Stearns bailout is certainly not something that comes as a surprise. Surprise or not, couple things seem pretty obvious: as a nation we, the voters don’t seem to have immunized ourselves from the foolish choices we make when we enter the voting booth; and, the Right slanted minions don’t seem able cry socialism in response to government corporate bailout actions. It’s only social programs destined to help the struggling lower class who can’t afford doctors and dentists and medical care generally that energizes the Right. It’s pretty clear that it’s greed and not humanitarian concerns that pump up their lungs with protest cries of “socialism, socialism.”

Because they’re only concerned with self-interest and not public interest, the Right ignores and, indeed, often attempts to hide, the stupidity and greed behind the seemingly endless series of corporate miss steps and outright debacles. We’re all supposed to keep our blinders on and let old Adam Smith keep his arthritic hand on the tiller. See it or not, like it or not, the ship of state keeps right on hittin’ the rocks.

Frankly, the repeating loop that keeps bringing this story back won’t end with a final note until someone realizes that this complex social system does require the guiding hand of an involved government, a government that is motivated to regulate and control financial excess, a government that realizes that public good is paramount, takes priority over individual aggrandizement. Certainly proper government function requires more than maintaining police departments and prisons to protect the wealthy or an aggressive army to steal somebody else’s oil. It was not current law that drove the Fed to initiate the Bear Stearns bailout; they didn’t serve a legal requirement in initiating the bailout action; the laws simply didn’t exist. Let’s be kind for a moment and put the Fed’s action in the best possible light; they did it to server a greater public good; let us give them the benefit of the doubt and hope so anyway. With that in mind, laws broken or not, I’d close my eyes if they decided to throw a few of those greedy bastards from Bear Stearns in jail and returned what money they have left to the public check book. Enough with the Robber Barons!

Now before we close this chapter, it is well to remember that the very individuals who will most directly benefit from the Bear Stearns bailout; that is, to put it in no uncertain terms, whose asses are being saved, are the very people who oppose bailouts when the discussion involves the social security system or any other social system that serves the interests and welfare of the masses the great unwashed, the hoi polloi. No, when it’s social security, public schools, universal medical care or any of the other great social programs, they’re busy circulating private memos arguing the importance of “starving the beast,” and writing high minded essays in The National Review and The Washington Standard extolling the virtues of “rugged individualism;” you know the “up from the boot straps” crap. The Cato Institute, The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute won’t be sending out their talking heads to appear on the weekly news shows decrying the dangers of creeping socialism. No, they'll all stand aside, silently mute, hoping that we don't notice the robbery in progress. In sum, we desperately need to put primitive old Adam Smith and his invisible guiding hand back in the coffin and bring back Rousseau and his talk of the The Social Contract.

Keep ‘en an eye on these buzzards for ya,


Davy Crockett

Update 14 July 2009 New York Times, Bob Herbert

These malefactors of great wealth (thank you, Teddy) developed hideously destructive credit policies and took insane risks that hurt millions of American families and nearly wrecked the economy. Then they were bailed out with hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, money that came from the very people victimized by the industry’s outlandish practices.

Now the industry is fighting against creation of an agency that would protect taxpayers and ordinary consumers from a similarly devastating onslaught in the future. And at the same time they are scrambling to raise credit card interest rates and all manner of exploitive fees to build a brand new superstructure of questionable profits on the backs of the taxpayers who came to their rescue.