Okay, this is despicable. On a hot, Sunday Summer evening (today!!) the Bush administration announces that the American Taxpayer will be held responsible for the failures of the banks and speculators. Our government is making us liable to the tune of $50 billion dollars. That's about $25,000 for every taxpayer in the country. Read Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson's full statement here. And an analysis in the Financial Times here.Uh huh. Give us a few hundred bucks at tax time, then undertake the most massive redistribution of wealth in recent memory. That's what it is folks, a redistribution of wealth from those who earned and deserve it to banks and financial speculators. I know I'm overjoyed to just sign over my retirement, my savings and a big hunk of future earnings to these guys. Right? They *so* deserve it. Read why (not) here. Read about how the banks have undermined our schools, here.
In case you haven't noticed, capitalism has finally run amok. Investors and speculators have "securitized" everything and are trading away our birthright. To review, speculation is blamed in part for the increasing price of food, fuel, and energy in general. It was the source of the sub-prime mortgage crisis that has cost countless millions of working Americans their homes and threatens our cities.
George Bush and his cronies couldn't have done a better job of bankrupting the country if they had tried to. The ruinous reign of the nasty shrub has thrust us into two, costly and apparently unwinable wars. On Bush's watch our economy tanked; the housing market evaporated; and the incomes, health and general welfare of citizens has declined. And John McCain thinks we want four, or even eight more years of this? Please. Even the Financial Times says things are going to get worse before they get better. Spare us all. It's time for a change we can believe in.
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2 comments:
Why is this not the lead and in-depth story in every newspaper, TV network, cable news show and blog?
I guess because it's summer and people don't want to be bothered by serious news. America continues to be on permanent vacation!
And speaking of per taxpayer burden, there is this fairly recent bad economic news item:
Some Progress on U.S. Government's Financial Statements But Significant Problems Remain
The federal government's fiscal exposures totaled approximately $53 trillion as of September 30, 2007, up more than $2 trillion from September 30, 2006, and an increase of more than $32 trillion from about $20 trillion as of September 30, 2000," Walker said. "This translates into a current burden of about $175,000 per American or approximately $455,000 per American household.
This post seems quaint now that the taxpayers are on track to be on the hook for upwards of 8 trillion for just the recent bailouts and loans.
Freemarket capitalism has turned into a black hole and we are on the event horizon.
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