We all know that the moneyed interests in the financial sector have steadfastly fought against any type of oversight and regulation. They say they envision a world of limited government that basically stays out of their way. With few people looking over their shoulders, they can juke and jive their way to untold record profits and, for the top dogs, unprecedented payouts.
This has been their mantra for generations and, even after the current economic meltdown, they continue to sing the very same song. Buffeted by billions in taxpayer dollars, they continue to spend exorbitant amounts on lobbying.
Yes, they hold to these beliefs through thick and then, in hell or high water...until something goes wrong. When their irresponsible behavior lands them (and the country itself) in a heap of trouble, who is it they look to for a humongous helping hand?
The very government that they generally have little use for! All of a sudden, BIG government is their new best friend!
This point was driven home and underscored recently when the former head of Lehman Brothers blamed the US government for his firm's bankruptcy. It is because they were not granted a massive taxpayer-funded bailout that they failed!
Of all the galling aspects of the Lehman Brothers fiasco, here's the part that really got me.
Despite the fact Fuld said his firm made these gargantuan miscalculations, everything would have been fine and dandy if the government had only been nice and covered their staggering shortfall. Such brazen disregard for the lives and fortunes of the vast majority causes steam to boil out of my ears!
This testimony puts the lie in the limited government argument. Proponents genuinely don't favor limited government, they simply want it to be limited as far as what they are doing.
You see, if government truly was limited in its scope and function, then it wouldn't have the wherewithal to bail out the big dogs in the first place. A limited government doesn't need half as much money to operate. Since it offers far fewer programs and there are few agencies to offer oversight, taxes don't need to be as high as they are today.
If a limited federal government had been in place during the recent financial meltdown in the banking sector, almost all of them would have gone belly up because government wouldn't have had the life preservers to toss them. The ONLY thing that kept these corporations afloat is the kind of government they SAY they oppose.
Do you still believe them?
This has been their mantra for generations and, even after the current economic meltdown, they continue to sing the very same song. Buffeted by billions in taxpayer dollars, they continue to spend exorbitant amounts on lobbying.
Yes, they hold to these beliefs through thick and then, in hell or high water...until something goes wrong. When their irresponsible behavior lands them (and the country itself) in a heap of trouble, who is it they look to for a humongous helping hand?
The very government that they generally have little use for! All of a sudden, BIG government is their new best friend!
This point was driven home and underscored recently when the former head of Lehman Brothers blamed the US government for his firm's bankruptcy. It is because they were not granted a massive taxpayer-funded bailout that they failed!
Of all the galling aspects of the Lehman Brothers fiasco, here's the part that really got me.
Fuld accepted responsibility for mistakes made that saddled Lehman with some $60 billion in bad investments...We're not talking chump change here! We're not talking about a few bad decisions here and there! We're talking about $60,000,000,000!
Despite the fact Fuld said his firm made these gargantuan miscalculations, everything would have been fine and dandy if the government had only been nice and covered their staggering shortfall. Such brazen disregard for the lives and fortunes of the vast majority causes steam to boil out of my ears!
This testimony puts the lie in the limited government argument. Proponents genuinely don't favor limited government, they simply want it to be limited as far as what they are doing.
You see, if government truly was limited in its scope and function, then it wouldn't have the wherewithal to bail out the big dogs in the first place. A limited government doesn't need half as much money to operate. Since it offers far fewer programs and there are few agencies to offer oversight, taxes don't need to be as high as they are today.
If a limited federal government had been in place during the recent financial meltdown in the banking sector, almost all of them would have gone belly up because government wouldn't have had the life preservers to toss them. The ONLY thing that kept these corporations afloat is the kind of government they SAY they oppose.
Do you still believe them?
Wall St. and the Banksters are the government. They have been for decades.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the money from TARP went to over seas banks.
The [BIS] Bank of International Settlements nick named The Central bank of all Central Banks saw to this. We gave them money so we could borrow more.
Keep your eyes on the IMF and their SDR'S.