It should come as no surprise that all kinds of businesses and industries are trying to get a piece of the $3 trillion bailout mess. Why shouldn't they? The Treasury Department basically opened the checkbook and said, "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen." Too bad it was my checkbook, your checkbook, and the checkbooks of current and future taxpayers.
The idea of the U.S. government propping up certain industries is ridiculous. Subsidies, tax breaks, and handouts are not the way to develop a sustainable and vibrant economy. Those things only protect bad businesses. Let the market work. Let those companies that are competitive and innovative reap the benefits of doing the right things. Don't reward companies that have done all sorts of bad things (to the point that they aren't even close to being competitive), [by allowing them to] survive on the taxpayer's dime. Source ...
[Who's lining up? Solvent businesses, states and cities, you name it.]
"That's what happens when we start bailing out different businesses in the country,
they all start getting in line." Jim Demint (R) South Carolina Sentator
"The whole bailout process this past year was characterized by no oversight, no limits, no concerns, no understanding, and no common sense." - Ron Paul
See also: Financial Success - The American Dream
AP study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs
ReplyDelete[Who else was lining up? The Executives! They could hardly wait to get the money into their personal locked bank accounts.]
Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found.
The total amount given to nearly 600 executives would cover bailout costs for many of the 116 banks that have so far accepted tax dollars to boost their bottom lines.