Spending Our Way Into Oblivion

Audit of $700B Financial Sector Bailout Fuels Criticisms of Paulson, Bernanke

Good morning! Yes, I'm posting this at night. But it is past time we woke up and took stock of our Nation and its Economic Health.

I took a few weeks off to get some personal business taken care of, it's too bad our Government didn't do the same.

Trillions of dollars now in guaranteed bad debt (read: hundreds dump trucks of money that are attempting to fill a hole the size of the Grand Canyon), hundreds of billions handed out to banks and other insolvent institutions with absolutely no stipulations attached. And where are we? Still screwed.

The States, the Auto Industry, voters, Unions - everyone is lining up for money. The problem is, we don't have money to give. Repeat after me - we DID NOT have any money to spare to start with. We were already spending more than we made in taxes BEFORE we starting playing "money machine" and throwing cash down the drain.

So, did our erudite Government look for ways to cut spending, to reduce tax burdens on our corporations that already rank amongst the highest in the world? Did they ease or reduce environmental regulations that are costing our industries and businesses money that they do not have to spend?

No, they turned around and further increased our debts to foreign nations. Debts that we (or rather our Grand Children and likely their Grand Children) must pay back. They dug us further into a hole that may very likely lead to a collapse of not just our economy, but the world economy.

As Karl Denninger has so aptly put it - pouring on more credit, bailing out insolvent and bankrupt industries, is like giving booze to an alcoholic. It may ease the pain now, but it only causes further damage, and an even harder recovery down the road (assuming that last drink isn't the one that destroys the liver and kills the drunk). Not to mention that it's expensive as hell for the one providing the booze (the taxpayers).

Until the market is able to force insolvent banks, homeowners, and businesses into bankruptcy where they belong, we will see continued crashes/softness, and further delay in our recovery.

Again, I call on the Ladies and Gentleman in our Government:
FREE THE MARKET NOW. No more bailouts. No more emergency loans. No more credit to people who can not repay it.

Stop the madness, before it's too late.