One of the things that concerns me most about the pending $1
trillion bailout of the financial sector is that it reinforces the
idea of government as an all-powerful entity that can fix any
problem. Reporting on the campaign trail, going to these town hall
meetings, it has always amazed me how people assume that government
has infinite resources -- whether it's health, housing, bad
weather, or plain old bad luck -- Americans have come to assume
that government will be there to insulate them from the ups and
downs of everyday life. The pending action will only make things
much worse. Americans who purchased homes that they couldn't
afford, banks that made loans to those who they shouldn't have,
financial institutions that made risky bets on derivatives even
though they had no idea what they we betting on -- they're now all
off the hook. And the bill will be paid by responsible working
class Americans who either paid their mortgages or deferred
purchasing property because they were priced out of the market by
skyrocketing prices driven by irresponsible lenders and borrowers,
and those who invested reasonably. The fact that Hank Paulson can
snap his fingers and come up with $1 trillion to rescue financial
institutions means Americans will assume government can dip into a
bottomless well to cure any ill in society.
topics:
Hank Paulson
