Political Rant

Today I was determined to try to get to the bottom of this whole AIG bailout/bonus fiasco (or debacle as they like to call it). If one person can be singled out as responsible it would be Henry Paulson, former treasury secretary under George W. Bush. He was the one who was instrumental in the original $700 billion bailout of the banks in 2008 under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). I was always curious about that particular bailout (there's been so many now) as it seemed the president asked for it and the Congress just gave it up no questions asked. $700 billion. At least Obama proposes to have a plan. I'm somewhat dubious to tell you the truth. And I'm getting a little bit tired of him constantly taking the blame for things as he did today for the bonuses.

Getting back to Paulson, he was the one that pressured the Federal Reserve into lending (yes, it was a loan with interest) AIG its original $85 billion. That's another fishy institution, the Federal Reserve. I've never been able to really grasp how it works. Our economy is dependent on the Fed, which is not a government entity at all. Rather it's a number of large private banks in prominent cities. Alan Greenspan was head of the Fed for so many years. Now it's Bernanke. These guys yield so much power yet have no accountability.

Prior to his secretary position, Paulson headed up Goldman Sachs, a very large Wall Street investment company, and before taking government office he sold his holdings for an estimated $200 million, which was subsequently deemed tax-deferred. This led many to question his motives for joining the government. Look him up on Wikipedia. Next to Dick Cheney, this guy is a poster boy for crooked political business dealings.

There's all this public outrage about the 165 million that AIG is paying out in bonuses, but when you look at that amount compared to $170 billion they received, the bonuses only amount to 1/10 of 1%. It's like lending somebody $200 and then scolding them for buying a pack of gum. I know it's not the amount but the principle, but at some point you have to let go. Besides, it's contractual law. Bad contracts perhaps but contracts nevertheless.

I like to blast the Republicans, but the Democrats are no better. Today US Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, admitted that he allowed the loophole that allowed AIG to receive government money and still payout bonuses. Just yesterday he claimed he knew nothing about it. Current treasury secretary Timothy Geithner claims he used TurboTax to complete his income tax return while president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Come on now people. Don't BS us.

I don't know what I was thinking when Obama got elected. Actually, I figured he was going to solve our problems overnight, and now I'm getting antsy after he's been spending trillions of dollars and I don't see any upside. I guess you got to give it time. And I thought I was more for socialization of America -- I do believe in socialized medicine (check out Michael Moore's Sicko) -- but I want to make sure that people are taxed according to their ability. My role model government is that of the Netherlands. Classified as a Parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, they give up something like 50% of their income, but everyone lives a good life, and there are no poor people. But I'm trying to balance that against destroying the entrepreneurial spirit for which America is so famous. What does that make me? Roadblock, I guess...