One of the columnists I rely on is Robert Sammuelson, a right leaning economics writer for the “Washington Post.” Rep. Paul Ryan is always sharing links to his writing, and he always males a great deal of sense whether it be jobs, health care reform, stimulus, etc. Granted it’s usually positions I agree with in the first place. He just explains to me why.

So imagine my surprise when he came out in FAVOR of bailing out Europe…

America’s interest lies in preventing a repetition. We ought to support Europe’s rescue package. Europe’s problems aren’t its alone; markets are global. In 2009, U.S. bank lending to Europe was $1.5 trillion. This larger lesson seems lost on the U.S. Senate. Just the other day, it voted 94-0, in a largely symbolic gesture, to limit American participation, through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the European rescue. That may be good politics, pandering to populist hostility to “bailouts.” But the overt nationalism could shake confidence and backfire on everyone.

He then goes on to describe the three part “Europe Rescue Plan.” Give the whole article a read. It’s an interesting point, especially when most of our reactions to the word “bailout” involves us running around the table with our fingers in our ears saying, “I’m not listening.”

What I do understand is that, with the bailouts, eventually you have to say no more. The auto bailout was what first got be blogging. To me, it made no sense to bail out the auto companies when you knew three months later they were just going to be looking for more money. If we keep bailing everyone one, eventually we run out of money…which will kinda suck when it’s time for the United States to be bailed out.

So to give an idea as to why so many of us think the Greek bailout stinks on ice, I give you the Mighty George F. Will…

In the commercial, Whitacre says GM has “repaid our government loan in full.” Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) noted that GM used government funds to pay back the government: It “simply transferred $6.7 billion from one taxpayer-funded TARP account to another.” The government still owns 60.8 percent of GM’s common equity, and the Congressional Budget Office projects that the government will lose about $34 billion of the $82 billion of TARP funds disbursed to the automotive industry.

When Ryan and two colleagues asked the Treasury Department for clarification, they got this careful reply: “Treasury has never suggested that the loan repayment represented a full return of all government assistance.” A Treasury news release did say “GM Repays Treasury Loan in Full.” The loan is, however, a small part of taxpayer exposure. Under crony capitalism, when government and corporate America merge, both dissemble.

Now American taxpayers also own a little bit of a small nation. They provide the U.S. contribution of 17 percent of the assets of the International Monetary Fund, which is giving Greece $39 billion (the IMF also is contributing $321 billion to a “stabilization” fund for other eurozone nations with debt problems). So the U.S. government, which would borrow 42 cents of every dollar it spends under the president’s 2011 budget, is borrowing to rescue Greece and others from the consequences of their borrowing.

Give the whole column a read. George Will is one of the smarter people I rely on.

Pssst…I’m a blogger. I ain’t got no credibility.

However if there was one cat who did have the credibility, it was son of Detroit and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Romney penned an editorial calling for a structured bankruptcy, to the cries of…well, all the usual voices who cry whenever a Republican says something that defers from Dear Leader.

Turns out Mitt may have been right, but instead of listening to me (since as we’ve agreed, I ain’t got no credibility) take it from Bill Bennett…

This is part of the cost of a government bailout now, government dictates on personnel. That in and of itself may be a good message for companies wanting the United States, i.e., the taxpayer to bail them out for business decisions that simply have not worked. We have now given GM and Chrysler almost eighteen billion dollars and they are seeking another twenty two billion.

I understand the argument that we cannot allow these auto-makers to fail. What I understand less is why Mitt Romney wasn’t correct, why couldn’t these companies have gone through a managed bankruptcy? Writing this back in November, I think he’s been proven right: once these companies receive taxpayer money, there’s a reverse set of incentives to change radically enough to turn the companies around and they will ultimately come back for more and more money.

And is there any wonder Romney kicked everyone else’s ass in our straw poll?

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It wasn’t just the two of them, but since they were the ones who had the biggest stage at the time (you know, what with that whole election thing), I hold them mainly responsible for standing there while we rushed a or the bailout (honestly, I forget which one bailed out what) and handed AIG a check without conditions. We gave what many perceived to be an irresponsible financial institution and blank check, and are now outraged that they acted like an irresponsible financial institution we gave a blank check to.

And since Obama is the guy who won, I give you Politico.com…

Watching the coverage the past 24 hours, it would seem AIG just made public its plans to give top employees big bonuses. Wrong.

AIG disclosed its retention-bonus program more than a year ago, including bonuses directed to those handling the exotic derivatives that got the company and the country into this mess.

The bonuses were essentially a nonissue when AIG got its initial bailout money, almost $150 billion under President Bush in the two months surrounding the presidential election. Joe Biden, then the vice presidential nominee, came out strongly against the bailout. Obama did not.

Timothy Geithner, then at the New York branch of the Federal Reserve, was a huge proponent and architect of the AIG bailout. So if Obama had strong private opposition to the idea it did not affect his pick for the person who would oversee all bailouts.

The bonuses were again a nonissue when Obama himself increased the bailout to $173 billion last month.

Read the whole article for the Republican half of the faux outrage.

In closing, I just love me some Rick Santelli…

UPDATE: Niiiiice!

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So why exactly are the Republican governors encouraging the House and Senate to pass it?

Most Republican governors have broken with their GOP colleagues in Congress and are pushing for passage of President Barack Obama’s economic aid plan that would send billions to states for education, public works and health care. Their state treasuries drained by the financial crisis, governors would welcome the money from Capitol Hill, where GOP lawmakers are more skeptical of Obama’s spending priorities.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist worked the phones last week with members of his state’s congressional delegation, including House Republicans. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, the Republican vice chairman of the National Governors Association, planned to be in Washington on Monday to urge the Senate to approve the plan.

I suppose if the bill is going to be passed anyway, I can understand as a Governor wanting to make sure you got your share. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said that while he wouldn’t have voted for the bill as a congressman, he will accept the stimulus money for his state.

And if the government is going to pass the bill anyway, it would all depend on how the states used the money they got. Here’s what Gov. Palin had said to Alaska’s congressional delegation prior to the House vote:

Although it is beyond my purview as Governor, I also urge you to consider how the economic stimulus package will affect the national debt and the future economic health of the country. The need for economic stimulus should not become an excuse for the continuation of the unsound policies of the past.

I guess what really bothers me is the Republican governors trying to pressure the House and Senate GOP into voting for THIS bill, which looks to be more and more of a crap sandwich as the days go on. If they were speaking in favour of “a” stimulus bill, that would be one thing.

But to pressure people into voting for FAS09 – and the whopping twelve cents of actual stimulus for every dollar spent – are these really the “future leaders of the party” everyone keeps telling us aboot?

UPDATE: At least we have Mark Sanford!

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As you can imagine, the Democrat party is using this as a massive distraction from the falling public support over the crap sandwich we like to call the Fiscal Suicide Act of 2009 outraged…

Senator Claire McCaskill rolled out legislation to put a compensation cap of $400,000 on executives whose firms receive bailout money. She also proposes creating a court to restrain their “massive self-indulgences.” The Senator from Missouri then spoke of “a bunch of idiots on Wall Street.” Insofar as the Congress is blithely waving more than $800 billion of cats-and-dogs “stimulus” spending into the air, the American people can be forgiven for asking who are the greater fools.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has begun a formal investigation into the bonuses and the negotiating details of Bank of America’s takeover of Merrill Lynch. In short, Mr. Cuomo is putting BofA head Ken Lewis and Merrill’s John Thain in the legal crosshairs. Watching this spectacle, Mr. Obama should consider that there may be a price for letting the populist flames burn out of control during a deep recession.

The Wall Street Journal also provided some additional facts you won’t hear from the democrat activists at NBC News or the New York Times, so the article is worth the read. Here’s my thing. I don’t do class warfare and could care less how much money you make, even if it is more than I make. If you’re making it legally selling a product or providing a service, I say good on you for that. It’s not really any of my business.

That said, when I give you $700,000,000,000.00 of my tax money to bailout you out after you fucked things up to a fair thee well, what you do with your money is my business, so I understand the public outrage. But let’s direct some of the outrage towards Congress for pushing this crap sandwich down out throats in the first place.

People are outraged that irresponsible bankers proceeded to act irresponsibly even after Congress gave them a Mulligan. I’m outraged over why we didn’t think of this before we gave them the money.

The fact that we didn’t is only one of the seven hundred BILLION reasons I was against the bailout in the first place.

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At least, that’s what they thought in my world.

Either way, here are the top ten most read blog posts of 2008.

1. Small Town Sarah
2. I Blame McCain
3. Obama’s Other Woman
4. Arne Duncan Don’t Need No Education
5. UFC 92 Predictions: Too Close to Call
6. Mitt Romney Announces his Candidacy for President
7. Mika is Much Hotter than 10
8. Newt Gingrich and iTunes
9. Thoughts on Rick Warren
10. What’s Next for Sarah Palin?
]]> http://johnbrodigan.com/2008/12/29/the-best-of-the-best-of-2008/feed/ 0 John Brodigan http://johnbrodigan.com/2008/12/23/i-blame-mccain/ http://johnbrodigan.com/2008/12/23/i-blame-mccain/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:10:01 +0000 Brodigan http://johnbrodigan.com/?p=1517 Continue reading →]]> I get a lot of regurgitation from the nutroots thoughtful dissent questioning how I can be against the $17.4B auto bailout but not against the $700B bank bailout. Why do I hate the middle class? Why do I…place Michael Moore/MSNBC/HuffPo talking point here?

Settle down now, Beavis. Why I may not have been blogging two months ago, I was most definitely against that bailout as well. There were quite a few angry phone calls with my favourite lefty sparring partner, both of us wondering how exactly we’re giving $700B to the people who got us into this mess, trusting the people who ignored the fact we were getting into this mess with oversight and/or to make sure the money wasn’t being wasted, trusting Congress to have a clue when they constantly prove to us that they don’t, and wondering why we’re having a gun pointed to our head with the threat that if we don’t bailout the banks on Monday we’re going to be solely responsible for causing Great Depression v2.0 on Tuesday.

People also seem to forget that, way back in September, it was more R’s who voted against the first bailout than voted for it…and it turns out they were right to do so. The one’s who voted for it…if Senators can get away with admitting they were wrong fro voting for war, they can get away with apologizing for this. As for them voting for it in the first place, I blame John McCain.

When he suspended his campaign to work on the bailout…I got excited. This was going to be the McCain I knew and the McCain I was excited to vote for. He was going to meet with the House GOP, meet with the White House, and then have two words regarding the bailout: “Bite Me!” And while opposing the bailout may have upset the editorial boards and everyone on MSNBC except for “Morning Joe,” McCain opposing the bailout would have a) been true to who he was an who he claimed to be, b) given the ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY a chance to break with George Bush, and c) put the R’s on the side of the American people who opposed to bailout by aboot 4-1.

Instead, he goes to Washington to try and convince Republicans to vote for it. Some listened…most didn’t, and made him look like a punk when they voted it down. Then comes the senate vote…and the bill that, by the time it hit the senate floor, was all porked up. Remember the John McCain who was going to fight pork and name names? Not only did he not do that…he didn’t even give a floor speech. He showed up last, voted, and got out of dodge.

Mind you, while all this was going on, once the market dropped it became clear that he was going to lose to Obama. And when I say “clear” I don’t mean clear to the people reading this blog right now…I mean clear to his campaign manager. If there was ever a time to stand on principle, that was it.

Instead he waits until a month and a half after the election to speak out. Great timing there, Slappy.

UPDATE: Plus, there’s this…

UPDATE DEUX: This will be annoying a few people too…

UPDATE TRES: And now he wants our money…

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South Carolina Governor (and rumoured 2008 vice presidential candidate turned rumored 2012 presidential candidate) Mark Sanford was in the news yesterday speaking out. I’ll give you three guess aboot what.

Last night’s episode of “Big Bang Theory?” Nope.

Gamecock (huh huh) football? Close guess, but still wrong.

The bailout(s)? Now you’ve got it…

“I believe we are at a tipping point in moving from a market-based economy to a politically-based economy, wherein one’s success can be determined not by good decisions and good work, but by the size of one’s voice and connection to Washington. The real economic stimulus of this country lies in the daily work and effort of millions you have seen across this land. These bailouts not only represent an enormous cost they are left to carry, but a shattering of the rights and responsibilities that have historically been linked to achieving the American Dream.”

I think you’ll be seeing everyone with an R after there last name (that doesn’t live in Michigan) running against these unpopular bailouts for the next three years. Sanford at least has fiscally conservative street cred to back it up. He was part of the congressional class of 1994, and his record of standing up against the state’s out of control spending (and against his own party) was dramatically illustrated by showing up unannounced to a state senate session with two pigs – actual pigs – called “Pork” and “Barrel.” So not only does he think outside the box…he’s got a damn good sense of humour too.

I’m not sure where he stands as far as 2012 goes; he doesn’t have Mitt Romney’s economic background, Bobby Jindal’s pedigree, or Sarah Palin’s natural charisma. Still, he will be an interesting cat to watch over the next few years.

UPDATE: I’m warming up to the idea of President Sanford.

Your ignorance of the auto industry and its impact leads me to seriously question you ability to form realistic opinions on the other events that you comment on. It is becoming more and more clear that you are not nearly as astute as you present yourself. Your credibility is sinking quickly.

I’m a blogger.

I live in my mother’s basement.

I’m not wearing pants right now.

Credibility?

For more on my ignorance, click here.

UPDATE: Where can I get one of those “Countdown to Bush’s Last Day” clocks?

Craig Shirley had an interesting take:

Had McCain opposed the bailout, though he may still have lost, he not only would have made the campaign interesting by positioning himself as the principled, populist champion standing up to the corrupt, monied elites, he would have also left a legacy for the GOP, of once again being a Reaganesque party, believing in the many people rather than the few elites. McCain had a chance to save the Republican Party, but he blew it.

Setting aside that best any R could have done this year was lose the popular vote while winning 272 electoral votes, could McCain have won if he voted against the bailout? No.  Could someone like Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani have won?  Maybe.  McCain would have needed to vote against the bailout AND not let his feelings get hurt when the media attacked him for it.

-Romney would have opposed it and out debated Obama on the economy in all three debates.

-Rudy would have opposed it and corrected Chris Matthews and Wolf Blitzer that they were framing the argument the wrong way.

-NEITHER of them would have sent their running mate to do a network interview before they publicly made their position clear.

John McCain? He would nominate Andrew Cuomo to the SEC to show the media how bi-partisan he was.

Goldwater lost in 1964, but because of his principled campaign, conservatives knew they had something to build upon. Reagan lost in 1976 but again, because of his principled challenge of Ford, we felt as if we had something to build upon. McCain’s campaign will go down as Dole 2.0; ineffectual, meaningless.

UPDATE: A new “maverick” in town?

UPDATE DEUX: To quote Allahpundit quoting Adam Sandler, things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!!!

Obama: “This is not the David Axelrod I knew.” Okay, he never said that…but it’s coming.

Let’s not forget aboot Al Franken. He’s always good for a few yucks…just not intentionally.

These bailout numbers are simply nvts.

Neal Boortz has a better idea for the bailout.

P.E. BAM’s idea…not all that creative.

We’re not really going to replace bad auto industry leadership…with the US Government. Are we?

GM says it “disappointed” and “betrayed” consumers

Al Gore is meeting with BAM today. No word if he’ll be wearing his nobel prize.

Bob Gates is already looking to reform the Pentagon.

This is the best story you’ll read all day.

George Will kibitzes aboot politics as usual and the possible return of the “Fairness Doctrine.”

Bill Kristol hearts Big Government.

Larry Kudlow doesn’t heart bailouts.

The R’s didn’t lose because of abortion. There were any number of other ways we screwed things up.

And can we please knock off this jive aboot Obama’s birth certificate?  UPDATE: Nope.

However on all the roundtables, there was discussion of Obama’s new massive works program. You know, which is going to pay for jobs and roads and bridges and schools and broadband and electronic medical records and energy and free ponies and what not.

I’m sure if you’re like me, you’re wondering where all this money is coming from. Well, no one seems to know for sure, and is at least pretending to be okay with the fact that people don’t seem to care. Pundit after pundit had say something along the lines of “well, the deficit is already at $1Trillion, what’s the big deal aboot $1.5Trillion?”

Now, I’m no economist. I don’t even play one on the internet. I would just kinda prefer it if my government didn’t use the same rational I use to run up my American Express card.