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bailouts Archive

Friday

11

May 2012

0

COMMENTS

Democrat Brad Miller Cheers JP Morgan Loses

Written by , Posted in Big Government, Liberty & Limited Government

JP Morgan Chase lost a lot of money – $2 billion, in fact. This is big news to financial markets, and JP Morgan’s customers, but in a free society you wouldn’t expect the political class to care too much about the individual ups and downs of private companies. Yet Democrats are already pouncing on the episode to push bigger government, and Representative Brad Miller was particularly blunt in his expressing his glee, posting the following to his Facebook page:

In the article he links he is quoted as saying:

“The gigantic size of megabanks, and the perception in the marketplace that they are too big for the government ever to permit to fail, gives them an unfair competitive advantage over smaller financial institutions that distorts the market and discourages competition.” said Miller. “The lack of competition in the banking industry, in turn, leads to ever-higher levels of risk in the system.”

Here’s a thought. If the problem is the perception that banks will be bailed out, then stop bailing them out. But Brad Miller and the big government interventionists can’t say no. That’s a government problem, not a banking problem.

The article also says his legislation would “set a series of caps on the size and reach of the nation’s ‘megabanks.'” Given the glee with which politicians seek to kneecap any business that stands too tall, how about “a series of caps on the size and reach of the nation’s” federal government, instead?

Wednesday

25

January 2012

0

COMMENTS

Obama: No More Bailouts (Except to My Union Buddies)

Written by , Posted in Big Government, Economics & the Economy, Government Meddling

In his antagonistic, petulant, and stale campaign speech State of the Union address, President Obama said, “It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts.”

Oh, what fine rhetoric, Mr. President! Yet earlier in the very same speech, he said this: “On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen.” Just to be clear, he’s talking about his auto-industry bailout.

Beyond the fact that his premise is entirely wrong (the US auto industry as a whole was not on the verge of collapse, but a select few companies were and are still in bad shape despite what he says), it is telling that he deliberately avoided mentioning just what he did with the auto-industry: he bailed it out. More specifically, he bailed out his union buddies who were largely responsible for crippling those companies in the first place. And as for applying the same rules top to bottom, there is an exception again for his unions pals, who have been granted a majority of the waivers shielding them from the destructive impact of the government takeover of the health sector which those same unions supported.

The reason he was not open about his auto-industry bailout was because his intention was to be dishonest and give lip service to opposing bailouts. Like so much of this President’s rhetoric, you have to set aside the lies, and look at his record. Barack Obama is a statist and economic interventionist, and bailouts are an interventionists best friend.

Monday

9

August 2010

0

COMMENTS

The Circle Of Political Life

Written by , Posted in Waste & Government Reform

Consider this a perverse form of the circle of life.  It goes like this: politicians tax citizens – > politicians use taxes to bailout businesses -> businesses donate money to politicians.

Several companies that escaped financial failure two years ago through massive taxpayer-funded bailouts are spending millions of dollars to make donations to political causes and even some candidates’ campaigns.

General Motors, Chrysler and Citigroup are just three of the biggest bailout recipients who have continued to remain politically active, through their political action committees, federal lobbying or direct donations to the pet projects of lawmakers.

The potential public relations disaster for firms spending big dollars on political causes and federal lobbying after being extended a taxpayer lifeline has led some, such as AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to suspend their political activities until they pay the government back in full.

Wednesday

8

July 2009

0

COMMENTS

Why Did We Need To Prop Up 'American' Automakers, Again?

Written by , Posted in Economics & the Economy

A plant for Korean automaker Kia is revitalizing a once dying town in Georgia.

A town that seemed on the road to becoming a ghost town has taken a turn toward prosperity despite the recession, thanks to an automaker.

Korean car manufacturer Kia plans to open a sprawling automobile factory in tiny West Point, Georgia, by the end of the year. The boon has already spurred economic growth — and just plain excitement — among residents, said Mayor Drew Ferguson.

“We jokingly call it Kia-ville,” said Ferguson, a 42-year-old dentist helping to oversee expansion of West Point, population 3,500. The announcement is drawing workers and businesses to the community about 80 miles south of Atlanta.

“The revitalization of the community is touching every aspect,” Ferguson said. “We have infrastructure projects, new subdivisions going up, hotel professional services that are all needed to support the massive manufacturing.”

Overall, West Point stands to gain 20,000 jobs as a result of the factory during the next five years, Ferguson said.

Somehow, this ‘foreign’ automaker managed to create all these American jobs, and they even did it without any bailouts from the federal government.  I have a question for all those who claimed that we couldn’t survive “the death of the American automotive industry.” For the Americans that either build or buy Kia cars, what difference does it make that the company is foreign owned?

Can we stop letting xenophobia drive economic policy now?

Wednesday

18

February 2009

0

COMMENTS

Tuesday

9

December 2008

0

COMMENTS

Bush: The Democrat's Useful Idiot

Written by , Posted in Free Markets, Labor Unions, Liberty & Limited Government

Having already decimated the free market ideology with his reckless acceptance of liberal economics, President Bush is set to deliver another blow to rational, limited government by preparing to compromise on a $15 billion bailout for the Big Three automakers.

Democrats have been frantic to get this passed while Bush is still in office. One has to wonder just why that is when Obama has already pledged support for a bailout. The democrats desperately want Bush involved because they need political cover for what is essentially a handout to the UAW. The public is against a bailout, so Democrats need a useful idiot to take the blame with them. Bush, it seems, is their man. Rather than force the democrats to wait only a month and a half until they control all branches of government, and thus would have take full political blame, Bush has once again muddied the political waters and stolen a winning issue from republicans.