According to the media, Americans are trading in their gas guzzling SUVs, et al, for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Question: why isn’t government “restructuring” their car loans or otherwise bailing them out? Sound stupid? Why? Just change the word “SUV” to “house” and suddenly you have a lot of people who think it’s “reasonable” to subsidize greed, irresponsibility or stupidity.
As evidenced by our pandering politicians, market forces–the bedrock of our capitalist system–are to be suspended whenever they produce exactly what they were intended to produce: winners and losers. It doesn’t matter that people bought more house than they could afford, didn’t read the fine print of the documents they signed, and then had the unmitigated gall in some cases to take out home equity loans for more “goodies.” They should be bailed out–because anything less is “heartless.”
So why stop with housing? Those “poor” Hummer owners should get relief as well. They had no idea, anymore than home buyers did, their status-seeking lifestyle put them at risk. Isn’t life in modern-day America supposed to be risk-free? Haven’t millions of Americans been taught that no amount of irresponsible behavior is ever one’s “own fault?”
Virtually every economic predicament Americans find themselves in today can be traced back to one idea: a sense of entitlement. We’re all entitled to be rich, fat and happy, consequences be damned. We’re entitled to rack up trillions of dollars in unpaid debt, and screw anyone who tries to ruin the party!
The 2008 election will be a testament to Americans’ sense of entitlement. Both presidential candidates will promise us the moon, green cheese included–price tag unmentioned. So what if home owners, car owners and anyone else “despondent”" about their self-inflicted woes are bailed out. It’s all monopoly money. Let the next generation figure out how dig themselves out. They’re too young to vote. Screw them, too.
Republican versus Democrat? Not anymore. Socialist-lite versus socialist/communist is more like it. John Kennedy’s “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?”
What kind of “crazy talk” is that?
atahlert@comcast.net
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