RutlandHerald.com - We Are Vermont

Financial deceit eroding democracy



Toolbox

Published: November 11, 2008

Why should Americans bail out companies that deliberately chose to take high risks?

They call this risk-taking leveraging, I call it gambling. These institutions need a reality check, just like the rest of us. If we average Americans don't pay our credit debts, we are penalized, not rewarded with premium bonuses. Many of these financial institutions could sell now, but they are waiting for the best price. This means waiting for the taxpayer to cough up the dough.

The Pied Piper Paulson wants to rush the sheepish taxpayer to the abyss. The system is toxic, and hastily throwing more money into the system without long and hard examination is adding fuel to the flames.

This long overdue correction points out more clearly than ever that deceit and manipulation, along with outright lying, are eroding the very foundations of American democracy, and in the end we all lose.

BURMA CASSIDY

Rochester








READER COMMENTS


if you/ we want to have greater autonomy, as the canadian states.. the logical course is to create sustainability. One cannot have autonomy while being dependent on an external source of support. The canadian provinces each are self regulating, aren't they? Are the provinces as nationalized as the US? power, production, manufacturing etc.. could each province exist without the others? I don't know so I couldn't say, but it sounds like that is the case. Could vermont survive without the federal government? theoretically.. probably. in current practice.. not as likely.

why is communism perceived as the ultimate evolutionary destiny? I am not saying it is good or bad.. I just don't have the poly-sci background to see the mechanisms that play out for that..

and yes- the bailout is total crap! just like so many other things.. an less than ideally informed public.. and government ( I think we give too many of our political leaders credit for really grasping all of what goes on, the ramifications etc.. they aren't gods.. just people.. and not always the best and the brightest.. just the most charismatically electable.. and those people weren't interested in information back in school.. more about popularity and leadership-- not the same thing)..

my greatest worry is that there are some people behind the scenes.. with somewhat of a brain.. who have deliberately created or encouraged this buyout.. both for their own profit in the immediacy.. and for their longer plan of privitisation of essential government functions like social security and education and health care.. would never happen on an ordinary day.. but what if/ when the government bankrupts itself and sells off those things in the name of saving the fed..our gov.. whatever you want to term it.. a firesale/ bakesale..
-- Posted by Teri J. Dluznieski on Wed, Nov 12, 2008, 7:40 am EST

report this comment


I am not saying I am either for or against " socialism." But it strikes me as curious how people all use this defense as though socialism is a dirty evil paradigm.

Socialism is a necessary transition between Capitalism and Communism.
-- Posted by A paulled on Tue, Nov 11, 2008, 6:30 pm EST

report this comment


Has everyone missed the point here. This bailout no matter what they wish to label it is being done without any restrictions on how these companies are spending the money. AIG bigshots are still partying in Swiss. and now they're coming back with for another handout and the public has not been given any info on what kind of deals are being made to protect taxpayer dollars while people are losing their jobs at the rate of the 1929 market crash. has it occurred to anyone that AIG, et. al have just banked this money in Swiss accounts. Does it not seem strange that oil tankers where parked in NY harbor and refused to unload all during the latter months of a national presidential campaign. Who is the US would benefit most from a complete meltdown of the economy, even if it was given an extra push by a perhaps a consortium of wealthy nationalized American businessmen. Meanwhile GM and Ford are going out 100s of thousands of American jobs gone and the Dems and Reps aren't rushing to help them out, but a bunch of stock market con artists just throwing billions at them still without specifics on how Paulson is protecting us. This is just like Clinton, taking care of their buddies. Who the hell cares if stock brokers have a job, obviously they're not spending the money here or doing what there's suppose to do, lend money out to businesses, saving Michigan auto makers would directly stop the bleeding. This is con job by our elected politicians who are in the pockets of AIG for there oh so generous contributions, and in the case of Dodd and Franks, nice below market mortgage setups. Meanwhile the american people can just live out on the streets. We are a federation of states, somewhat akin to the Provinces of Canada, but the Canadian Provinces have a stronger federation with powers beyond our united stateshoods. The Provinces of Quebec and British Columbia, literally control their own destinies because of their inate wealth in mining and power generation, that they control not Ottawa, somewhat like th city states of Greece in ancient times and the loose federation of the Iroquois Nation.
-- Posted by Justn Thyme on Tue, Nov 11, 2008, 5:31 pm EST

report this comment


None None.
You are an idiot.
We are not "A Federation".
We are a Constitutional Republic.
Federation ? Turn off the Star Trek re-runs.
-- Posted by Christian Essene on Tue, Nov 11, 2008, 11:15 am EST

report this comment


I am not saying I am either for or against " socialism." But it strikes me as curious how people all use this defense as though socialism is a dirty evil paradigm. France is socialist; and if I recall correctly the political definition that France uses/ used (?) to define socialism was: a country should not be wealthy that does not spend it for the benefit of its' people ( roughly, I believe). Sweden is also, essentially socialist, I believe. Socialism, like all forms of government has many forms and a wide range of applications. So why is it people react so vehemently to the word, without even examining its full potential definition?
-- Posted by Teri J. Dluznieski on Tue, Nov 11, 2008, 8:48 am EST

report this comment


Your correct, except we don't live in a democracy, we are a federation and the new CHANGE will transform us into socialism...
-- Posted by None None on Tue, Nov 11, 2008, 8:08 am EST

report this comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Register | Log In

Logout