Trouble ahead, bailout or not

My article "Fear peddling can't save Paulson plan" was published at OpEdNews yesterday.

Basically what we have is an administration resorting to fear mongering to force support for a massive bailout. As I write, the Congress and White House have agreed to some sort of deal, on the weekend like the Bear Stearns and Freddie Fannie.

Deception is the method by which the Bush administration does business. By hiding what should be the people's business, criticism can be avoided. Aristocratic, contempt for the little people is a trait of a government which serves the interests of the ruling class.

Whatever deal Paulson can spring will benefit the wealthy, just as taxes on higher income people--the investor class--have fallen under Bush. Why would the last days of the regime be any different? Since the 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court disallowed a Gore victory, we've seen the White House pursue an agenda of de-regulation and fiscal irresponsibility which are reaching their climax now.

I've been thinking of the bailout as a massive trap for the next President, like Afghanistan is becoming. (The public release of a National Intelligence Estimate on the situation there has been suspended.) The Bush legacy will be one that could doom his successor politically.

The doubling of the federal deficit we've seen under Bush will do tremendous damage to our ability to afford future government expenditures, part of a plan to "starve the beast" by burdening our government with too much debt.

Regardless of the passage of a bailout, we are seeing the red ink pile up just as fast as the blood of innocents in open-ended wars abroad. Last week, over $130 billion A DAY went to private companies in newly opened discount windows, through the Supplementary Financing Program, announced just two weeks ago by the Department of the Treasury.

The Republicans are playing a dangerous game by creating so much debt. While they might weaken the ability of the Democrats to fund their hated "social programs," they might create an economic crisis of such massive proportions that even their beloved defense programs and wars will go underfunded. (The Democrats support these too, giving creedence to the idea of an all-powerful military-industrial complex and War Party.)

I hope that reason can win in the argument that will come concerning fiscal accountability. If we are to preserve the American way of life, we must learn to borrow less. If we can live within our means, we can live a more sustainable lifestyle. Our government needs to help lead us towards a more fruitful life, or at least not create massive problems that sabotage our financial future.

Just how bad can it get? We can't say for sure, but there's no doubt the American standard of living will decline, which is perhaps a good thing as we spend too much, and suck in too many of the world's resources the way we live now.

I want to provide original content here, so I've been working on an essay to complement that article. I'll post it here.