Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Give me a $1 and I will make it easy for you to borrow it back!


CNN has the full details but it hardly matters, I suppose. Nothing has mattered to this point... the 700 Billion Dollar bailout plan is now it's fourth incarnation. This time, Paulson has set his sites on consumer lending. The theory is real simple-- make it easier for Americans to borrow money on their cars, colleges, and credit cards. When it's easy to borrow, it's easier to spend. The hope is to jump start the GDP which just saw it's biggest quarterly decline in 27 years. Americans just don't have any more money to spend, disposable income is down, debt is up. So what do you do when disposable income is down? Make it easier to borrow. Funny how it never occurred to Paulson that maybe putting more money in the hands of consumers would be better than putting more debt in their laps. Nah, that's be too simplistic. The answer -- take money away from consumers with taxes. Then offer to give them more debt in exchange for it. That makes good sense, doesn't it. I mean if I offered to take $1 from you, then promised to make it very easy to borrow that dollar right back from me-- you'd go for it wouldn't you? Awww, come on. It's me!



Stupid is as stupid does, and Paulson must be jockeying for an award. Taking money from our children and our children's children to fund our drunk-lust spending spree as Americans is just plain stupid. Not only are we left with the taxation credit card bill (which we owe to China no less), we're also making sure that the plastic can keep flowing, both through the credit card machines and that the National Shopping Bag Workers Union stays in business.



So, buckle up folks. Just in time for the holidays, Secretary Paulson has unleashed a new plan to stimulate consumer borrowing. Get in line early, folks because your friendly neighborhood slavers have never offered prices this low!!!

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