A few thoughts about the supposed financial crisis:
Is the "global financial crisis" really a crisis, or is it the latest excuse to cover bigshot asses, both in Washington and in the downtrodden corporations? I'm reminded of the dimwit British political aide that wrote a memo saying, "It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury. Councillors expenses?" The date was September 11, 2001.
I keep hearing about how bad things are, yet the roads are full of cars, people continue to work, shoppers continue to shop. There's all kind of money floating around. That seems strange considering many industries say they need a bailout and beg for cash at the government trough. Just remember: it is not the government's money. The government has no money. The money is your money. You gave it to them to pay for roads, garbage disposal, an army, a police force, museums, parks, water, and electricity. Doubtful you thought big wads of your cash would be up for grabs at an insurance company or General Motors.
I know it makes sense for governments to use fear as a weapon to force people listen to them, but let's be real: the vast majority of Canadian and US citizens are doing very well. Tonight I dropped into a movie and saw the new Bond flick was sold out in all 3 theatres, for all 14 showings. This included the new VIP theatre, which costs an extra seven bucks for a seat.
The people in line weren't dressed like bums. The kids shooting pool looked well fed, and the families bowling (yes, movie theatres have bowling alleys now) were having a good time.
So where's all the misery that comes with the end of the world?
Our "leaders" are shamelessly using fear to ram their political agendas down our throats. If the economy does continue to slide, it will be in no small part because our "leaders" told us it would. People will hang onto their cash and worry about their jobs because not one of these boobs is saying, "Things are good. Not great in some sectors, but good for the majority. Relax."
Instead, it's this:
“We want to change the rules of the game in the financial world,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed before the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging economies began its two-day summit with dinner at the White House.
“There is a need for urgency,” added British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is calling for a “college of supervisors” to oversee the world's 30 largest banks.
Hundreds of years of proven free market success, and these clowns think a) it needs fixing, and b) they can fix it.
Fat chance.
As I wrote a couple of months ago (back when we were supposed to be really scared that the economy was about to go over a cliff, as opposed to now, when we should still be really scared because the economy is still about to go over a cliff) I didn't like the sounds of the first $700 billion bailout in the US. It set a dangerous precedent and was bound to invite other countries to try the same thing.
Now they're doing it with gusto. The "leaders" of the world's top economies met in Washington yesterday for yet another emergency meeting on how to toy with a system that doesn't need any fixing. They are determined to wrap bureaucratic tentacles around the financial system and destroy it completely.
But who's the bigger fool? Them, or us? Note that not one of these world "leaders" is a new guy. They're the same people that were governing when the economy took a dive. Gordon Brown's calling for supervision? Gimme a break, Gordie. He was supervising things when it all went to hell. Now we're supposed to believe that he can help fix it?
I said this before, and I still believe it: the system did not fail. The system worked perfectly. People tried to game it for political and financial reasons, and the system chopped their hands off. That's the way systems should work. When you cheat them, they make you pay. Today's crying about a failed system is a smoke screen. The only thing that failed were the cons and tricks that the players used to try and make a buck. They goofed.
Left to itself, there is no doubt that the market would rebound. Yes, some jobs would be lost, and some money would go up in smoke, but probably no more than the taxpayer money that is being poured into the stratosphere every day trying to stave off the inevitable.
Granted I am no economist, but even I understand what happens in a marketplace. Borrowed too much? Expanded too quickly? Built lousy cars? Let unions drive your payscale through the roof? Went billions into debt? Paid your CEO hundreds of millions? Guess what? The market is going to screw you.
My common sense economics degree also tells me this: when governments are constantly holding emergency meetings and playing a now-you-see-it-now-you-don't game with bailout money, the market will continue to slide. How could it not? For the past week, the US government has been swinging back and forth about whether or not to grant money to the auto makers. They still haven't decided and will meet again on Monday. Would you buy Ford stock in that environment, or would you only be able to withstand five days of hemming and hawing before dumping it? And just as a quick aside, I'm wondering when it became forbidden for companies that suck to go bankrupt?
The big bad government wolf is huffing and puffing. If they eventually blow the whole house down, it's only because we let them.
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