AIG: An Unfortunate Scapegoat

From yaliberty.org

The media cycle these past few days has been a massive distraction from the much greater problem — the $11.6 trillion in bailouts the US government has committed in the past year.

When you do the math, $218 million is 1 / 53,000th of the total money committed in the bailouts. The bonuses are .000019% of the total cost. What about the other 99.99998%?!!

AIG could give out the same bonuses every day for the next 145 years and still not reach the total amount of money the US government has given away in one year.

....There were 138 million taxpayers in 2007. If these bailouts were distributed equally to every taxpayer in 2007, we would all receive a $84,000 check.

Obama - Economically Illiterate

Scrambledeggconomics explains with just a few sentences:

The President warned the nation this week to expect continued economic hard times and in the next sentence he asks people not to save. Yet earlier in the week, he advised that it was a good time to invest in the stock market, which first requires people to save in the first place.

The scary thing is that a good number of economists, journalists, and politicians think this all makes perfect sense.

And another thing!...

Not only is perpetuating this horrible illusion of a collective mandate false and dangerous, as it is the defining characteristic of all tyrants, there is another obvious flaw to expose during this "economic crisis".

There are those who like to say that "we must do something". These folks support this notion with a faulty and misleading rebuttal: "it would be disastrous to do nothing".

What?! Do nothing? I don't even think doing nothing is possible. But let's pretend...

Is opposing something doing nothing? No.
Is having another idea about how to proceed doing nothing? No.

This is obviously a false argument for those who choose to engage in it.
But hey, I didn't bring it up. Though I hear it time and time again.
Stop it!

At least ask some more fruitful, substantial, and sustaining questions:

What is the evidence to show that what I, or others, was doing is wrong?
Where is the guarantee that one way is better than another?
Why should I let anyone take what I earn?
Who is it that should be held responsible for the causes of the crisis?
When will the crisis be over?

The Continuity of Illusion

If people like Biden understand the Constitution and the founding ideas, I don't understand how they can, in good conscience, take an oath to uphold the Supreme Law of the Land whilst also being a New Democrat/International Socialist.

It's seems obvious to reason that he knows, as do so many of his colleagues, that the continuity of power "they" seek to maintain can only occur if it is masked by the projections of the populace. That is why Obama both claims to have a mandate from "the people" but is also perceived to be a blank slate. Many people feel empowered and represented while the politics of power is simultaneously engaged and revamped.

The difference between "change" and "continuity" is so vast it seems hard to understand how "the public" could be so duped. But the fact is that "the public" is not united, and it never will be. It is divided, and diverse. The unity that Obama seems to desire is not present, it is an illusion. And he uses that illusion effectively.