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PrintOctober 27, 2008
Bailout for the Needy?
It was the Federal Reserves' 1998 bailout of long-term capital investments that served to inflate the dot-com market. The 1998 bailout ultimately led to the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and to the following recession. Do you remember the insurance companies that lost huge investments in the bubble burst? I remember resenting health insurance premium increases that I felt were the result of the insurance industry's greed.
Well, now AP news reports that insurance companies are in line to get the 2008 bailout money from the Treasury Department's Secretary Paulson. According to a Sunday AP article, "Companies Start Competing for Bailout Money," "King" Paulson is considering the expansion of bailout funds to insurance companies, automotive companies, securities dealers, and U.S. subsidies of foreign companies.
What have these industries done to further any interests -- other than their own pocketbooks? Where is there any evidence of their work in improving the American economy, improving access and affordability to healthcare, or decreasing our dependence on foreign fuel? Who ultimately owns these foreign companies -- friends or terrorist nations?
There is nothing in this bailout for the small businesses owned by Americans; it seems to be designed to reinforce all of the worst aspects of capitalism.
