Thursday, February 5, 2009

Missing The Point

From Raw Replay (Click for video):

Fox host Gretchen Carlson is concerned that President Obama’s plan to limit pay for executives whose companies take federal bailout money could lead to socialism.


Um, no, Gretchen, the companies taking the bailout money in the first place is what leads to socialism, but we're told we must give it to them or the economy will fail. Which is all a bunch of horsefeathers in my opinion.

10 comments:

Straight Guy said...

I thought that John Stewart's suggestion that the stimulus package be directed to citizen consumers who can pay down consumer debt and mortgages made the most sense. We get the benefit AND the banks get an influx of needed cash.

I'm no economist, but why wouldn't this work?

John in IL said...

I see nothing wrong with her "shades of socialism" comment. As Bill Kristol pointed out, companies
receiving corporate welfare directly (bailout money/tax preferences/farm subsidies) or indirectly (tariffs/import quotas) from the government is nothing new. This salary cap goes one step further.

John in IL said...

I'm no economist, but why wouldn't this work?

It would work, Straight Guy. It's called a tax cut.

Straight Guy said...

I get that. But could the tax cut be required to go toward debt reduction and mortgage payoffs? Otherwise, I'll just spend it on Playstation3 and poker tournaments.

Straight Guy said...

... That way the banks get their money, but citizens get a huge benefit if it flows that way. Not to mention freeing up even more disposable income to speed the recovery.

John in IL said...

With a tax cut, people could save the money, spend it or pay down debt. Any of those actions would help the economy without the need for more government intervention. Banks don't have a shortage of money, they have a shortage of confidence.

Kevin said...

Actually giving the citizens the money by either tax cut or rebate is done with the hope you will buy a playstation3 or some other consumer product with it. What generally happens though is people put it toward paying off bills or they hang on to it and it does nothing to stimulate the economy.

JohnAGJ said...

I think this whole bill stinks, but if companies are going to beg for handouts then they are stupid to whine about strings attached. Well duuuuh!

I'm with Kevin. If they send me money, I'm paying off a bill or sticking it in savings.

John in IL said...

people put it toward paying off bills or they hang on to it and it does nothing to stimulate the economy.

I'm surprised to see that you're against tax cuts.

I disagree that those things do nothing to stimulate the economy. If you pay off a bill this month, you'll have more money to spend next month. Even if you decide to save that extra money, banks will have more money to lend. That gets back to the confidence in the economy issue. Obama talking about catastrophe isn't helping.

QuakerJono said...

I'd comment, but I'm far too busy playing with my new Playstation 3 to care about any of this.