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Wall Street bailout: Making the rich richer and the poor poorer

By Ari | Sep 28, 08 12:36 PM

Bad News For The Bailout (via Bob Torres):

In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

Here's how I feel about the bailout: The dudes who have been draining the American people's blood on Wall Street and in these so-called "Investment Banks" are rich. They do not need help. Their "financial instruments" which they sell to us are a big ol' rip-off. We pay twice as much for our houses when we get mortgages (did you know "mortgage" means "death-pledge"?), and we have to pay for insurance just in case we get sick because health care is completely unaffordable otherwise. You should not need to get a loan to provide for yourself. Things should not cost as much as they do. We should be able to support our families ourselves, without committing to giving half or more of our money to rich guys.

If I could work, unpaid, but be sure that my neighbors were there for me in turn, I would jump at that opportunity. The doctor gives health care, the builder makes houses, I make websites and do outreach, the farmer grows healthful food, the teacher teaches. We all enjoy each other's services and goods freely. Yes, I'm talking about anarchism, about socialism, about collectivism. These ideas are not scary, they're beautiful, they're freeing. You know why? The rich guy who's profiting off of other folks' work isn't part of the picture - or rather, he's down on the same level with all the rest of us. Exploitation is exploitation no matter how you try to hide it. This bailout business is a big scary joke. I don't buy it.

UPDATE: Click here to contact your elected officials about this issue.

UPDATE, 10.1.08: Straight from the House's mouth: Why the bailout bill failed. Also, note this figure, which an activist sent out to an Ithaca mailing list I'm on: "$700 billion divided by 301 million Americans equals, $2 million 325 thousand for every man woman and child." So, um, that would solve a lot of problems, wouldn't it? I'd like to be a millionaire. Then I wouldn't need a mortage to own my own home, and I could pay off my school loans. Hell, maybe I wouldn't even need health insurance anymore, either.

More: Economics | Human Rights | Oppression

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