HARM

Wall Street, 1792 - 2008?

User 270430 nailed it. There was no "we" in the so-called "prosperity" of the last 8 years, and frankly not much in the way of inflation-adjusted gains for the bottom 90% during the previous 20 either.

The only arguments the pro-bailout crowd has are the same tired lies and threats they've been using on the rest of us all along:

1. Financial blackmail: if you don't bail us out, we'll crash the whole economy

Reality: ha! Funny thing is, they've already been doing a good job of screwing the rest of us --even *without* the bailout. I think we can safely take our chances that the sun won't explode if we don't bail out rich a$$holes. If they're so damned sure they can *really* pull off a "Dr. Evil", I say let the f**kers SHOW us.

2. Bluff: if you don't bail us out, the system will grind to a halt. No one will be able to get a loan, access their bank accounts or use their ATM & credit cards.

Reality: Not bloody likely. Despite all the massive failures that have already taken place, I haven't heard of a single credible case of anyone *not* being able to access their FDIC or NCUA-insured money or use their ATM and credit cards. For that matter, plenty of people are still getting mortgages and loans --they're just requiring credit checks and reasonable down-payments now (*gasp* --the Horror!).

3. Conflating Wall Street with Main Street: We're all in this together ("Main Street may want to think twice. As Congress bickers, its country is burning")

Reality: Ummm... sorry pal, but the "country" isn't burning --YOUR hedge fund, IB and/or portfolio are what's "burning". The stock market is down and lots of underwater speculators are hurting, sure, but the rest of us worker-peon (who actually pay taxes) are hardly dying in the street. For that matter, I don't recall anyone ever asking ME if it was a good idea to start handing out NINJA loans to ever crook, liar and speculator on the planet.

There is no "WE" here --YOU gambled, and YOU lost. Tough shit --that's CAPITALISM (the system you *claim* to love so much)!

There is no "CRISIS" here -- reckless gamblers are losing money and want the rest of us to reimburse them. They made their bed, they should lie in it.

Senator Harry Reid: 'No One Knows What To Do'

"And there are plenty of libertarians calling for letting these companies fail. Try lewrockwell.com for starters and then add Ron Paul for good measure."

Amen to that --add me as well. The GSEs are a complete anathema to most Libertarians or objectivists. Perhaps Aalan is confusing "Libertarian" with "neo-con", or "big-government conservative" (aka, fascist).

That said, a number of libertarians and pro-free martketeers (myself included) do disagree with Libertarian "purists" who do not want *any* form of government regulation. I live in the real world and understand that some common-sense policing is necessary, given that men are not angels and that ideologically "pure" laissez-faire, anything-goes capitalism inevitably leads to the crap we're dealing with today.

Good regulation: anti-slavery, anti-child labor laws, anti-racketeering laws, trust-busting, patent law, FDIC insurance for retail depositors, unemployment insurance, anti-usury laws, anti-fraud laws.

Bad "regulation": socialism for the rich, too-big-to-fail bailouts, taxpayer backstops for quasi-private corporations (GSEs), lowering the FF rate to negative territory, tax subsidies for real estate speculators/flippers, price controls.