John McCain's take on the mortgage crisis? "It's not the duty of government to bail out those who acted irresponsibly, whether it be big banks or small borrowers." Seconds later, he continued "In our effort to help deserving homeowners, no assistance should be given to speculators."
Umm...dude? Really?
McCain's comments have been (lauded/lambasted) as strongly in favor of Open Market over Government Regulation and therefore substantially to the proverbial Right. But what does this say McCain's belief in who benefits from an Open Market?
To the infinitesimally small percentage of truly investment-savvy Americans, there is as much risk in the Open Market as there is in a Poker game. Sure, there is always a chance something completely unlikely will happen, but for the most part, you know when your hand is going to win, and you know when you're bluffing and hoping to Phil Hellmuth nobody notices.
Of course, to the rest of us, otherwise known as "consumers" whom this supposedly Open Market Economy ought to benefit, any investment is just that: speculation. We speculate when we buy a house. We speculate when we buy a stock. We speculate when we open a checking account.
McCain says there is no room for speculation in investment. I guess he's telling everyone below the bright line of the American Dream that we're just never going to get there, and we would best put our money back in the mattress where it belongs. Or, better yet, put it into worthless unnecessary crap so that we can "stimulate" the wealthy back into some effective trading and borrowing so that, eventually, maybe we can have our jobs back. But screw you if you want a house. Houses are for the wealthy, you dribbling, working class idiot, you intellectual waste, you unpatriotic few who took a risk. HOW DARE YOU!
I don't think the government should bail everyone out. I also know the market isn't going to right itself without the government doing something to ensure that this doesn't happen. [Personal Opinion: Criminal Sanctions for Usurious Lending Practices could be enforced for a change...] Regulation keeps the Market from burying the people upon which it thrives. Deregulation means more people getting burned by companies who can effectively screw who they want, all in search of that greater buck or two. Of course, that backfires, and then the little man company gets eaten by the big man company for $2 or $10 a share, and hey, look, a lot of dead, homeless ants.
But a booming economy, right?
McCain's snippets of phenomenal feudal wisdom can be found here
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