Not Working: The Bailouts & The Stimuli

In medicine, there is the occasional situation when a patient becomes addicted to the painkillers used to help him survive his illness. There comes the time when the patient must be weaned from the painkillers, and the pain he must endure feels worse than the disease ever did.

Now financial experts worry that the bailouts/rescues/stimuli (whatever the term of the day) may be so invasive that the patient, the American economy, will collapse back into a worse recession when the day arrives that no federal monies are being injected.

Heaven knows we aren't even close to that point yet. As today's stock market numbers aptly proved, we are still on the downside of the first wave of this economic downturn. The Dow closed under 6,800, a level it has not seen since 1997. Despite all the trillions that are being injected into the banks and markets to prop up the system, it is not working.

As heartless as it sounds, the better solution would be to let the chips fall where they may. Let failing companies fail, go through bankruptcy, and start all over again. Just like individuals must do. The weak are eliminated, the strong survive. The economy falters, then begins anew without the baggage of an oppressive government regulating every small decision.

We've already seen what happens when government gets involved in the ownership of private business. New regulations are issued. Certain behavior, even speech, is prohibited. Certain prosecutors begin wagging their fingers at cameras promising to put business executives behind prison bars for flying private jets or sponsoring golf tournaments to attract clients. Banks that take "rescue" funds are forbidden to advocate the defeat of legislation that would greatly empower labor unions.

And this is only the beginning.

All liberties are inextricably linked. You cannot curtail the ownership of private property without eventually being forced to curtail free speech and free association.

We are headed down just that path. It would require a great deal of political courage to reverse course, and it may not be possible. But it is possible to delay further encroachments into the private sector and liberty by the government, and it might buy the time needed to get us to the mid-terms of 2010 where we could "divide" government again.

If you see the wisdom in this, then it is your battle as well as mine. It means that we must hold our elected representatives feet to the fire, letting them know that we expect fiscal responsibility and political courage from them if they expect to see our money or our votes in the next campaign season.

And if they disappoint us, we must stay true to our word.