The Free Market Christmas Carol
Here is a great video from a group called Liberty on the Rocks, performing a version of Jingle Bells that I think every free market loving American can relate to.
Lyrics (to the tune of Jingle Bells)
Work day in day out, barely makin’ do.
Government asks for more, but the bailouts not for you
Worked real hard this year, but don’t expect to save
What Congress wants to take from you, why not just be their slave
Ohhh…
Government you steal our checks from cradle until grave
You’ll prop up failing industries, the streets you’ll never pave
Government, you make things worse, each time you try to help
The regulations, tax increases, stealing all our wealth
Need to see the doc? Government’s got your back
You’ll be seen in 9 months by a government sponsored quack!
Special interests are your voice, if you can pay to play
But if you can’t then you’re just f***ed cause ethics has no say!
Ohhh…
Government you steal our checks from cradle until grave
you’ll prop up failing industries, the streets you’ll never pave
Government, you make things worse, each time you try to help
The regulations, tax increases, stealing all our wealth
Why is nobody going after the governments long-lasting Ponzi scheme?
If you’re a news junkie, it’s more than likely you’ve seen at least a dozen stories regarding the $50 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by former NASDAQ chairman, Bernard Madoff.
Just to recap, a Ponzi scheme is an illegal investment practice that pays out an unusually high return to investors by simply redistributing money that comes in from new investors.
Often times these schemes come to a screeching halt when a few larger investors try to pull out their money at the same time, leaving the scheme operator in a position where there is a withdrawal request that simply cannot be accommodated because the money has already been redistributed elsewhere.
Obviously these schemes are dangerous, and it’s quite common for those who made investments to never see their money again.
After seeing a few stories on how Bernard Madoff built this scheme over the years, I couldn’t help but notice the many parallels to our current Social Security system.
I’m having a hard time seeing this broken system as anything but a giant Ponzi scheme that has the seal of approval from the federal government.
Every year Americans put billions of dollars into this system, only so their hard earned money can be redistributed to another person that they’ve never met. While Madoff’s $50 billion scheme is huge, why is nobody questioning the government’s annual Ponzi-like reallocation of over $500 billion of tax-payer dollars? Ah yes, because the government is untouchable.
Just like the situation that landed Madoff behind bars, the United States is soon going to find itself in a position where people will come looking for their money, and there simply wont be enough for them to get paid.
What did the government do when Madoff couldn’t pay up? They seized his assets, and are making him cough up every dime he has.
Of course when the federal government’s Ponzi scheme comes crashing down, they’ll demonstrate the opposite behavior and make new investors pay even more in other fees and taxes, while still spending more and acquiring new assets at the same time.
Double standard? Only in America.
Senate Republicans show America they still have a pair and kill auto bailout
Update (12/11/08 – 11:12pm): Senate fails to invoke cloture with a vote of 52 Yeas to 35 Nays, 8 short of the required 60 votes.
This means that both bodies will have to take this issue up again in January, as the rest of the Senate’s sessions will be pro forma, where nothing really happens.
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It looks like the efforts of Senator Bob Corker (TN) and the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have paid off and the Senate Republicans have grown a pair, standing up to the Democrats and the White House.
It appears that the Senate wont have the 60 votes needed for cloture, which means that the auto bailout is dead for now.
Some quick quotes from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:
“I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow, it’s going to be a terrible sight”
“It’s going to be a very bad Christmas for a lot of people”
The vote on cloture is expected to happen in the next few minutes; I’ll have details upon it’s conclution.
House of Representatives Passes Auto Bailout
This seems to be the thought process of many of the elected officials in DC today…
Step 1: Pass Auto Bailout in the House. Check.
The United States House of Representatives just passed the latest round of government handouts (237-170), this time with the taxpayers money directed towards the troubled automakers.
Step 2: Pass Auto Bailout in the Senate. coming soon.
Step 3: Adjourn Congress, go back to districts and receive praise. Then come back to Washington to find out this “bridge loan” didn’t do as much as they had hoped and start this whole process again.
Step 4: Write a book.
While today’s proceedings were fairly dry, I’m convinced that things in the Senate will definitely be more colorful tomorrow (Thursday). This is probably the last time the GOP will be able to flex some muscle on the Senate floor for awhile, so it could definitely be a good show.