Pondering the Bailout Bill

Why does this credit crunch and its bailout plan (which just passed the Senate) get so many mental red lights flashing - Red Alert?! Is it a legalized heist? Is it a cynical, political ploy?

Perhaps it's the irrationality of a panic over a bill which is hoped will stop the panic ... No guarantees either - this is all psychology - perception - emotion - subjectivity, get that? Sounds familiar? Any takers?



The Corner: "Standing Athwart History, Yelling ... Sure, Go Right Ahead"

For the life of me I cannot understand the Corner these days. I keep wondering where the call to “Stand up and Yell Stop” that Mr. Buckley spoke of has gone. I keep reading about the irresponsibility of House Republicans, but how is it irresponsible to stand up and say that you think a bill is bad for America? It is the height of irresponsibility for the Bush administration – and all those doing their bidding – to be screaming “crisis” and scaring the hell out of the American people, holding a shotgun to Congress’ head and then saying “there are NO other options.”

Here's another one for the ages:

WSJ: "Welcome to 'Moral Hazard'"

(...) "Moral hazard" is an odd phrase. Its meaning isn't obvious though it does sound like something one ought to avoid. "Moral hazard" dates back hundreds of years in obscurity, but its use eventually settled inside the insurance business in the 19th century. The French call it risque moral. (...) Back then, it really was taken to mean that reducing risk too much exposed people to the hazard of poor moral judgments. If an insurer charged too little for a policy to replace farms in the English countryside, Farmer Brown might be less careful about cows knocking over oil lamps in the barn. (...) Barack Obama's core proposals on health insurance, trade policy and tax credits all seek to reduce an array of economic risks. John McCain's ideas on health, education and the tax code tilt toward "choice," or letting individuals make judgments about economic risk-taking. Most of the time, moral hazard is simply academic. Not after this week. (...) >>>

Not many people realize that morality is all about choices ... how can one make a moral choice (for the good, or the bad), if one doesn't have a choice, for example * if one lives in a dictatorship * if man is taken to be a slave of his bodily functions * or if life is predetermined by God or fate * or ... if one lives in a risk-free environment (like in a nanny state, or a mixed economy) ...

Two more 'explaining the Bailout Bill' articles have surfaced:

- The Place to Stop for Liberty: "Bailout Explained"
- The Heritage Foundation: "Action on Financial Rescue Plan Urgently Needed"

- Will eventually be filed on Articles in "The Economic and Monetary Dossier" and/or "The Ethics of Capitalism" -