A GOVERNMENT THAT CAN DO NO RIGHT

I have not changed my mind. I had second thoughts about supporting government involvement in financial programs designed to help the middle class and the poor, a nanny program to coax these people into home ownership by guaranteeing a safer loan program: not safer to the persons loaning the money but for the person lending it. I was disheartened after they take advantage of the desire of people to own a home thus fulfill a dream, which cause them to lower their guard against fraud. Because of the history of these programs, I am having second thoughts about government guaranteeing this or that.

We saw big business corrupt the mortgage market based on Federally Housing Administration insured loads.  Those supporting the idea had a high motive and it worked wonders for a while; at least it worked until certain business people learned how to shift the responsibility to the taxpayers while enjoying the profits. The same was true of the Federal Deposit Insurance Program. Even after the financial collapse, I hear Republican Fred Thomson, ex candidate for president, on TV peddling the idea that ‘reverse mortgages’ are government insured. I take this to mean it is only time before they too are corrupted.

In what at first seemed to be a reverse of the ‘do good’ government encouraging activity, we saw a government discouraging private activity. Currently, talking heads fill the TV news media with stories of New York Mayor Bloomberg’s, soft drink laws. The bumper stickers say it is “Bloomberg’s Nanny State”. He was trying to impose a healthier dietary program “designed to help the middle class and the poor”.  An entirely different segment of big business is screaming bloody murder, “Get the government out of our business”. They want to market their products by catering to the whims of people.  They want to take advantage of peoples’, especially children’s, desire for sweet drinks and greed, which causes them to lower their guard against over indulging.

In the case of home loans the government was the encouraging their action in contrast to the soft drink situation where the government was discouraging their action. However, the two situations have one thing in common, which was that the government was trying to help the people to both situations. Why then do people blame the government for what they are doing and not blame savory business people for what they are doing. Why can the government never do anything right? The answer is easy; conservatives have helped unscrupulous business types to trash democracy since the profit-drive Vanderbilt era. They and will continue to do so until they can destroy the conservative-altruistic balance on which we have based our democracy and have the plutocracy they desire. Make your choice; what do you want?