John Zmirak

October 07, 2008

Courtesy of LRC, a painfully funny Web cartoon on the $700 billion heist perpetrated last week—which apparently had no effect whatsoever on the global crisis. Does that mean we can ask for the money back? Count on this collapse of credit—caused by a combination of mindless populism (‘Every American deserves a McMansion…”) and affirmative action (”…even unemployed illegal aliens!”) to be used as an excuse for making our economy more corporatist than ever. This is what happens when inconsistent/dishonest people claim the free market mantle, and shed regulation while trying to hold onto government guarantees. Privatize benefits and socialize costs for long enough, and soon the people will insist on socializing the benefits too. Which will then mysteriously trickle down Uncle Sam’s leg.