October 4, 2009 at 10:23:33

The Paulson Plan: Another Raid of the Taxpayers by the Corporatocracy

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By Timothy Cavanaugh (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Timothy Cavanaugh - Writer

I do not want to hear another word about this nation's tight budget! Not another word about America not being able to afford a policy, a program or a one time expenditure that would benefit the common man (or children, seniors, minorities, the poor, the working class or any other group that finds itself regularly under attack from our corporatocracy) when are legislators are seriously considering spending an unprecedented amount – to the tune of three-quarters of a trillion dollars – to bail out Wall Street.

This is the same Wall Street that consistently rapes American investors for every cent it can by way of frivolous fees, excessive commissions, astronomical executive compensation and various other digs to our pocketbook, and then offers virtually no assurances on the service they provide.

This bailout, by the way comes after we've already spent unprecedented dollars – in excess of three trillion once all the debt servicing is factored in – financing two separate wars and an overblown security and defense posture that many of these same Wall Street firms have benefited immensely from.

And to add insult to injury, the crisis that precipitated and made necessary this bailout was not the result of some unforeseen natural disaster or unavoidable world event, it was all the making of these same firms in cooperation with their puppets in our government via flawed policy, zero transparency and poor risk management.

Two of the leading figures in the effort to correct this finance sector debacle are Henry Paulson, the current U.S. Treasury Secretary, and Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In addition to being part and parcel to the policies that brought this fiasco upon us Henry Paulson is also the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the bigger firms caught up in this mess and that stands to reap substantial benefit from whatever bailout plan is finally settled on. Ben Bernanke was the protégé of Allen Greenspan – who just so happened to be at the helm of the Federal Reserve when most of the shenanigans that got us into this mess were passed. In reading the Paulson Plan – as it's been come to be called – it suggests that the American taxpayers are investing in troubled financial services companies through a bailout package.

If we are taking the risk that comes along with that kind of investment then we shouldn't we have an equity share equal to the percentage our investment represents in every company we bailout. To do otherwise is not only unfair but is also a complete violation of the principles these companies and the system they represent – capitalism – claims to stand for.

It remains to be seen if this most logical conclusion is the one that the “bailout” purveyors come to but considering who is driving this effort I won't be holding breath. Regardless of what happens the fact is that this will be the largest legislative expenditure – adjusted for true dollars – in the history of this nation. And for what? To correct the catastrophic mistakes of the very class of Americans that passionately complain – usually on budgetary grounds but almost as common they invoke the ideological threat of Socialism – every time a program designed to help the poor and disadvantaged is proposed.

The “Corporate Elite” as they've been come to be called. Well to them I want to say: NOT ANOTHER WORD!!! But of course this is one of the peasants ranting to the King so who am I really kidding?

My name is Timothy Cavanaugh and I am an independent writer specializing in political, environmental and social justice issues. I regularly submit op-eds to various newspapers and blogs and I enjoy debating my positions with others when I get the (more...)

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