Trust Congress at your own risk

December 21, 11:59 PMBusiness News ExaminerScott Gingold

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You elected us?

Read this AP report thoroughly. In fact once you finished it, re-read it.

Despite the fact that many beneficiaries of TARP monies received extensive, lavish and opulent bonuses and perks last year while their companies were turning in poor performances, Congress and the President still gave bank executives taxpayer money when they knocked on the door.

Congressman Bary Frank, Senator Christopher Dodd, President Bush, President-Elect Obama, Senator John McCain, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will feign surprise over this latest news, but please, don't be fooled.

The simple truth is that the aforementioned  parties, among others, rammed TARP down our throats with scare tactics and fear, We were sold a bill of goods on how if we did not do this, we would fall into the abyss. These characters did a great job in fooling us. So much for opening up credit markets and getting the economy flowing again.

I have written extensively about the state of the auto industry, so I will refrain from more comment on that for now, other than to say that I believe in the long-run, like the financial sector, bailing out the domestic auto industry will also prove to be a HUGE boondoggle!

President-Elect Obama is now calling for a stimulus plan that could cost US between $675-$775 billion dollars.

Here is my quandary with this.

1. As I have also written before, while we rush in to "rescue" the financial industry and domestic auto manufacturers, small businesses are dying and not one of the parties mentioned in this post seem to give a damn about this. Perhaps it is because they don't contribute enough to campaigns.
2. Our elected leaders have made it clear, at least to me, that the free-market system is not something that they support.
3. We have seen how easily they dole out our money with little to no oversight. What accountability will there be with Mr. Obama's new stimulus plan as the billions of dollars are being distributed?

This is not a Democrat or Republican partisan attack; both sides are equally inept. I never thought that late President Ronald Reagan's famous line of "trust, but verify" would apply to our very own elected officials.

After reading this Associated Press story, if like me you don't need something for nausea, then indeed you drank the Kool-Aid my friend, and I pity you.