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Spinning the Bailout
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As of this writing, it looks as if the bailout for Wall Street billionaires is going to pass, and many people are not happy about it.
You could hear the disdain for "Wall Street" even at the Presidential debate last week, as both Obama and McCain pledged their love of "Main Street."
But over the next few weeks, you'll probably start to hear a different spin, about how this is really tough on those poor old bankers, and how the bailout is justified, and so on.
Check this out, from an AP story on the winners and losers in the bailout package:
There are other winners, too, if the bailout works as intended: anyone soon trying to borrow money — for cars, student loans, even to open new credit card accounts.
Top executives at troubled financial institutions, on the other hand, are in the losing column because the proposal would limit their compensation and rules out "golden parachutes."
You'll be hearing a lot more of sentiments like that. That's because billionaires are not stupid. (Well, sure, they did invest amazing amounts in what turned out to be the equivalent of beachfront property in the Ozarks. But aside from that, they're not stupid.) Those Wall Street fat cats are going to use their money to hire PR people, and you can be sure we'll hear someone say, "Haven't we had enough of this fat-cat bashing?"
Ah, but it's our job at the Examiner's Trends, Lifestyles and Yogurt Desk to be ahead of the curve. So, free of charge, here are some useful talking points to sell Mr. and Mrs. Main Street on the Wall Street lotto jackpot, or, as we're calling it now, the Economic Recovery Plan.
- Remember Enron? You can think of that as "the good old days."
- China has lots of money to lend us -- just look at those fancy Olympics.
- Come on, it's not even a trillion dollars. You guys used to be cool.
- We have to keep Wall Street salaries high, or we won't be able to attract really qualified candidates to tank the economy next time.
- Now there's no cash for another disastrous war in the Middle East. You're welcome.
- There's a very good chance, when one of these guys dies, he'll will his entire estate to his grandchildren, and one of them could be a hot chick who turns into the next Paris Hilton.
- You poor people would have just wasted that cash on luxuries like food and shelter.
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