Smoke-Filled Back Rooms

I got one of those forwarded e-mail messages that suggested that I write my congressman saying that I am “fed up” with Washington putting my family deeper in debt. What I want to know is who do I write about being “fed up” with narrow-minded thinking and sensationalism?

The gist of the e-mail said, in reference to the bailout, that congress just increased the national debt from$10.6 trillion to $11.3 trillion with the rescue package. How dare they! That is over $37K for every man, woman and child in the country! (bold type for emphasis) That is over $220K for my family. I don’t have that kind of money. Are they going to send me a bill?

But wait a minute. To whom do “we the people” owe $11.3 trillion? Part of it is owed to me in the from of tax-free education bonds. They pay decent interest and they have the power to print money. I'm good; taxpayers don't need to pay me just yet.

And does the latest $700 billion do anything for me or was it a gnarly cash bonfire? I understand that the government plans to use some of those funds to “buy” bad loans. Actually, they are buying the houses that underlie the loans for pennies on the dollar. Maybe dimes on the dollar but still, the government could make a killing on this deal and actually lower the national debt besides adding needed liquidity to the credit markets.

Another thing, politicians could eliminate the national debt by raising taxes. Do you want that? In a way, my family’s share of the national debt can be seen as the amount of taxes that they have undercharged me. Gotta say I’m kinda happy about that.

I know, what about wasteful government spending and people abusing government assistance programs? Yeah, I’m against waste and dishonesty, but since the government is not getting rich, it boils down to is a redistribution of wealth. I don’t know if I have been a net payer or a net beneficiary, but I am generally opposed to the concept.

The e-mail says “The financial crisis is the result of power-hungry politicians telling banks to make loans to people who could not afford them. Those who lived inside their means and bought what they could afford are seeing their retirement funds going down the drain while the responsible parties pocket their millions.”

Who is pocketing millions? Who are the “responsible parties?” Kind of a bold assertion with no support. Millions? Who? How?

The e-mail continues:”We demand open congressional hearings to investigate this matter. If we don’t act now, the politicians will sweep this under the rug.” Yeah, right. Like a hearing will expose some crooked politician’s evil scheme to crater the US credit market. In a dramatic courtroom scene they tell him to empty his pockets and he reluctantly pulls two million dollars out. And a little broom.

Finally, there is a list of grievances including “We are fed up with you ‘taking care of your buddies in smoke-filled back rooms.”

Seriously? That is the best you could come up with? Look, I am anti-fraud, anti-corruption AND opposed to smoking, and I’m sure some of it exists but here again, a huge unsupported assertion to play on the public’s emotions. I’m surprised it said nothing about “Taking food out of your child’s mouth.”

I despise left-wing propaganda, but this right-wing stuff is grating too. Why can’t people just say what they know to be true and nothing more? I guess it would make for boring E-mail.