Every now and then something of monstrous stupidity comes along: unfortunately it’s more and more frequent these days.    At times like these, I feel it’s incumbent upon us to STOP what we’re doing and pay attention to what just happened.  Or at least to point it out and ask (beg) others to look at what’s happening.

We, the citizens of the United States, just became co-owners of a formerly multi-billion dollar automaker, in the company of General Motors.

Now stop and think about the implications of this.

This country, a country famed for free enterprise, just bought a huge chunk of the national automaking infrastructure.

Our president, regardless of whether we voted for him or not, just gave tens of billions of dollars to private industry.

Are you getting the picture?

Let me put a finer point on it….  the president made tens of billions of dollars appear out of thin air, because you know we don’t have that kind of money sitting around, not to mention the multi-trillion dollar deficit. He gave this money to parts of an industry that mismanaged itself right down the toilet.

We as a country have rewarded the flushing of an industry caused by anything from financial stupidity to downright fiscal malfeasance.

America has finally succeeded in privatizing profits and nationalizing losses.

Those of us with short memories (most of us) need to think back to the bank handout, where billions of dollars was handed over to the financial sector and very little of it was ever accounted for.  It was shoehorned through the thoroughly impotent branch of stupidity known as Congress with the cry of EMERGENCY - WE HAVE TO DO THIS NOW!!!!! There is still very little in the way of accounting.  This is because the money was given away.  Our money was given away.  To the bankers.  We just wind up borrowing more from the Federal Reserve, which isn’t federal or a reserve.  It’s a private banking system.

Both industries allowed themselves to fail.  When they were allegedly circling the bowl, they cried poor and their buddy, the president, stepped right up to print up more money out of nowhere and rescue them - whether we like it or not.

When you (heaven forbid) go bankrupt, you and I cannot simply print money in a deficit.  We cannot cry to a president to bail us out - we’re what’s known in the business as `screwed’.  Why, then, is it perfectly ok to send ten or sixty billion to Corporate America?  If I were to open a restaurant and go out of business, I would get nothing but an eviction notice and bills.  Why should industry be different (beside being buddies with someone in government)?

Now do you see the unbelievable stupidity?

As if that weren’t enough, some congressional genius wants to pass legislation giving an owner of an old car thousands of dollars at the dealership when they buy a new car (to stimulate the industry).

HAVE WE ALL GONE INSANE?  AGAIN?

Where in the universe do you think that four thousand plus dollars is coming from?  Hint: not from Obama’s personal checking account.   It’s coming from YOU.  And your great great great grandchildren.  And their great great grandchildren.

Now let’s face it: the great majority of us can’t afford a new car, regardless of whether or not we get a `bonus’ from Congress.  I can barely afford to keep our two old cars running and filled with gas (another rant by itself).

You can’t simply print money, much in the same way you can’t keep writing checks if there’s no money in the account.  The president (and every president before him and their loyal lapdogs in Congress) sees a blank check and has no accountability.  We just say OOH and AHH when they speak.

STOP THE STUPIDITY.  Hold the president and Congress accountable for their decisions.

Drop them a little love note and tell them how you feel.  If enough people stop watching Americans Idle long enough to make a call, fax, or email, you will start to see real change soon.