All of this Wall Street Bailout stuff is getting me down. I have many thoughts on the topic, but I suppose I’m not the most informed about the worthiness of arcane financial instruments. So I’ll confine my remarks to a relatively, but controversial, topic: restricting the pay packages of Wall Street CEOs whose companies participate in the proposed bailout.
As you might expect, I’m all for it. But not just because I think those CEO-types have been screwing the average American for years (though I do think that is the case). More importantly, I believe that capitalist democracy, properly constructed, is a good thing. And if the government cannot construct a bail out package that punishes the individuals responsible, the vast majority of Americans will view this as yet another nail in the coffin of participatory democracy.
And to be frank, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. That’s why the feds must- must- do this right. For me, the overall price tag is not the real issue. It is the ideal that is important. If the fat cats are allowed to walk away with their money, unscathed, it will further exacerbate the class divide. Maybe that is a good thing; I’m not entirely sure. Personally, I hope the Paulsons and Bernankes of the world will realize that their task does not consist solely of propping up a financial system, but keeping faith with the citizens who have placed a great deal of trust in their elected representatives.
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