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To Save Economy, Give Money to Morons

They're dumb, but they're 'our countrymen'

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 20, 2009 8:20 AM CST

(Newser) – Our economic system is supposed to be based on the principle that people must live with the consequences of their decisions, which tends to make them more careful deciders. “We’ve made a hash of all that,” writes David Brooks of the New York Times. We’ve had bailouts that reward foolish bankers, incompetent automakers, and now people who bought homes they couldn’t afford. And the worst part? It's the right thing to do.

An economic landscape is like a marriage. When it’s time to save it, sometimes you can’t focus on who did what. "We all know people who have been laid off through no fault of their own," he writes. "The responsible have been punished along with the profligate.” So if the government wants to stabilize the economy, it has to spend money on the sectors wobbling the worst. “It has to stabilize people who have been idiots.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

In this Nov. 18, 2008 file photo, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, from right, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, and Ford CEO Alan Mulally, testify at a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs hearing. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

From left, Bank of America Chairman and CEO Ken Lewis; State Street Corporation Chairman and CEO Ronald E. Logue; and Morgan Stanley Chairman and CEO John Mack, testify on Capitol Hill , Feb. 11,2009. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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The greedy idiots may be greedy idiots, but they are our countrymen. And at some level, we’re all in this together. - David Brooks

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 5 comments

bacimom

Feb 24, 2009 12:48 AM CST

I did, but apparently no good deed goes unpunished.

AClotfelter

Feb 20, 2009 1:06 AM CST

“It has to stabilize people who have been idiots.” No, it doesn't... as a condition of bailout dollars, all senior management should be fired. The government isn't overstepping its bounds in that situation, because nobody is forcing these companies to take bailout dollars. Why should we give more money to the greedy bastards that caused this situation in the first place? New blood!

wwwonderer

Feb 20, 2009 12:40 AM CST

Yeah and my thing about the whole our fellow countrymen is, how much were these fellow countrymen trying to help THEIR fellow countrymen when things were good? How many of them --and I'm not saying there weren't ANY-- had compassion in their heart for the homeless or less fortunate.

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To Save Economy, Give Money to Morons