What's A Few Billion Dollars, More Or Less?

As for bailouts, another $6 Billion for car companies thanks to Treasury, I guess. Is it even newsworthy at this point?

Arguably one of the worst, though subtle, impacts of today's bailout culture hit me on the head while listening to a non-bailout related news item on the car radio last night. The host was talking about the $275 million government spends on sex education for kids in America. His angle was saving the money and I actually had to process that.

Hmm that's an M as in million, not a B as in Billion, right? I thought. I felt a Matthew's-like tingle going the wrong way down my leg when I realized the amount didn't bother me as much as it would have not all that long ago.

Then I remembered a conference call with Senator Coburn when I had the feeling some of the items on his Worst Waste of the Year round-up would have a hard time resonating when government is now regularly talking about spending and borrowing Trillions for the first time.

Conservatives and Libertarians will likely remain interested due to their beliefs in limited government and fiscal responsibility. But it's going to be even more difficult to engage the general public in debates over government spending on a slew of programs with bottom lines in the hundreds of millions, or even low billions, perhaps.

In the grand scheme, I don't think that bodes well for responsible and small government types. I fear the challenges to making any piece meal progress just got significantly worse thanks to the massive DC bailout culture we're living in now.

Even worse, much of it will likely ultimately grow government more than it does our long-term private economy. Only the Private Sector and Free Markets tend to do that. And it mostly doesn't cost taxpayers a dime.

Comments

[seekeronos]

"----- The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. -----" (Proverbs 22:7, KJV)

Republicans and Democrats alike are lining up at the slop-trough of socialism and dependence upon a bankrupt government...

From whom do we borrow, and to whom shall we be forever enslaved, beyond all hope of regaining our financial independence?

Shall we indeed be trodden underfoot and reduced to a third-world nation?

[Andrew Garland]

When billions don't matter to government, they will be spent until they do matter. Eventually, millions will matter again.

Millions will matter again when we experience stagflation in about 18 months, and we will think back to the era of Jimmy Carter. The MSM will wonder again about the irony that a compassionate, giving government could produce such unemployment and misery. At least everyone will have a widescreen TV to watch the news reports, running on "green" electricity at $.20 / KWH.

[Joe]

How incredibly scary is this? We have a government that now talks about giving away billions of dollars as opposed to changing a regulation here and retracting a tax there so that the consumer environment is more friendly to capitalism.

People seem to forget what this country was founded on...