On the brink, but it's not what you think...

The political posturing of our public servants over recent days is despicable. Nobody can claim credit for anything right now. It's analogous to offering to give CPR to someone you just shot. The vast majority of us are not short sighted enough to lose the fact that it has been poor policy, over-legislation and under-management in our governments and big business over the last 20 years (at least) that has made making an honest living one of the most difficult things to achieve today. Nearly none of us would accept the excuses or self-centered behavior we've seen them demonstrate from our employees or children. Why do we accept it from our so-called leaders?

People with little or no credit should not get loans. If they do get credit and can't make their payments, they should lose their asset. Businesses that routinely extend credit to risky customers should go out of business. Our government should enforce legislation that protects us all from fraudulent and devious activities. Complexity in systems encourage manipulation and chaos. It's time to get back to some basics.

This said, now that we're on this slippery slope let's pray that our leaders put together an "investment" package that 1) clearly defines the rules for which businesses qualify for "investment" , 2) as with the airline packages in the recent past, loans, instead of investment, state a term for repayment at favorable but fair rates, 3) no special interest funding or earmarks and 4) investigation and accountability into the firms and the past legislation that allowed debt to accumulate and be traded at the magnitude we're seeing.

There are a lot of smart business people that can guide this wreck forward. Paulson isn't one of them. It would be interesting to know how much of Henry Paulson's estimated $700 million net worth is invested in interests that might be involved in this so-called bailout. For that matter, full disclosure would be more than interesting for those crafting these financial devices. After all the money is spent scooping up these assets, the bad debts will still exist, right? Do you really want the federal government deciding to foreclose on your house or reposess your car because they now own the loan you weren't qualified to get in the first place? Warrants, loans, or just gifts of money do not erase bad debt. Nobody in this equation is going to forgive missed payments.

It should make all of us sick that the executives of these "failed" companies have fleeced the system for billions of dollars while they ran their firms into the ground. These are the same companies that, through their financial might, have influenced our public servants and shaped favorable legislation that has built the culture of industrial irresponsibility that has created infamous names as Enron, Ty, MCI, and I predict Fannie Mae, Lehman, and Goldman Sachs will join them before this is over.