I’m pretty certain that we’ve seen this movie before. You know, the one where the loveable scamp of a burglar arrives at the realization that the law is getting too close, the risks too great and it’s time to finally retire, but not before one last big score.

The current administration – with a tip of the hat to the Congress – has managed to create an economic environment so bereft of regulation and oversight that the looting of the “people’s money” became all but inevitable, from surplus to deficit. It took some time, but most of us are finally getting wise to the scam. The lobbyists, corporate managers and corrupted politicians recognize that the field is about to change and it’s time to pick up their winnings and leave the table, but not before one last big score – the bailout.

We’re told that this solution must be applied immediately; no time to consider the details – shades of the Patriot Act. Most “experts” and politicians seem to agree that our current situation is the result of too little regulation, but transparency and oversight seem to present stumbling blocks for success in this fix. Let’s simply give $700 billion (or one trillion plus?) to the administration to do with as they see fit. Haven’t they already earned our trust?

Oh, and that single mom waitress we’ve been hearing so much of as late? Won’t she be relieved that the system that took her house, denied her healthcare, forced her to give up her car, necessitated that she worked two jobs and kept her kids in failing schools was saved?

Michael Smith

Trescott