Presumptions and Hope

This Associated Press article by Martin Crutsinger caught my attention: "The administration plans to spend $250 billion this year on the (bank) stock purchases and the president certified Tuesday that another $100 billion would be needed in connection with covering bad assets. That would leave $350 billion of the $700 billion program, presumably to be spent by the next president."

Does anyone really believe any of the $700 billion bailout will be left for the next president? With the auto industry lining up behind the banks, the mortgage mess, the bond markets, the credit card companies (soon to come) and slumping sales (growth), rising unemployment and inflation, the $700 billion will soon need to be recapitalized - which the TARP does allow for.

And throughout my readings I keep noticing another word: hope. The shysters always preface their remarks with, "we hope this will work," and "we hope to have a plan in place."

Us "common people" hope we'll have a job, hope our retirement accounts will recover, hope to keep our homes, hope "things will get better," and hope the next president will "do something" to fix this mess. The government hopes they'll find a magic potion in uncharted territory - at least until they leave office.

I hate to tell ya folks, but the government's "hope" and Regular Joe's "hope" are one and the same; a fantasy. Our world is built on illusion and credit; two powerful elixirs that have kept us insulated from reality. It's time to wake up and stop fantasizing.