Fair Point

Paraphrase: Easy money got us into this mess, will easier money get us out of it?

I somehow doubt it.

I understand the idea behind pumping money into the economy to stimulate spending. But if people and companies are in a lot of debt - won't giving out money simply spur people into simply paying off their debt? Notice - this won't cause the economic "velocity" a stimulus is supposed to provide.

A couple things worry me. One, taxpayers end up bailing out people and companies who were spending irresponsibly. This is unfair in and of itself, but worse, it'll allow bad wood to fester and encourage future irresponsible spending and business practices. For instance, does anyone actually think giving money to the automakers will yield long term returns? And if so, let them put up their own cash - not mine. This money is just going to be poured into dumb deals and retirement packages made years ago. In ten more years, they'll be back with their hat in hand asking for more dough. It's not all that different from real estate speculators - folks buying property and homes they couldn't afford. Politicians call them homeowners, but putting zero down doesn't make you a homeowner. You were speculating that the property you were borrowing would go up in value. When it doesn't - and actually crashes - why should the taxpayer again bail this class of speculators out? And why should it bail out the banks who put up the money to bad borrowers? How do you prevent it from happening in the future? Regulation? Gimme a break. Idiots will figure out a new way to speculate and try to get rich quick.

Lastly, are major portions of our economy one big ponzi scheme? Is the financial system just a big hoax - everything leveraged against itself? Is a great part of consumer spending merely debt spending - encouraged by the govt to create economic growth? Are these flat screen tv's and Blue Ray players worth the cost of savings and economic security?

I don't know the answers to these questions.