Who's Minding the Store?

I was reminded of the old saw my grandfather said in response to a statement I often made with knitted brows, "I'm Serious!"

"Well, I'm Roebuck, so who's minding the store?", my grandfather would say with a smile.

The American people are probably getting fatigued by all the drum banging over the bailouts to Wall Street firms and CEOs who now have clearly become anti-heroes. Just when the public has begun to absorb the latest blow, the CNNs and Foxes find one more piece of dry wood to add to the fire. Almost daily we hear what is another nuanced version of how much went to "bonuses" at AIG, how Merrill Lynch also paid bonuses as the ship was sinking, and on and on.

The President defends Treasury Secretary Geitner's behavior, feeling that his expertise is needed to save the country from collapse. And this may be true for all we know. The same argument was made by CEO Liddy of AIG who stated he needs those staffers (who are still there) who got bonuses to to stay on to close those toxic investment "books". That despite their ham-handed, if not immoral tactics, those same folks are now needed to right the ship.

But we heard conflicting stories from Larry Summers, from Senator Chris Dodd, and a lineup of others who seem not to have a view of the big picture. Someone needs to take a sober look at this financial mess in toto, and begin to put the pieces together. I'm serious.

Architect of the Bailout - Henry Paulson

I sometimes still think that cabinet secretary appointments are pure political patronage. The same with ambassadorships, I might add. However, watching Treasury Secretary Paulson this week made me think that at least he is willing to step up and do the job he is paid for. Who knows whether this incredible, monstrous, and unfathomable bailout will work? But I sure think something had to be done, and despite my previous post, will support what these experts propose.

Don't get me wrong, I am still considerably rankled by the thought that the problem that necessitated this bailout, which could cost every man, woman, and child in the U.S. about $2000 each, is not the fault of 99.9999% of every man, woman, and child in the U.S.

Secretary Paulson has been working hard, with all his advisors, to come up with the "last, best hope" for our economy to survive nearly sure devastation. He seems to be earning his dough and is clearly more than a figurehead patron. I agree with Thomas Friedman's column that notes if Senator Obama becomes President, he should consider keeping Paulson on as the financial captain at least until the storm subsides.

Gekko Was Wrong: Apparently Greed is NOT Good

It seems so long ago that Michael Douglas uttered the line in the 1987 movie Wall Street that "Greed is good". Maybe it had been in the past but it sure has come home to roost now. Playing fast and loose with the regulations and with other people's money became the norm since before Enron. I guess we learned nothing from Enron which now pales in comparison to the failed Lehman Brothers free fall.

What irks me most is that I believed in the free market, giving responsible investors their head to make the best deals and thus make those invested in the market a little more comfortable. But now it seems that we cannot allow these greedy b**tards free rein or they will lie, cheat, and steal to line their own pockets. How many CEOs are going to still get their multi-million dollar bonuses?

The government can share some of the blame as well for not monitoring all of this activity particularly in light of the Enron scandal or for sure the Bear Stearns bailout. Did this really have to become such a crisis where financial wizards (I pray) have to hunker down all weekend to get emergency legislation passed to avoid something even worse?

And finally, I have to ask - What did I do wrong to deserve to have to share the terrible tax burden all Americans will have to bear? I invested wisely, took mortgages that I could easily afford, and paid my bills on time to avoid outrageous interest. Why do I (and you and you and you) have to mop us this mess with our own money? In fact, I now have less money to help pay this $1 trillion dollar bailout for the same reason that it regretfully has to happen. My own IRAs have lost 15-20% in value lately leaving me with far less than I planned in retirement. So I guess it's a double whammy. I will have to pay more in taxes with less money on hand. Wot a country.