Wednesday, May 06, 2009

David Bernstein Doesn't Get It

And neither do I:
Apparently, many of the same folks who just months ago were telling us that "dissent is the highest form of patriotism" think just dandy for the president to brand bondholders as "speculators" who are "refusing to sacrifice like everyone else" when they refuse to go along with a corrupt giveaway to a core Democratic constituency, the UAW, at their expense.

UPDATE: Oh, but I forgot, criticism of Bush was justified because his administration was asserting unprecedented executive powers and trampling the rule of law because of a phony "emergency" that was really a cover for both ideology and political partisanship, while the Obama Administration is, um, well, ...
Bernstein points elsewhere for more thinking:
Business Insider reports that more than one Chrysler senior creditor has corroborated Thomas Lauria’s allegation that the Obama administration threatened them with public attacks if they didn’t surrender their contractual rights. One of their sources says that the Obama team comprises some of the worst “ends justify the means” people he’s ever encountered.


As I noted yesterday, the problem that we are facing with the current administration is not just their willingness to amass power without consideration of how to exercise that power, but rather it is the inability of this Administration to make any sort of prioritization.

This is not the first time that Chrysler has been in trouble and it is not the first time that the government has been there to assist Chrysler (Remember Lee Iacocca and the "comeback"). But in this case, the government is looking not to assist the company, but to alter the ownership structure and is treating those private individuals who have invested their own money (as opposed to taxpayer money) into the company as if they were lepers or raging swine flu suffers. When the government treats private investors in the way the Obama administration is treating Chrysler investors, there is no incentive for private investors to step up to the plate.

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