So .. this bailout thing we're now all on the hook for?
That is a lot of friggin' cheeseburgers.
But to put in perspective with inflation adjusted numbers . . .
The bailout costs more than all of those previous expenditures combined.
I don't know enough about economics - I suspect no one person does [1], that's how we got in this mess - to say if this is actually a bad deal.
But it feels like we've lugged bales of currency out into the backyard and set them on fire to warm ourselves up. Which is great for now - who has the marshmallows? - but I was going to use some of that money to buy groceries and the folks at Citi [2] will be expecting a check next month and - whoops - I just used that money to warm myself in the backyard instead of going inside like a sensible person.
[1] I dunno who said but I heard a wag on the radio say that people with degree and important jobs created this mess. And we're trusting more people with degrees and important jobs to fix it. Maybe we need to get some people who can balance a checkbook and give them the job.
[2] Who, ha-ha, is now the government. Which is me, according to my eighth grade civics class. Why am I sending myself a check next month?
If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars.
That is a lot of friggin' cheeseburgers.
But to put in perspective with inflation adjusted numbers . . .
• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billionTOTAL: $3.92 trillion
The bailout costs more than all of those previous expenditures combined.
I don't know enough about economics - I suspect no one person does [1], that's how we got in this mess - to say if this is actually a bad deal.
But it feels like we've lugged bales of currency out into the backyard and set them on fire to warm ourselves up. Which is great for now - who has the marshmallows? - but I was going to use some of that money to buy groceries and the folks at Citi [2] will be expecting a check next month and - whoops - I just used that money to warm myself in the backyard instead of going inside like a sensible person.
[1] I dunno who said but I heard a wag on the radio say that people with degree and important jobs created this mess. And we're trusting more people with degrees and important jobs to fix it. Maybe we need to get some people who can balance a checkbook and give them the job.
[2] Who, ha-ha, is now the government. Which is me, according to my eighth grade civics class. Why am I sending myself a check next month?
