There is only so much the American people will take when they see Washington spending their money like drunken sailors and using their tax dollars to bailout privately owned businesses.
The Tea Parties across the country have shown anger focused at the Obama administration over the last so-called "stimulus" bill, more on those over at Malkin's site, but a piece in The International Herald Tribune shows us that Washington is preparing for "bailout backlash."
As well they should.
The Obama administration is increasingly concerned about a populist backlash against banks and Wall Street, worried that anger at financial institutions could also end up being directed at Congress and the White House and could complicate President Barack Obama's agenda.
The administration's sharp rebuke of the American International Group on Sunday for handing out $165 million in executive bonuses — Lawrence H. Summers, director of the president's National Economic Council, described it as "outrageous" on "This Week" on ABC — marks the latest effort by the White House to distance itself from abuses that could feed potentially disruptive public anger.
As mentioned yesterday here, what is outrageous, isn't the bonuses themselves because they are part of contractual obligations, but the fact that without the "bailout" that the administration provided, using tax payers monies, AIG would have had to file for bankruptcy as any failing private business would and they would not have been able to pay out those bonuses.
So the administration and Washington politicians are worried about a backlash?
They damn well should be worried because they deserve it.
Let us take a look at the reason they are worried though... not because of the bad practice of bailing out failing private businesses but, and I quote :
Mr. Obama's aides said any surge of such a sentiment could complicate efforts to win congressional approval for the additional bailout packages that Mr. Obama has signaled will be necessary to stabilize the banking system.
They are worried about the backlash because it might hinder "additional bailouts"!
Capitalism is about risk. You start a business, it makes money or it loses money. If it makes money, you are successful, if it loses money, you are not..the government should not be bailing them out..period.
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