Corporate Pigs Lining Up At The Trough
- Date: 2008-11-21 - Word Count: 297
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The pigs are lining up at the trough! CEO of JC Penny is now lobbying for a federal bailout plan to boost consumer spending and come to the rescue of an ailing retail industry. This is the slippery slope of corporate welfare. You bail out one industry because some lobbyists paint it as "essential" for the survival of America, and then you have every industry lining up for similar handouts. When it comes down to it they can all paint a pretty picture of necessity, referring to employment, revenue, and other stats, but does lipstick on a pig make it anything but a pig?
Americans are facing some big problems caused from decades of living large. Specifically, America has long suffered from a disease called "borrow and spend." The world has been subsidizing our unrealistic living standards for far too long. This present market disaster is reality's way of catching up, of saying that we must stop borrowing, pay down some debt, and ultimately live within our means. Bottom line: The party is over!
With 70% of our Gross Domestic Product consisting of "consumer spending," it's clear that America's sense of prosperity has been in the form of consumption. As a country we have a pitiful savings rate, often slipping into negative real territory, and a sustained current account deficit. This means that our lavish living standards have been partially paid for by foreigners with excess savings.
Retailers want nothing more than for the American fantasy to continue, for customers to spend outside of their means indefinitely. Reality dictates that this condition cannot persist. Facing an increasingly difficult task of inducing customers to spend more, retailers have resorted to lobbying government to force them!
This is not Capitalism. This is not free enterprise. This is not the American way!
Americans are facing some big problems caused from decades of living large. Specifically, America has long suffered from a disease called "borrow and spend." The world has been subsidizing our unrealistic living standards for far too long. This present market disaster is reality's way of catching up, of saying that we must stop borrowing, pay down some debt, and ultimately live within our means. Bottom line: The party is over!
With 70% of our Gross Domestic Product consisting of "consumer spending," it's clear that America's sense of prosperity has been in the form of consumption. As a country we have a pitiful savings rate, often slipping into negative real territory, and a sustained current account deficit. This means that our lavish living standards have been partially paid for by foreigners with excess savings.
Retailers want nothing more than for the American fantasy to continue, for customers to spend outside of their means indefinitely. Reality dictates that this condition cannot persist. Facing an increasingly difficult task of inducing customers to spend more, retailers have resorted to lobbying government to force them!
This is not Capitalism. This is not free enterprise. This is not the American way!
Related Tags: government, politics, fiscal policy, economics, inflation, money supply, subsidies, bailout, corporate welfare, protectionism, jc penny, retail bailout, monetary policy
Rob Viglione is a writer, hedge fund manager, real property broker, and Humanist. He recently founded Viglione & Partners Assurance Group, L.P., SoCal real property Advisors, Inc., and founded The Freedom Factory. To read more of his work visit The Freedom Factory. Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
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