Who Will Pay the Bill?

Whoever is running the executive branch of the federal government—at this point, no one is quite sure, but it certainly isn't George W. Bush (he of the M.B.A. degree)—has decided to bail out the economy, at a cost equal to the Pentagon budget and quite possibly even more. (See The Washington Post story.)

This is the cost of the Bush doctrine, the notion that a hollowed out government, which serves as nothing more than a vehicle to transfer tax dollars to private speculators' hands, is the best of all possible governments.

Notice, you haven't heard much out of Tricky Dick Cheney during the economic crisis. The Veep has done quite well with his disaster businesses and can't imagine what all the fuss is about. He and his cronies have gone from being super rich to even more super rich.

In the meantime, after seven years of war in Afghanistan, the Taliban, the folks that helped make 9/11 possible, have grown far stronger and more sophisticated. (See The Washington Post story.)

George W. Bush illustrates the value of an M.B.A. from Yale University:

1. "The best way to relieve families from time is to let them keep some of their own money."
2. "A tax cut is really one of the anecdotes to coming out of an economic illness."
3. "I'm confident we can work with Congress to come up with an economic stimulus package that will send a clear signal to the risk takers and capital fromators of our country."
4. "I glance at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves."

Let's add one more: I will drive this square peg into that round hole even if it kills you.