I guess I'm just in the minority here, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting exercised about $165 million (just to put that into perspective, the movie sequel The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian had a budget of $200 million) in bonuses to AIG employees.
Yeah, it's a shame that approximately one-tenth of one-percent of the $144 billion made available to the company by the federal government in bailout monies went to such bonuses, but where is all the furor from public officials, media outlets and bloggers -- from both Right and Left -- over the 12 billions of dollars (with a "b") sent over to Iraq as pallets of cash (literally, shrink-wrapped $100 bills), which then simply disappeared into that trillion (with a "t") dollar rat hole without accounting or explanation?
Where is the outrage and accountability there? Nowhere.
How about the $4 billion (with a "b") that went to the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 to purchase privately made electronic voting systems which don't work and don't meet the federal standards it was claimed that they did?
It's curious, but not particularly surprising by now, the stuff that folks in Congress get selectively pissed off about, the stuff that media (both mainstream and blogosphere) go selectively wall-to-wall over, versus the stuff they don't.
You'll pardon me if I'm not particularly moved much at all by the latest round of AIG sturm-und-drang, hand-wringing, navel-gazing, finger-pointing and speechifying. Oh, and about the still-free bin Laden, and the still-free anthrax killer...well, don't get me started. Guess those things don't much matter.
A robbery of $10,000 or a robbery of $1,000,000 ... they all must be dealt with.
If it is a crime but only a petty one it still must be dealt with.
Even speeding tickets matter.
The rage however should be directed at the big stuff ... "straining at a gnat but swallowing a camel" is one way of saying "majoring in the minors".
The media is spinning this out of control...for sure.
It's the "perfect storm" of greed.
It's not the middle class that wants class warfare.
And it certainly isn't the poverty class.
That leaves us a single option.
The bottom line is that the little guy is screwed. All we can hope for is that we can have a reasonably comfortable living standard and avoid the shelters. But, if we do hit the shelters and NBC nightly news does a feature and our plight is included... people with jobs and housing everywhere will think "I'm glad that's not me and my family" and go back to their routine.
Or they can do what I do and write worthless poetry and post meaningless articles to Facebook.
As a member of a CH47 unit we regularly delivered pallets of cash into the desert. CASH! I always wondered what that was all about, given that every hovel in the desert has a satellite dish and, therefore, everyone has access to electronic banking.
Oh, that's right: Sending over actual cash to get "lost" really helps avert accountability.
Iraq: The War that Isn't. The Scam that Is!