More "free" money for non-producers

Well, well, well. Looky here – the government is going to hand over even more money to AIG. This is from the AP:

WASHINGTON– The government on Monday unveiled a revamped rescue package to insurance giant American International Group and will provide the troubled company with another $30 billion in taxpayer money on an "as needed" basis.

Too bad the car companies – you know, the companies who directly employ millions and millions of Americans not to mention the millions of others who are employed as suppliers to the Big Three – weren’t extended this kind of help.

The money they’ve had to grovel for is a loan that must be repaid ASAP and the government certainly wasn’t revamping any kind of “rescue package” to keep the producers of our country producing.

Now for a bit of transparency: I am opposed to the government doling out any money to anyone, be it a person or a company. I believe the economy should be allowed to run without government interference. That is awfully naïve, however, because we all know the government interferes with commerce in a bazillion ways, from taxes to laws made to encourage or hinder trade. But in the perfect little world I live in when I close my eyes, the government acts like this:

The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.

Does that sound good to you? Maybe you’re a libertarian, too! You know, those crazy people who believe in freedom?

I digress: all this to say even though I disagree with the bailouts I wish our congressmen and women had shown they have an inkling of where wealth comes from. It comes from people making stuff. If there’s no stuff, there’s no need to insure anything and AIG won’t be needed, anyway.

Things really are bass ackwards these days.