Who Bails Out the Bail-Outor?

In a great column in the Wall Street Journal, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford asked the question: "Who bails out the bail-outor?" The federal government is on a spending spree to "save" the economy - at the expense of the American taxpayer.

I think I've heard this story before. Every time this kind of attempt is made, it doesn't work. Sanford even points out the problems that we are simply delaying: "Washington is short on cash these days and will borrow every dime of the $150 billion to $300 billion for the "stimulus" bill now being worked on. Federal appetites may know no bounds. But the federal government's ability to borrow is not limitless. Already, our nation's unfunded liabilities total $52 trillion -- about $450,000 per household. There's something very strange about issuing debt to solve a problem caused by too much debt."

Then he asks, "Isn't government intervention supposed to be the last resort and come only when it can make a difference?"

"In 2008 bailouts became the first resort. Over the past year the federal government has committed itself to $2.3 trillion (including the tax rebate "stimulus" checks of last February) to "improve" the economy. I don't see how another $150 billion now will make a difference in a global slowdown. We've already unloaded truckloads of sugar in a vain attempt to sweeten a lake. Tossing in a Twinkie will not make the difference."

For the full column: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122670755063129989.html