Red Herring

--fr. Mother Goose,
Christopher Rule, illus.

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give the poor doggie a bone:
But when she got there,
The cupboard was bare,

And so the poor doggie had none
--Old Mother Hubbard

The pound of flesh which I demand of him
Is dearly bought, 'tis mine, and I will have it
--Merchant of Venice, Act IV, sc. i

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The A.I.G. bonus issue is a red herring. The real question is: Why is so much of the bailout money going to foreign banks? This fact should outrage the U.S. taxpayers more than $165 million, which was contractually promised and is chump change in the whole scheme of things.

A.I.G. went under because one unit was corrupt, bringing down the entire structure. This calamity parallels that of America since 2000.

The entire country is being brought to its knees by a corrupt Executive branch that took the lead in starting two elective wars (without having a solid fiscal policy, a policy still lacking), deficit spending, and cutting taxes in the face of runaway government spending.

The actions of the Executive branch, with Congressional complicity, is worse than anything done at A.I.G. or any other corporation. The Executive has run the country into the posture of that ruined unit.

The A.I.G. bonuses are meaningless when looking at the big picture. The Executive branch is cutting off such big pieces of America and giving them away, that there will be nothing left to distribute.