Ayn Rand Applies Only to the Little People

It's a corollary to the "only little people pay taxes" philosophy of the late unlamented Leona Helmsley and George Bush.

When the resetting of of subprime mortgages was going to affect only the homeowners involved, there were no shortage of people who espoused Rand who commented that helping the homeowners would "reward bad behavior." But now that the mess has spread, there seems to be no qualms about coming to the rescue of the big banks and financial institutions that profited hugely from the making, bundling, repackaging and the "securitization" of those mortgages. Or those that insured the value of those quote securities unquote.

Bet you won't hear a peep from the disciples of Rand about bailing out the big guys. After all, they have to protect the phony-baloney jobs of people who profited hugely from the packaging of those subprime mortgages. Those guys made salaries and bonuses of seven to nine figures a year; the government is tripping over its feet in a rush to help those guys out. But when it comes to those being foreclosed upon, not so much.

The "conservatives" are rushing to save the banks, but when it comes to putting a few bucks in the hands of poor people, you hear comments along the lines of "they're just going to buy cheap Chinese shit from Wal-Mart."

So it seems that "suck it up, that's capitalism" only applies to working stiffs. If you draw a paycheck, it sucks to be you. But if you have enough scratch and you are big enough so that your bad behavior will hurt others, the government will sprain its rhetorical muscles in its haste to save you.

Maybe we can borrow the Aurora from the Russians


And we can ask the French to send over Marianne to lead the charge

" A little revolution, now and then, is a healthy thing." - Thomas Jefferson