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All of this business about the business of “high-finance” lately has turned my stomach. I mean REALLY turned my stomach. Lets review the VERY short version of the events that have led to the current “credit crisis” and the ensuing pain felt by America’s financial institutions.

1. The American population develops a serious spending problem but no one seems to notice
2. “Bankers” and America’s “financial experts” develop sophisticated financial instruments to make traditional more liquid
3. America, ignorantly, buys into the “financial experts” sales pitch and begins holding securitized loans in our financial portfolios
4. Bankers begin making more and more loans to less and less qualified people
5. “Everyday Americans” begin taking on more and more ridiculous loans because the bankers and “financial experts” told them they could afford it.
6. America realizes they couldn’t afford it, no matter what the banker/expert had said.
7. America begins defaulting on the loans.
8. Bankers begin suffering because all of their loans are defaulting.
9. Banks begin going out of business (e.g. Bear Stearns).
10. Uncle Sam decides it is time to bail the whole thing out.

Of all the crap I rant about in this little corner of the internet, this is bothering me the most right now. The government… especially the supposed “small government, free market” supporting Republican Party, is all a-buzz about how can we save America from the credit crisis. There is talk of bailing out the banks, saving people’s homes, and all the rest and it is infuriating to me.

Let me see if I can remain calm long enough to explain. America was founded on an idea of freedom and personal responsibility. In a free market, each individual is free to figure out how to prosper and is not (supposed to be) protected from failing.

In 2002, as nothing but a really stupid college kid and a simple retail shop owner, my own father and I discussed how crazy all the borrowing and lending was and how the whole thing was destined to collapse. We understood it, we stayed out of it, and we are not suffering from it. Big self pat-on-the-back for us I guess.

But this is the problem… now the whole thing has collapsed. Any idiot could have seen this coming except for the “financial experts” and all those people aimlessly signing their name on the bottom line apparently. Sorry to alienate all you “normal people” out there who fell for this scam, but I’m sorry, that is what happened you. You fell for a scam, and when you fall for a scam, you get burned. For you scam artists (or “financial experts” as previously named), you deserve the crash. You suck, I’m glad you’re going out of business. Wait, did I sound like a jerk just now? Let me see if I can say it better. You totally suck, and I actually draw significant pleasure from watching your businesses come crashing down (hmmm… still sound like a jerk but so it goes I guess). Basically, I was not involved and don’t deserve to suffer in the aftermath.

And that is what the free market is all about, rewarding those who played well and punishing those who played poorly. It is a harsh reality but history irrefutably proves that it is under this system we as the human race move forward the fastest.

The problem is that in the current situation, the government supported the run-up and is now looking to help with the bail-out. That is called socialism and it is MADNESS. By bailing out the banks and bailing out people with bad mortgages, the government is effectively using my money (tax money… actually debt in my name because they have NO money) to excuse the actions of people I did better than in the free market.

At the end of the day, these government bail-out actions do exactly one thing… make it known that if a company, or industry, or individual acts poorly, the government is there to fix it for them. The saddest part is that we have a political system that is supposed to be divided by party to create descent over these actions (e.g. this should be, at a minimum, protested by the Republican Party). Problem is that the party who is supposed to be pissed is totally spineless, so there is no descent/debate on this issue. They seem to be happy when corporations profit through greed on one side, but want to turn around and bail out those same people that were greedy when the free market corrects and punishes them for their greed (which it always does). Shame on you Republicans, please consider growing a backbone sometime this millennium.

So here it is again, evidence that all I want is government to get the hell out of the way and clear indication that the only political party I could even maybe legitimately associate myself with is the Libertarian Party. I am sorry the Republican Party has been so corrupted from what it is supposed to stand for. I hope its members will wake up soon and take it back.

What I want is this… let the lenders that made stupid loans sink. Let people who took on stupid loans lose them and learn a valuable lesson. Then the market will correct this flaw and we can all move onto further prosperity. The sad alternative of government interfering to “fix” this for short term satisfaction will lead to continued suffering.