$700 Billion isn't enough...let's make it an even $1 Trillion

Gee whiz, the U.S. government has certainly been busy this weekend. Senators working close to the end of the fiscal year. Agencies scurrying trying to resolve issues. My goodness, it is looking like the federal government is working in overdrive and making overtime. However, the question of the day is -- will this economic package save the U.S. economy from the coming depression? No, it is not going to work. Recession is a part of the natural economic process. We have one every 7-10 years. However, this time around, it has been exacerbated by poor management and business practices by certain companies with mega-sized lobbying firms. So, why would you give your money to someone who has already mismanaged their own? These companies are in this mess because they screwed up their money, now the federal government wants to give them OUR money, just because. Why would someone think that they would be more careful with someone else's money to play with?

Some have lobbied for greater accountability which in theory is great, however, it will not come. Others have demanded new management for these entities, another theory which is wonderful, but will not work. In order for a corporation to function, those people at the top of the pyramid extend their reach all the way to the base of the aforementioned pyramid and create a certain type of culture. Sometimes this culture is successful and everyone is happy (i.e. Google and Microsoft) and other times it breaks down under its own excess, bloated ego and mismanagement (does anyone remember a company named Arthur Anderson). Regardless, when there is a change at the top, the underlying culture of the corporation does not change because such behavior is learned and then ingrained.

The CEOs can leave, but the reality is that even after they exit, their management will still be firmly in place. Their boards, their executives, their administrations will still be at these floundering companies. I think that people fail to realize that many of the executives and members of the various boards of directors are long time corporate and political cronies. The CEOs will receive their golden parachutes and the next person who takes the helm will be someone with a similar background, understanding and perhaps someone groomed by the person who JUST got a severance package. The policies will be the same because the structure that existed is the one that made them all that money in the first place. It is unfortunate, but CEOs and the BODs bounce around from company to company. Watch, the next thing you will hear is that the former CEO of Lehman or AIG is now the chief strategist/advisor for someone's political campaign, was elected to some company's BOD or is the NEW CEO of some other company that was doing just fine. It's trifling and pitiful, but the hallmark of our type of capitalism which is rife with favoritism and crony-ism.

Now, back to the money (as though I was ever really discussing anything else). $700 billion dollars seems like a lot of money to throw at these institutions, but it is not. Especially since the money may not be as valuable as the cotton blend paper it is printed on. So, I say let's make it $1 trillion. That number sounds much more impressive and probably closer to what it would take to fix some of the problems that cronyism has bought us...