What Does 700 Billion Mean To You?

So we’re bailing out Wall Street with 700 billion dollars. To quote Seth Meyers on SNL, “to give you an idea of how much money that is, I CAN’T give you an idea how much money that is.”

But I can tell you this. 700 billion divided by the US population of 300 million = $2,333.

So the next time you hear anyone complain about welfare spending for the poor, remember that’s only $50 of your annual taxes. So one silver lining to this debacle is that we’ll never have to hear the argument against welfare from conservative Republicans because we’ve just handed the fattest of possible cats FORTY SIX TIMES more money than we’ve ever given the poor.

One thought on “What Does 700 Billion Mean To You?”

  1. Hey Colter, really like the blog. As one of your more conservative friends, just wanted to comment on this “bailout”. First, this package was marketed terribly. It is not like a welfare check in that the Fed Government is simply writing a check to banks. This package is allowing the US Govt. to buy written-down mortgages (like at 30 cents on the dollar) off the books of the banks, who at the moment cannot sell them because the entire credit market is kaput. The US Govt (the taxpayers) will eventually sell these assets (like at 50 cents on the dollar) when the market rebounds getting their money bank and may even make a profit.
    Due to some of these mortgages on the books of banks, they are constrained by various accounting and contractual rules from writing new loans to businesses and individuals. And for some banks it is simply a matter of survival. If businesses can’t go to their banks to refinance, it effects everybody.
    From a purely ideological perspective, I am against government involvement in the private market (and against this bill). In fact, it is mostly conservative Republicans in Congress who blocked the initial package, and it is the Democrats (Pelosi, Frank, etc) who are more in favor of this bill. Obama and McCain both support it. I have mixed feelings about the bill. I don’t like Govt taking over the private sector; at the same time, I think the costs of doing-nothing in this case might be more than the refunded costs of this bill IMO.

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