Letter to the Editor: Banks Get All The Favors

The federal government continues to show poor judgment and a general lack of economic understanding in their latest action to quickly bail out Citibank while leaving the manufacturing sector behind.

Congress all too quickly gave the treasury secretary unprecedented power to shell out billions ($300 billion to date) for financial institutions, while making automakers jump through hoops for a measly $25 billion.

Were these banks any better managed than the automakers? Wasn’t it their own disregard for credible underwriting standards that created the sub prime mortgage meltdown. Do banks have some sort of magical status that requires constant government intervention?

When it comes to Wall Street vs. Main Street, let there be no question about where our government stands. It’s either total disregard for the working men and women of this country or a total ineptitude for economic common sense. I’m not sure which is worse.

This letter to the editor was originally published on 12/15/08 in the Lansing State Journal.