Trillion-dollar transfer payment

Henry Paulson estimates the newest bailout to have a price tag as high as $500,000,000,000. Yup, half a trillion dollars. But, even with that staggering number, you have to remember how well the Bushists estimated the cost of the misadventure in Iraq. Larry Lindsey got fired for saying $200 billion, and that's a small fraction of what will be the total cost in the end.

We need to call this what it is: The government is going to spend perfectly good money (for now!) buying utter crap. It will be the most massive short-term transfer of wealth in the history of the world. Of course, since it's happening under the Republicans, it's a transfer from all of us - poor, rich, middle class - to the wealthy investor class and large businesses, with a few crumbs for everyone's 201k.

And get this: Paulson refuses to consider any reforms whatsoever!

Paulson rejected Democrats' calls to include tighter regulations, corporate reforms or limits on executive compensation as part of the measure, [Rep. Brad] Sherman [(D-CA)] said.

This necessary but unjust largesse should be paid for with openly confiscatory taxes on those whose profits led us to the edge of the precipice. The alternative is revolution.