Bush’s Betrayal of Free-Market Principles Now Complete
Posted December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am in Enterprise and Free Markets 
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The Bush Administration’s disclosure that the Treasury Department had already transferred $5 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program money to GMAC, and that another $1 billion had been promised to GM directly, represents a significant turning point in US economic policy.
TARP has now been used, not just to restore market function as originally advertised, not just to prop up industrial companies contrary to original advertisement, but now to prop up an individual financial company just because it was in trouble and not because its demise posed a greater threat to the financial system.
Even worse: This is a use of TARP funds to prop up an individual financial company so it can buy off bondholders in order to restructure itself for the sole purpose of tapping Fed funding. It’s one thing to tolerate some regulatory arbitrage and rent-seeking. It’s another to encourage and subsidize them.
On November 16th President Bush said: “I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.” This GMAC/TARP maneuver officially marks a full embrace of industrial policy by the economic agencies of the federal government.
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16 Responses to “Bush’s Betrayal of Free-Market Principles Now Complete”
Mark, Houston on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
Well…what did you expect? Just wait and see what “The chosen one” is going to do with our tax money (and freedomes)
Erik Hanson, Fort Worth Texas on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
The Star Wars Emperor-like phrasing of the headline makes me so proud, yet sad for the country and Bush’s legacy right at the twilight of his term. Heads up, conservatives, we shall overcome! …eventually.
Harry from Chicago on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
“I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.” Wow! There are times when I wonder what is truly going on in Washington, specifically with so-called “conservatives”. I do not share the optimism many share that these bailouts will help anything. In fact, all it does is open the door to socialism. By choosing who to bailout, the government is essentially controlling the means of production. God help us!
Paul, Central Pennsylvania on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
I don’t know that it is so much a betrayal on part of our president, than it’s a betrayal by the entire governing body, past and present. The matters that truely trouble me (and sometimes keeps me up at night), are 1, where is all this bailout money coming from (can’t all be from our taxes)- is our country’s wealth really unlimited? and 2, the fact that a foreign power (i.e. China) owns billions of dollars of US Treasuries.
Mark Muhlenkort Washington State on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
Bush has been wrongly critisized for so long (for the tax cuts and for aggressively going after the terrorists) that conservatives have been reluctant to join in. But in this case he’s been very wrong and deserves all the critisism. He’s acting like just another liberal/socialist. He’s not helping the market economy by bailing out GM. He is undermining it and our standard of living and freedoms. Companies need to succeed by producing a product the public will buy, not by getting handouts from taxpayers by way of public officials. We need permanent cuts in tax rates to fight this reccession not bailouts or pork.
John Weaver, Oakland on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
During the Vietnam war we obliterated villages “in order to save them”. Now President Bush is abandoned the free market in order to save it. Insane, This guy’s no Republican; he’s not even a RINO.
Edward Ruiz on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
The silver lining in all of this is that we can rise up as conservatives and make the case for what is to come, the sink-hole that government keeps just making bigger.
I’m optimistic about the future but only if we (conservatives) are willing to fight for one that reflects our values and not the values of those that oppose us.
This latest 180 degree turn by our President shows me that he really does not believe and have faith is conservatism. I do, and I will do what I can to show that our values are superior to those that oppose us.
We should start by not letting others, like the media define who and what we are.
Jeff Schmidt on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
Who is John Galt?
Tim, U S on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
Just more proof that George W. Bush is the worst Republican POTUS EVER!!
Mark, New Mexico on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
Please think a little deeper into the circumstances that caused manufacturing in the US to need a bail-out. The US govenment is taxing US manufacturing to death while allowing imported products to enter the US market without tax. Without a change toward a market based tax there is little hope for US manufacturing. This will enventually lead to the demise of the US market as well.
Dennis Aderholt Social Circle Ga. on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
The “chosen one” has said he will redistrubit the wealth, so all is good. Ha! Ha!
Darvin Dowdy on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
The “Transnational Progressives” [ http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=4DC2ADE0-D07B-4CA7-977C-F9F0368EE5D2 ]
must be purged from “our” GOP. DD
Tony Hollick Bristol, England on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
John Weaver beat me to it!
“I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.” – George W. Bush
Just as the puppet-master Dick Cheney occupied Iraq and Afghanistan “to save them.”
Just as John Ashcroft shredded the Constitution “in order to save it from itself.”
May we expect Rudy Giuliani et. al to own up to blowing up the World Trade Center “in order to save it”?
Who will save all of US from these “saviours”??
Tony Hollick
Pilots for 9/11 Truth
Ray Ahern Windsor,PA. on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY? WHY AREN’T WE AS AMERICANS DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THESE CURRENT TIMES. WHAT SHOULD OR COULD WE DO AS AMERICANS TO CUT THE CANCER OUT OF OUR ONCE GREAT NATION. WE STILL HAVE TIME TO BE GREAT ONCE AGAIN,,,NO? THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ASKING AND CONSULTING EACH OTHER ON. WE NEED A TOTAL NETWORK(AKA. THE INTERNET),TO GET THE SYSTEM STARTED ON AMERICANS BEING AMERICANS AGAIN. WE MUST BRAINWASH THE WEAK, LIKE THE LIBERALS HAVE BEEN DOING TO US FOR OVER FORTY YEARS. WE MUST USE THE LAW TO OUR ADVANTAGE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME…
jeff boise id on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
new mexico mark is absolutley right.who’s back will government genious’s stand on when there aren’t any more blue collars left because it is politically incorrect to produce anything in our country anymore..look what they have allowed in our only renewable resource industry…so we can now waste billions in fire management..wouldn’t it be nice if they asked our approval before throwing our money away…oh yeah, where is the money coming from to build new hiways bridges etc.shouldn’t we invest in something that produces something for real $ return instead of printing cash flow…none of us can write rubber checks nor do we want to…scares me ,,are they selling america behind our backs???
Edward Foster on December 30th, 2008 at 11:39am said:
It’s 4th and 20. Dubya punts to Obama. What do you expect him to do?