Bloated, Evil Plutocrats Behave Exactly As Expected

Does anybody remember laughter?

I'm not sure I do, anyway. And the reason why I'm struggling so mightily to remember those lilting peals of joy is because I honestly cannot take any more absurd, terrible, and jaw-droppingly ridiculous news stemming from this financial downturn.

Raising credit card rates and slashing limits (sometimes to below the balance being carried) in order to make a quick profit before the rules change? Yep, that's our financial industry. Giving bonuses to the architects of the most massive loss in U.S. corporate history? Again, that's the industry that keeps this economic engine chugging along.

Here's a little rule of thumb that we maybe can all agree on -- when you, as a corporate entity, submit to the will of the federal government by taking taxpayer money to keep your operations going, you then cede any ability to move along in any "business as usual" capacity. There's no honoring of existing agreements that will tend to deplete the cash reserves given to you by the government (read: taxpayer). You say, "Sorry, this isn't really our money, and we can't give it to you, despite the fine job you've done driving this company into the ground."

Now, I'm not here to debate whether or not the bailouts have been a good idea, or whether they work, or whether or not we've handed the reins of this country over to the Reds, or whether Oreos are markedly better than Hydrox. That's been done ad nauseum, and one more jerk (me) talking about it isn't going to change things. But these bailouts? THEY'VE ALREADY HAPPENED! So if our rules as a free-market society are out the fucking window, then so too are your (AIG) fucking agreements to pay your idiot, greedy, corporate soul-sucking employees their ridiculous bonuses. And so too are your (credit card companies that are also part of banks receiving bailout money) ability to gouge the American consumer. The rules are changed once receive that money. Don't like being told what to do by the government? Don't take the money.

End of fucking story.