That's a really big number

It's hard to imagine the scope of $700,000,000,000.00. That's a LOT of money. I had a dear reader write to me asking an opinion on taking that money and dividing it equally among all persons over 18. Sounds a good idea as any... but what would the money then be worth? Furthermore, since the government doesn't seem to care that this infusion of dollars will do wonders to the value of those individual bills, ...

Wouldn't the people making poor money choices continue to do so with that money? Wouldn't those people making wise money choices continue to do so with the infusion? Wouldn't this result in the poor being poor again and the rich being rich again? What then? Another bailout?

I used to joke with my mom during the rough times about the possibility of the money system in the US being turned upside down where those with money were poor and those without were rich. Looking back at it all, we were rich... even when we had only a little.

Love doesn't put food on the table.

So what do we do?

Do we leave people twisting in the wind? Do we leave executives their "golden parachutes"?

I'm not an economist. I don't even play one on TV. I have to play catch-up through research from half way across the globe. All I know is that it's a mess. People who couldn't afford to buy a house were falsely led to believe they could through a combination of their own naivety/stupidity, shady dealers, and government pressure to give these loans to lower income families. People were also talked into buying SUVs before the price of gas went through the roof... should we help them as well? (By the way, if anyone is looking for a 2001 Kia Sportage, let me know.)

I just don't think artificially inflating the market through government magic is the answer. You don't fix a problem like this... REALLY FIX a problem like this... by throwing money at it. Throwing money around willy-nilly is what got us IN this mess.

In other news, HERE are a few more creative ways to spend $700Billion.