broken promises, privatized profits, and socialized debt

There are people in life who have such an aura of wisdom that encircles their being that you cannot help but feel a little bit smarter after having a conversation with them. One such gentleman by the name of Ty comes to mind. I most recently ran into him at an open house on Monday evening at the new offices of the Union of Minority Neghborhoods (UMN). UMN has been a steadfast proponent of community organizing, social justice, and - most recently - CORI reform and social justice. Its executive director, Horace Small, is a large, loud, and proud brother from Philly who gets down with the get-down. He is a tireless advocate and a consummate mentor who I have come to wholeheartedly admire and respect. At the open house, UMN friends and supporters had a chance to meet board members and their new staff additions. I had a chance to eavesdrop on a conversation Ty was having about the recent economic woes facing the country. And it was a simple, singular observation that struck a chord with me.

privatized profits, socialied debt

In essence, that's what all this bailout brouhaha amounts to. Just another remixed version of the same rich get richer and the poor get poorer song that we've all heard before. Folks in the nonprofit and social services arenas have been damn near begging seemingly forever. Yet, the War on Terror and the Iraq occupation has been funded well. The mortgage crisis and golden parachutes are nothing new, yet now we want to bail all of these companies out all of a sudden? Yet, we preach the gospel of good financial management of consumers; rich and poor alike. A high school kid questioned why wasn't anyone making these companies put some of their profits in a savings account. Simple and yet so poignant, right?

But how can this land of the free and home of the brave protect corporate profits and shareholders before the everyday man and woman with no accountability or oversight? Robert Reich said it best, "We tell poor nations they have to make their financial markets transparent before capital will flow to them. Now it's our turn." It's time for the government to man up and holla at Warren and get to regulating on these fools or else you and I will be taking on Wall Street's risk and bad debt. And I got enough beef with Sallie Mae as it is to take on any more. Word.