“Oh my gods its Communism….” or more spin from ‘free-market’ scam artists.

[kenfrequed]

The idea being trumpeted about by the financial correspondents, market pundits, and economically conservative talking heads is that somehow Bush, in buying out AIG, has taken on the banner of Hugo Chavez. That somehow this corporate welfare is a massive victory for and move towards an imagined economic left.

There is not even a grain of truth to this. This bailout and buy out has as much to do socialism as the Tsar bolstering against the collapse of the Faberge egg market.

For starters let us ask what it is that we have ‘nationalized?’ What industry has been purchased for the benefit of we the taxpayers?

And the answer is… Yes, you guessed it. Debt!

That is all we have purchased, nothing but debt. This isn’t a real industry or resource that will benefit tax payers in any way; it’s a big fat stinking stack of IOU’s. There is nothing productive or profitable that we as the taxpayers now own.

It is not a railway, not a mine, not a factory, not a chain of supermarkets, not a fleet of trucks, or an oil well. It isn’t even a clinic or a stack of I pods. It is the largest insurance company in the world that has found itself in an absurd amount of debt and us lucky taxpayers bought up the right to pay it off.

Anything else is a goddamn Wednesday evening economic bullshit tv show lie.

What about the basic tennents of socialism?

Well if the level limit of socialism that you believe in is merely big bad government owning something (as the Friedmanites seem want to believe) than it still doesn’t qualify. Sure the government owns 80% of the stock as part of a buy out deal but this isn’t really the collective ownership of property or goods or capital. How do I know this?

Simple. AIG is still being traded on the stock market. That’s right there are still shares available to be sold or purchased. And mark my words, the profit takers are going to be there when the government resells this stock (debt free whoopee!!) at a reduced price for all the fat cats to soak up again.

Even some lefties are taking great pleasure in calling this corporate communism. Well I have to half disagree with them as well. As much fun as it is to call capitalists ‘commies’ it is not accurate. A great privatization has occurred in this buyout. While the buyout may have a touch of ‘Eau De Marx,’ this cloying odor is meant to cover for the aforementioned stinking pile of debt. The paying off of this debt is the opposite of communism where massive resources of this country as a nation will be transferred into the hands of the private interests that AIG owes money to.

I would further ask the following commie bonus questions:

Where are the workers that are seizing the engines of this industry?
Whose needs are being served and whose abilities are being tapped?
Where is the shared collective benefit?

This isn’t communism. It is the same old unregulated-let the taxpayer hold the bag crony feudalism we have been grumbling through for years now.

[YOY]

1. These guys call moderate capitalism communism

We need to just start telling them to "shut the fuck up." Anything left of faschist is communist to these assholes.

[kenfrequed]

4. sadly...

This post gets minimal attention. Whereas my speculation about Palin leaving gets people all excited. sigh

[YOY]

5. Waddya want...

She got some nice legs...

Screw the issues.

And we fall right into it.

[Diogenes2]

2. I think this writer is a little bit "irony-deficient"...

The whole point of the remarks I've heard about the buyout being "socialist" seems to be that this "baby out with the bathwater" small-government crowd, which calls universal healthcare and other ideas to help the average citizen "Socialist", and which tells everyone that Repubs are the "self-reliant, no-Government-handout" champions, is now the cheerleader for the massive government bailout of these privately-owned corporations at taxpayer expense. "Socialism for the Ultra-Rich" is meant to be a mocking, derisive call-out of these hypocrites who gasp in horror at the idea of government helping some "insignificant" individual who is in need, but applaud and expect the kind of "rescue operation for billionaires" that we are now witnessing.

[kenfrequed]

3. Well now...

I do understand the irony and what not, but the problem is this cheap laugh tends to flow downstream and makes it easier for the Freidman crowd to call this socialism and pretend it is not a part of their system at work.

Yes I recognize the mocking value of going after them this way as well as the irony, but I just think we miss opportunities to point out the fallacy of their arguments when we let them off on the free-market-captialist ubber alles religion. The "well if only the market had been freer and less restrictive than this would not have happened" nonsense.

[AntiFascist]

6. National Socialism is diametrically opposed to Marxism...

check your history. National Socialism (also called Military Socialism) diverts the public interest toward selfless militaristic service and imperial goals while leaving business interests alone.

[kenfrequed]

8. 'National socialism'

Thank you, I am well aware of the history of the Nazi party and of national socialism.

[AntiFascist]

9. Sorry, I should have addressed the boneheads calling it communism n/t

[kenfrequed]

10. oh sorry

Sorry about that, didn't mean to bristle so, I have just been engaged in arguments with conservatives a bit more lately. Oddly they seem to be screaming more loudly these days. Just when they are poised to be blamed for the economy and banished to minority party for another generation.

[DailyGrind51]

7. "Not that there is anything wrong with that!"

[dkofos]

11. Just something else that confuses them.