It used to be that federal spending of even a few billion $ would get attention. But thanks to the miracle of trillion dollar deficits and hundred billion dollar bailouts, the approximately $9 billion that we will be shipping over to Greece as our contribution to the roughly $40 billion IMF element of the Greek bailout is just not noteworthy.
I can understand this from Democrats, but it’s something that Republicans should be making more noise about if we are to be the party of fiscal sanity.
This is especially true when you consider the fact that the bailout seems to have failed after… one day. Interest rates on two year Greek debt rose today from 10% to 14%. That in turn helped drive down the US stock market.
This is especially true when you realize that US taxpayers are now subordinated to European banks when it comes time for the Greeks to repay their debt.
This is especially true when you realize that the Germans, who have a much higher stake in the Greek drama than we do, are strongly opposed to a bailout.
This is especially true when you realize that behind Greece will come Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Spain and maybe even the UK.
This is especially true when you realize that the US is in no better shape than the Greeks, and many US states, such as California, are in significantly worse shape.
Republicans really need to walk the walk about fiscal sanity. At every turn, we need to point out the folly of the endless bailouts. It’s the right thing for this country.