Unintended Consequences

Jerry Pournelle discusses the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the law of unintended consequences. This time for sure, it won't hurt when we smash ourselves in the face with a hammer.

Scott Adams is spending a chunk of cash to poll economists about how to fix the economy. I can save him a wad of cash: stop thinking that the national economy or world economy is somehow different from everyday life and use some basic common sense.

For example, if you told your children to never go into a certain room, then filled it with their favorite snacks and doubled their allowance when they entered the forbidden room, just what would you expect to happen? See? Now you understand immigration.

If you pay your child to lie to you, pay them more when they don't get caught out in their lies, and punish the kid next door when they do get caught, what would you expect to happen? See? Now you understand the mortgage crisis.

(shrug)

I realize despair is a sin. Guess I'll burn in hell, because common sense has become unknown in our government. We are currently negotiating the sale of the last non-portable asset we own. I'm seriously considering dumping the cash from that transaction into a foreign bank account denominated in something other than US dollars. I know I've been saying it for years now, but I stick by it: Get fast. Get small.