Here It Comes...TARP 2!

And it's a whopper!  Michelle Malkin has the details:

Tax cheat Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is set to announce TARP II in the aptly-named Cash Room of the Treasury Department.

The cost could top $1.5 trillion. But, hey, who's counting anymore?

The gobbledygook rhetoric:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Tuesday a new banking rescue plan will include public-private partnerships as part of an effort to stabilize the teetering financial system.

In a statement ahead of a much-anticipated announcement of the banking plan, the US Treasury offered few specifics but indicated the measure would be a comprehensive effort to reinvigorate the ailing sector.

Geithner "will unveil a comprehensive Financial Stability Plan that will bring the full force of the federal government together in partnership with the private sector to stabilize our financial system and open up the flow of credit that families and businesses depend on to keep our economy strong," a Treasury statement said.

"Building on President (Barack) Obama's commitment to 'do whatever it takes' to stabilize our financial system and protect consumers, Secretary Geithner will make it clear that the response to the financial crisis must be comprehensive and forceful and that action has to be sustained until financial recovery is firmly established."

Let me interpret "full force of the federal government together in partnership with the private sector:"

Elections have consequences, and we're living with 'em now.  Do you realize that in the past 9 months we've seen the following:

- Bush stimulus checks: $160 billion
- TARP 1: $700 billion
- Obama's Generational Theft Act/Porkapalooza package: $1.2 trillion
- TARP 2: $1.5 trillion (or more)

Let's look at some facts together, shall we?

The national debt has skyrocketed in the past 15-20 years, and the amount of debt compared to the GDP of America has gone up noticeably, too:

In 2007, the budget deficit was only $162 billion.  Amazingly, that piddly little amount was enough to get Democrats whining and chanting about the eeeeeevils of Bush's deficit spending.  Funny how things change when a fellow Democrat is in the White House, huh?

So, spending and debt is shooting through the roof...but where do you suppose the funding for all of this is going to come from?  Either the government will heap taxes upon the American people, or they'll print money to cover it, which will lead to rampant inflation (remember the Carter era?).  Either scenario could cause a system collapse, especially if consumer confidence takes a plunge at the same time.

You can thank the Democrats for either one.

I guess this is why 67% of Americans think they could do a better job of managing the economy than Congress is doing right now.  I believe it, too, because many Americans understand the basic concept of not spending more than they make, and I'm pretty sure most Americans think they know how to spend their own money better than the government.  And, I would guess that most Americans -- unlike most politicians -- are far less likely to be corrupted by special interests, lobbyists, and other political motivations when it comes down to doing the right thing.  Congress simply doesn't represent us very well.  For example, they're continuing to move toward the nationalization of the entire financial industry, but 75% of Americans oppose that idea.  Investors weigh in at 78% on the question.  These numbers include 62% of even Democrats!

It's a bad sign when the Democrats are losing the support of their own base less than a month into the new administration and Congress.  Of course, with almost untouchable majorities, losing the base may not matter much...at least not for the next two years.

And there, as they say, is the rub.

There's my two cents.