Comments on: NYT Live-Blogging Bailout Debate – Barney Frank Warns of Socialism!

By: Luis

Luis — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:59:42 +0000

Glad someone here has the sense to see that this was sarcasm…

By: Luis

Luis — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:59:42 +0000

Glad someone here has the sense to see that this was sarcasm…

By: cgun

cgun — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:04:46 +0000

I wouldn't worry that much about Barney Frank's dire warnings. He was being sarcastic. He's not worried that George W. Bush, who's never seen a deregulation bill he didn't want to pass, is transforming the country into a socialist empire by authoring this bill. Frank is poking fun at Rep. Hensarling's "the sky is falling" argument. But it looks like the irony went over a few people's heads.

By: michaelanthonycole1

michaelanthonycole1 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:10:51 +0000

We know things are bad when Cong. Frank is wary of more socialism! However, Frank's "socialism" is not merely expensive. It's inconsistent with limited government.
There's more to take away from Frank's concern than shock at the bailout's expense. Indeed, the "blank check" given in 2002/2003 has drawn more funds than this one promises to.

It is the expansion of government's areas of concern and authority that should concern us most about the bailout . Section 8 of the failed plan provided expansive authority for the Secretary, and Sen. Dodd's plan specified new federal bureaucracies to manage the government's new stake in the markets. I haven't read a summary of the new plan, but I see no reason to believe that these features will change substantially. Therein lies the bailout's great corruption, regardless of the pricetag.

By: michaelanthonycole1

michaelanthonycole1 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:10:01 +0000

By: Berin Szoka

Berin Szoka — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:57:53 +0000

Damn, I thought I was being clever with my Yeats reference, but I see that Dave Weigel beat me to the punch by several hours on the Reason blog: http://www.reason.com/blog/show/129250.html