16 Beijings

The US Treasury Secretary's decision to put together a $700 billion rescue package to stop the meltdown of the US banking sector is 16.3 times the cost of the Beijing Olympic games and while the latter garnered worldwide acclaim, the rescue package, subject to approval by Congress, will generate dismay for the beleaguered US taxpayer. This will raise US national debt to $11.3 trillion. They say one has to speculate to accumulate and the bankers on Wall Street were given free reign to do just that. If Congress approve the rescue package as they are expected to, then we can expect to see tighter regulatory control. The necessary intervention by the US government has served to highlight the dangers of unchecked capitalism. What US taxpayers should ask Congress is why they should be expected to shoulder the collective responsibility of individual failures when they didn't get to partake of the eight figures bonuses that were doled out to executives whose gambles had failed quite spectacularly.

Interestingly, the country that has advocated regime change in countries it felt were not embracing capitalism sufficiently is urging similar government intervention in Britain, Japan, Germany and other industrialised nations - it's nice to hear that Germany has told the US where to go. The US government effectively nationalised Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae and AIG so when the likes of Bolivia and Venezuela continue their nationalisation of key industries, let us not hear a peep from the debt laden, capitalist to the north.