SkepticBlog, Bailout

There's a hot new blog on the web called skepticblog. It features the cast of the new TV show called The Skeptologists. That includes Phil Plait, Michael Shermer, Steven Novella, Brian Dunning, Kirsten Sanford, Mark Edward, and Yau-man Chan. Each contributor has already written one essay, so you can see all the different perspectives we're getting in this shiny new package.

The main subject is skepticism, of course, but I'll note that one of the essays was actually about politics. I doubt it will be representative of the blog as a whole, but it was still interesting. The essay: Michael Shermer questions the merits of the 700 billion bailout that's been in the news.

As I've mentioned before, Michael Shermer is my Favorite Skeptic, but I also disagree with him all the time. I am by no means an economic expert (I don't even take full responsibility for my own finances), but this all seems toooo libertarian for me. I don't care whether it's the primary job of the government, I care whether the government is in an ideal position to help. And I don't care whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac get punished for taking stupid risks, I care about whether I'm punished for their stupid risks. You know, because I'm the future? (Or so I've been told.)

My grandpa told us this anecdote. He will forgive me for reproducing it, because it's so well put.

When I heard last Tuesday that the House of Representatives had
turned down the first bailout package because they thought, "Why
should Main Street bail out Wall Street?", I was immediately reminded
of a story that my father used to tell:

"Two men met on the deck of a ship, and one shouted, "The ship is
sinking! The ship is sinking!" The other man replied, "Let 'er
sink! It don't belong to me!"