Dutch said it was important not to call the bailout a bailout, but rather a rescue plan. Why? Does that change the nature of the thing? Of course not, but the American people have certainly given evidence in their bottomless appetite for debt that they may be stupid enough to believe just about anything. They believed that easy credit was a good thing. They believed they could buy things - especially houses - that they couldn't afford, so why shouldn't they now believe that the very thing that caused the current slump can be cured by creating more easy money?
For years, we have been borrowing money from foreigners who work hard and save a lot of what they earn. We took that money and bought things we couldn't really afford, because we hadn't saved anything. We called that prosperity. It was. But it came at a cost. And the bill is now due.
What Mr. Ruppersberger and most of official Washington now want us to do is to resume the behavior that got us to this point in the first place. Does this sound insane? Of course it does, but I'll tell you a little secret, just between you and me: They don't know what else to do. I did have one caller who said that as a small business owner, he's had a close-up look at American consumers and thinks that if there's any upswing at all in the economy, he and she will be right back in the borrow-and-spend game.
Maybe I have more faith in my fellow Americans - or maybe I lack the hard-earned perspective of that caller - because it seems to me the party is over. I think it will be a long time before the average American, the engine that has driven the global economy, again buys into the idea that we can borrow, tax or gamble our way to prosperity. Can't do it as an individual. Can't do it as a family. Can't do it as a nation. Can't do it. Period.
Ron Smith can be heard weekdays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., on 1090 WBAL-AM and WBAL.com. His column appears Wednesdays in The Baltimore Sun. His e-mail is rsmith@wbal.com.
