Who and what deserves government bailouts?
To the editor:
Why does anyone believe that the government’s bailout of big business is not socialism, but bailing out citizens who fall on hard times is? Industry bailouts are necessary to keep the economy afloat; likewise, creating policy and protection to keep citizens from medical bankruptcy, and homelessness due to insurance profiteering, or predatory lending is, too.
If you think we live in a market economy, try opening a mom-and-pop small business next to a corporate franchise that gets tax breaks, relocation incentives and subsidies. You will soon find out that America doesn’t.
If you believe that industries essential to a functioning society should be occasionally supported, it is hard to argue that homeless, sick, and poorly-educated citizens should not also be occasionally supported to reduce failure. Minimizing society’s members’ risk of failure, keeps society on an even keel and saves society the cost of expensive bailouts.
The working class contribute more to our tax base and keep the money circulating than corporations and deserve the support that keeps the engine of our country going.
Right now, America’s farm industry needs the government’s rescue from its own poor tariff policy. What happened to DOGE and reducing layers of government bureaucracy? If our government is okay with throwing more money at big industries to clean up its policy mistakes, apply the same practice to those in red-lined communities who have lost the chance at accumulating generational wealth and or loan restructuring because we have a government that makes a profit from student loans.
Karyn Edison
Fort Myers