Banks that have paid back their LOANS versus welfare queens who squirt out more kids to increase their "benefits?"
Unfortunately, what they truly owe us is not fully accounted for by the sums of money loaned to them to bring their books back into compliance/mandates. It's true the average American citizen gambled, too, and must bear some of the pain (which they are), but who was selling who the BS "investments" in the first place?
None of it could have happened without the government's "help." And to what extent should people be protected from themselves?
No, I do believe there are legitimate reasons for and legitimate taxes. BUT in case you haven't noticed, I'm very strongly of the opinion we passed those places decades ago.
Which kind of reminds me of the whole concept of a "toll road" or a toll, in general. It's always floated as a "temporary tax" to pay for the construction of a highway or roadway...that is until, the politico's just love the windfall of steady CASH into some black hole and they hire a bunch of lifer's to "administer" the toll authority with a generous pension and all the "perk's and bennie's". Pretty soon that temporary "toll tax" becomes a perpetual tax (and always indexed to inflation). Maybe Ricter is a bit naive or misguided, but all I see are taxes layered on top of existing taxes, which are never rescinded, they just grow in size and scope. I might also add that it's never mentioned in the whole debate about income tax rates because it would throw quite a dent into the whole argument about "total taxation". Miscellaneous, smaller taxes are always introduced so as to avoid the "sticker shock" of the broader taxes. Nonetheless, they all add up to quite a tidy sum.
Not to mention the fact that eventually the toll road goes to shit, and falls apart, the toll ceases to pay for maintenance, and the only thing the toll supports at that point is the salary/benefits of all the beaurecrats who "monitor/study" the road. Then, Eventually the beaurecrats studying the road come to the conclusion that a road in this poor of shape needs higher user fees, because the road is in disrepair.....
Sure, average citizens gambled but they weren't appraised of the fact that the Fed was mandating that banks loan to people that could never pay back and that was causing the rise in RE values.... if they had understood how it all was not sustainable they might not have bought into it...