I read a book about 6 months ago called “Bad Money” by Kevin Phillips. It discusses this overall credit disaster we are in and the dangerous attitudes and flawed products of psychotic megafinance. There is a chart in the book that show the attrition of manufacturing as a percentage of GDP from the 1950s when it was 29.3% of GDP to 2005 (latest figures) when it had declined to 12% of GDP. At the same time we see Financial Services going from 10% of GDP to 20.4% of GDP.

The bottom line is that the politicians in power making the decisions about TARP and other bailout abortions have been getting their campaigns and careers financed by contributions (nice word for bribes) from the financial sector far more than anything from the manufacturing sector(e.g., car companies). Not only are the decision makers rewarding those who have paid for and furthered their careers, we have tolerated one of their own being put in the driver’s seat in the form of King Henry Paulson, one of Goldman Sachs’ favorite sons.

There are decision being made that we have zero visibility into, and never will (why save Bear Stears but not Lehman? why AIG but not GM?). Hell, maybe it’s because the financials were first in line and now the sheepish public is collectively asking the “Where does it stop” question and the politicos have to make it look like they are actually thinking about what they are doing.

We know better though, don’t we: they have no frickin’ clue