The Prodigal Son

If so far, you have been a hard worker, smart saver, cautious investor, you must be feeling cheated. You must be starting to think that there are no downsides to recklessness, idiocy and gambling. Well, get ready to feel even worse about yourself. If you thought that by not punishing swindlers we could all benefit, what would you say if these same crooks were to be rewarded?

Trump wannabee Borrowers: Some are getting help through the first-time homeowner stimulus. By the way, renters get zippo and if you did not play the real estate market game, you are just paying from your own savings to help others.

Rating Agencies: They stand to make a billion-dollar windfall in the government's latest attempt to heal the credit markets (refer to WSJ article).

Lenders: Many banks and institutions are flooded with loans and competition is scarce. According to the Wall Street Journal, the big banks that dominate the market are eager to boost their profits margins, not give deeper bargains to consumers (refer to another WSJ article).

If you are surprised by this outcome, then maybe you can find comfort in knowing that this is definitely not a new trend but it has been in place for centuries. The bible’s parable of the Prodigal Son is a perfect example. After wasting his share of the inheritance, the prodigal son returns to his father, who greets him with open arms and hardly gives him a chance to express his repentance. Instead, he kills a fatted calf to celebrate his return. The conservative and wiser brother who stayed put all these years does not receive any special treatment and his faithfulness is not rewarded. The father’s response: Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. – (Luke 15:32, KJV)

So it seems the government is telling us that if it is taking over 2,000 years to know that life is not fair, then "tough luck".