William McKnight – 2/24/08

This page was last updated on February 24, 2008.

Savers being punished; William McKnight; Beaver County Times; February 24, 2008.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“Lost amidst all of the recent hysteria surrounding talk of recession, sub-prime mortgages, government bailouts, etc., is the plight of the people who actually will be and are being hurt by the government attempts to bail out a segment of the population that has irresponsibly lived beyond their means, piling up huge debt and buying homes that they couldn’t afford in the first place.

“The people I refer to are mostly senior citizens who responsibly live within their means and have most of their savings invested in fixed-income investments such as certificates of deposit, etc.”

[RWC] I don’t know why Mr. McKnight focuses on “senior citizens.” The same is true for most families who believe they have a responsibility to pay their own way and do so.

“These people depend on income from their CDs, etc., to survive in their retirement. Obviously, as the Fed drastically cuts interest rates, the income from these investments drops in direct relation to the cuts. So, seniors already suffering from the high costs of everything from groceries to gasoline and heating oil are dealt another blow.

“Something seems askew about a government that will bail out its irresponsible citizens at the expense of its responsible ones. I think this is a story that needs to be told, and yet I have yet to see one story locally or by the national media regarding this situation.”

[RWC] What Mr. McKnight fails to understand is the behavior is intentional. It’s the goal of politicians generally – both Democrat and Republican, and liberals specifically, to make as many people dependent on government as possible. When people are dependent on government, that gives politicians and bureaucrats power over us.