The Wall Street Journal is rightly perturbed over the inflationary effects that could follow the latest salvo of rate cuts by the Fed...

Our troubles, over which we will certainly prevail, stem from a basic contradiction. The dollar is the world's currency, yet the Fed is America's central bank. Mr. Bernanke's remit is to promote low inflation, high employment and solvent finance -- in the 50 states. He wishes the Chinese well, of course, and the French and the Singaporeans and all the rest besides, but they don't pay his salary.
They do, however, buy the U.S. Treasury's bonds, which frames the emerging American dilemma. If the Fed is going to create boatloads of depreciating, non-yielding dollar bills, who will absorb them? Who will finance the Obama administration's looming titanic fiscal deficits? Who will finance America's annual surplus of consumption over production (after 25 more or less continuous years, almost a national trait)? Inflation is a kind of governmentally sanctioned white-collar crime. Every crime needs a dupe. Now that the Fed has announced its plan to deceive, where will it find its victims?

Profiles in profligacy: The Bailout Lobbyist

We have talked abut the bailout multiple times here, here and here. It is undoubtedly the greatest giveaway of taxpayer money since one can't remember when, but in an interesting piece in the Times today, I noticed profiles of a couple of lobbyists who are making sure that the constituents they represent get a fair share of this socialist largess doled out by the Treasury.

A Hispanic business group is representing plumbing and home-heating specialists. This group wants the Treasury to hire its members as contractors to take care of houses that the government may end up owning through buying distressed mortgages.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association is asking whether boat financing companies might be eligible for aid to ensure that dealers have access to credit to stock their showrooms with boats.

While the plumbing lobbyist is making sure that the Joes it represents obtain a fair bite of the bailout chunk, it is painfully clear that almost none of the aforementioned bailout money has explicitly been allocated for distressed homeowner mortgage protection.

On the other hand, if the boat based lobbyist group actually succeeded in convincing the Sec. Paulson, then it will be a historic time when we start using taxpayer money to help boat dealers stock up their showrooms with new boats at a time when consumer confidence is at a historic low!

More than lobbying for boat dealers, it looks like someone needs to lobby to repair the money rushing out of gaping holes in the rickety Treasury Department steamer.