Marble Composition

Bust-Out

Something Josh Marshall wrote some time ago, December 3, 2003 to be exact, rings true more and more about the current administration. He was writing about the Medicare bill for The Hill at the time, but the mode of operation is now an established standard:

What we’re seeing in Washington today has an uncomfortable resemblance to what, in mafia lingo, is called a bust-out.

It goes something like this.

Say you’re a gambler and I’m a mobster. I’ve lent you lots of money. But now you can’t cover your debt. I could pursue the matter through your kneecaps or toss you out of an office window, but instead I take a more constructive approach.

You own a shoe store. I take it over your operation, order everything under the sun and fence all the merchandise for as much money as I can get as quickly as I can. I run out every line of credit you have and generally squeeze the place of every dollar I can get out of it. And then when I can’t squeeze anymore, I torch the place and collect on the insurance money.

Sure, it’s not the most sustainable business model. But I have my money back, and what happens to you is your problem.

What happens to you is your problem. Absolutely God damned right. This goes for our military being overstretched in Iraq, the budget deficit at historic levels, leaving our kids and grandkids to foot the bill, and his whirlwind tour of the country in the last few months to propagate the destruction of Social Security. On that count alone, he's batting two for three; not bad for someone who's failed at everything he's ever attempted.

This dry-hole drilling wannabe Texan, born in New Haven, CT., sure has amassed quite a record.

Trust me, when George W. Bush leaves office, he won't care about America's problems, and there's a good reason why: he never did in the first place.

posted by FuzzFinger @ 6/01/2005 07:07:00 PM