Sep
30
Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child, from Kim Zussman
September 30, 2008 |
Have you seen the kid who throws a tantrum to manipulate his parents? When he gets what he wants, he quiets down and seems vaguely satisfied. When he doesn't win the game, he throws an even bigger tantrum.
It's not that he particularly wants his object of desire; rather, he is in a power struggle with the authorities and probes their limits. If his parents keep giving in, eventually he will conclude (unless he is religious) there are no higher authorities. He himself holds the power, and is frighteningly in charge of his own destiny in a world without order or structure.
Alex Castaldo queries:
Are you talking about the child or the market?
Vince Fulco adds:
On a related note, when some of the senators were stumping for the 'bailout/rescue/whatever' speech, I was reminded of the prior generation's remarks prior to meting out a spanking. "This is going to hurt me much more than it is going to hurt you." Many of us with 1st and 2nd generation immigrant parents know how that one really turned out!
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Here is the rare instance where we are fortunate to be led by feckless politicians.
Imagine they would be serious about not “punishing the tax payer for Wall Street’s folly”
Is there one person who believes the bill will not pass.
It is a mystery to me that the market is pretending there is some kind of high drama going on here.