Everyone is up in arms about bail-outs in the economy these days. People infer that a bail-out means we are helping somebody who got themselves into a bad situation and doesn't deserve our help. The term is being applied to executives of banks and automobile manufacturers, and more recently to people who have defaulted on their mortgages. Unfortunately, it's being misused, and that has led to fuzzy thinking about what's really going on.
What is "bailing out," exactly? Since 1951 [according to my Merriam-Webster Collegiate] it has been used to refer to "financial rescue," but more basically, it means using a bucket to remove water from a boat that's leaking and could sink. Thought of this way, the term really is an excellent analogy of our economy. If we're "bailing out," it means we're in the boat too. Which, economically, we damn sure are. We might be upset with the guy in the boat with us - maybe the leak is his fault if he neglected maintenance, or didn't inspect it carefully enough - but if we have any sense, we don't refuse to help stay afloat. Will he benefit from our efforts? Yes. But life isn't fair, and to help ourselves, we have to help him too.
It's the same in the economy. We can assess fault, we can {and clearly, will] try to ensure those we blame don't get rewarded; but when we start to bail, it's the system and its stability that we hope to save, not the individual bank, executive, or mortgagor. We don't have the option of trying the other meaning of "bail out" - to abandon ship.
Some folks might claim they don't need saving, and resent bailing out those who do. A hitherto obscure TV personality named Santelli [evidently the Howard Dean of the cable news set] got his 15 seconds of fame on Friday by going postal on this theme. But for that group, a reminder: you don't need saving -- YET. Trouble begins at the edges, and its first effects are felt by those who took excessive risk, had marginal incomes, or maybe just a bad break like big medical bills. But no one believes we've hit bottom yet, so if you would like to ensure your spot in the pantheon of those who "don't need help," my advice would be to start bailing. Bail hard - and if you like, you can grumble while you're at it.
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