What does "at Tax Payers’ expense" mean to you?

Thank you very much (on behalf of the United States) for the taxes you are now obligated to pay for the loan to AIG (American International Group). Also, thank you for the bailout of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, as well as future calamities.

To give you some perspective as to your portion of the AIG loan, let’s divide $85 billion by 250 million Americans (disregarding 65 million Americans who will never have the wherewithal to pay anything to the U.S. Government). That comes to $340 per taxable American, or $2,040 for your 6-member family unit. (But given the current situation, such a loan may never, if ever, be paid off, so your 6-member family unit has just been obligated to assume a $4,080 tax obligation to save AIG.)

Now, if we were to include the costs of bailing out Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and including the “off-the-balance sheet” costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (invasions) estimated by Noble economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz at $3-5 trillion (probably should be revised to $4-6 trillion now), … can we agree that the ultimate tax obligation of your family figure is humongous?

Since the U.S. does not have the income to pay for these loans and bailouts, it will have to borrow the funds from the usual suspects – China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, other OPEC countries, etc.

The result has been to create an almost $9.5 trillion National Debt [which] works out to be $38,000 per person. Therefore, for your 6-member family unit, your obligation for the current National Debt is $228,000 (and growing each and every day).

[Excerpt of an article Larry Dorshkind, ICH]