Controlled Burn: Treat Financial Crisis Like Forest Fire

We need to handle the financial crisis like it's a forest fire (AP)

President Obama said he's going to fix the mortgage industry today. But everything the government said would fix things hasn't worked so far, because they don't realize bad companies need to fail for capitalism to work.

Here's The One Thing: We need to handle the financial crisis like it's a forest fire.

The government is acting just like those stupid environmentalists who don't understand that forest fires are natural and are actually good for the soil. If you haven't cleared the underbrush before one starts, then you might as well just step back, save what you can and let it go.

Well, we haven't cleared out the underbrush in our financial system since Alan Greenspan started running the Fed and that's put our entire forest into jeopardy.

Here are just a few of the out of control fires our government is trying to fight right now:

First, the banks. The government dedicated $700 billion just in original TARP, which has so far gone to 400 banks in 47 states.

Last week, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner suggested another $1.5 trillion might be needed and just today, he announced that the government would commit to absorbing future losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the tune of another $200 billion.

Next fire, the failing American auto industry. GM and Chrysler have already gotten $17.4 billion worth of bailouts, and this week they said they need another $21 billion to survive. I know it's 5 o'clock and you've had a long day, so let me do the math for you: That's $39 billion just to delay the death of an industry ruled by mismanagement, iron-fisted unions and government regulations.

And the last fire, failing states with bloated budgets. The spending bill that President Obama signed last week throws money at almost every state in the nation in an attempt to bail them out of years of greed, special interest pandering and misplaced priorities.

Where does this all end? We've got our fire hoses hooked directly up to the printing presses at the treasury, but the more money we pump out, the worse the fire rages.

What should we do? The only thing we can do is get people out of the way of the fire, and what's already on fire must be left to burn off in a controlled manner.

Letting the greedy, the corrupt and the downright stupid fail will replenish the soil of capitalism and give us the chance to rebuild the right way.

What do you think? Send your comments to: glennbeck@foxnews.com

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