Categorical Aperitif

Also apropos of the General's poem noted below, one-man wrecking crew Dean Baker finds the incoming administration being unusually generous to well-connected Robert Rubin and Citigroup:

More Money for Robert Rubin

It looks like President-elect Obama is picking up President Clinton's promise to end welfare as we know it. Back in those pre-welfare reform days, welfare checks went to poor families. Welfare as we know it now seems to involve giving taxpayer dollars to Citigroup and other banks.

The media seem to have largely overlooked the Citigroup tax credit in their discussion of the latest items in President Obama's stimulus proposal. According to the Washington Post, the proposal will allow companies to write off current losses against taxes paid over the last 4-5 years, not just 2 years, as in current law.

For some reason I can't help but imagine Michael Palin as Pontius Pilate in Life of Brian, really: "Centuwion, is Bawack Obama being inappwopriately genewous to Wobert Wubin and Citigwoup?"