Once the government started throwing money around, supposedly to head off a recession, the line started getting pretty long. Why? Because in an economic downturn everybody gets hurt.
So it started with banks and a big insurance company, then it spread to the auto industry. Now it is getting absurd — some are arguing for a bailout for the newspaper industry. If you think that’s a good idea, you probably enjoyed reading Pravda and reports from the Soviet news agency TASS.
Now Larry Flynt and the porn industry are getting into the act by asking for their own bailout. But much like the newspaper industry, the availability of free material on-line is cutting profits for the one-time lucrative smut business.
Newspapers pride themselves on their independence and ability to hold government accountable. The porn industry is controlled by organized crime and has been fighting the government in court for decades. Just two years ago, the notion that these two entities would be seeking a government handout would have been mocked as ridiculous.
Actually, it still should be.
