U.S. Is Finding Its Role in Business Hard to Unwind:
Between financial rescue missions and the economic stimulus program, government spending accounts for a bigger share of the nation's economy -- 26 percent -- than at any time since World War II. The government is financing 9 out of 10 new mortgages in the United States. If you buy a car from General Motors, you are buying from a company that is 60 percent owned by the government. If you take out a car loan or run up your credit card, the chances are good that the government is financing both your debt and that of your bank. And if you buy life insurance from the American International Group, you will be buying from a company that is almost 80 percent federally owned.
The mortgage number really jumps out at me. I'm really tired of Republicans complaining about Barack Obama's plan for socialism. We have socialism. The American government owns a car company and an insurance company. It's responsible for putting up capital so the construction and real estate industries stay afloat.
