What Would "Opposite George" Do?

Recipe for Recovery. Not.

If you've been on a desert island the last three years or so, here's a quick synopsis of the financial crisis so far:

When the proverbial sh*t hits the fan, as it did beginning in early 2008, you:

1. Reward society's greediest and most reckless -- that would be Wall Street -- by giving them untold billions ("the greatest wealth transfer in world history," as Barry Ritholtz puts it, accurately).

2. Punish society's most frugal and conservative -- that would be its savers -- by reducing interest rates to zero.

3. Ignore voluminous, nauseating mountains of evidence of illegality -- quite an accomplishment, given who wrote the country's financial laws -- and prosecute no one.

As the saying goes, "how's that workin' out for 'ya?"

Doing the Opposite

So, here's an inspiration: do what "Opposite George" would do.

As Seinfeld's legions of fans doubtless already know:

George returns from the beach and decides that every decision that he has ever made has been wrong, and that his life is the exact opposite of what it should be. Jerry then convinces him that “if every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right”. George then resolves to start doing the complete opposite of what he would do normally. He orders the opposite of his normal lunch, and introduces himself to a beautiful woman by saying "Hi, I'm George. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents." To his surprise, she is impressed and agrees to date him.

--Wikipedia

It worked for George.

Maybe Barack, Ben, and Timothy should try it.