This article at Slate caught my attention, not because it’s about the Bailout, but because it was written by pariah (and now Slate columnist) . . . Eliot Spitzer! The name of the regular column will be “The Best Policy.” I think that’s a hilarious title, and I look forward to reading what the man has to say. In his first column, he says that the Bailout is a bad thing because it repairs fundamentally flawed businesses:

None of the investments has even begun to address the underlying structural problems that are causing economic power to shift away from the United States, sector by sector.

Then he gives examples, including this frightening (personal one):

Our household savings rate has been close to zero—and even negative in some years—not permitting the long-term capital accumulation required for the investments we need; China’s savings rate, by comparison, is an astonishing 30 percent of household income.

But he also praises the U.S.:

We have, indeed, converted virtually the entire world into one integrated capitalist economy, and we must now bear the brunt of serious and vigorous competition. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the United States was essentially the only nation with financial capital, intellectual capital, skilled labor, a growing middle class generating consumer demand, and a rule of law permitting safe investment. Now we are one of many nations with these critical advantages.

My plan: Save money. Invest it. Wear old clothes. Grow my own food. Work hard. Play affordably. In short, act like my grandparents. That’s how to win in the global market. And welcome back, Governor Spitzer. America is still good for one thing: redemption.