Just Past the Cake Milton, c'mon, don't be selfish...

The quote on the title is taken from the movie "Office Space", in an office birthday party scene in which shy introvert Milton was told to pass the cake slices down, and he would get his slice eventually.

And of course he didn't get a slice in the end -- he never does in any office birthday parties.

The quote came to mind as I was reading a few articles on the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the whirlwind weekend at the NY Fed, so action-packed and dramatic it can totally pass as movie material.

I know that the government doesn't have unlimited funds to bail out all in trouble because of the string of events that follow the credit market crashes, nor do I fully agree with the relatively unconditional, and almost automatic response to bail out or generously assist nearly all those that have waved white flags before now.

Just not Lehman Brothers. Oh, and not Merill either. Just decided to draw the line right here. And while we're at it, let it be made clear, no more bail outs from now on.

It makes me wonder whether this is a case of the cake done being distributed, and there's simply nothing left to share, or there are good reasons behind helping the specific ones they did and equally good reasons for why not the others instead.

I would seriously frown on a government that does not seem to be aware of how big their cake is, and more importantly, how many people would need to eat that cake so as to cut it up accordingly to maximize aggregate utility.