In these difficult economic times, people tend to relegate logical and reasonable thought while sharpening their pitchforks and looking for a scapegoat to blame for the crisis we are facing. The most recent manifestation of this angry mob mentality was the outrage against the AIG bonuses. Even the president expressed anger, forgetting the bonuses were negligible compared to the billions given to AIG and ignoring the fact these bonuses were in the contracts all along. And that congress and the treasury approved the contracts knowing full well the bonuses were there.

Is this really what we need to be focusing on? These days, you often hear liberals rail that those rich hedge fund managers and investment bankers drove this economy right into this mess, and then got bailouts and bonuses as rewards. It may be true the government is forced to maintain these financial corporations or risk entering into another great depression, but Congress must nonetheless grow a pair and hold these so-called financial experts responsible. They must make it clear the only reason they still have jobs is due to the support of the American taxpayer, and hence they are no position to demand bonuses, office remodeling or corporate retreats.

On the other hand conservatives claim this crisis is a result of high taxes that inhibit “job creation,” and overregulation that forced companies like Fannie May and Freddie Mac to take on risky loans. This might be true if “the rich” paid their actual tax rates. But the fact is there are so many tax cuts and credits offered to those in the higher income brackets some end up paying a smaller percentage of their income than their secretaries.

For example, Henry Kravis is the 57th richest person in the U.S.; he made $450 million last year. Yet he still pays less — percentage wise — than teachers and firemen. Not only do Kravis and his peers get obscene tax breaks, but also their saved money went in no way toward job creation. Instead it went toward corporate takeovers in which hundreds of jobs were slashed, the assets of the companies sold and benefits of the remaining employees drastically cut.

And it might be true that through government regulation some companies were forced to undertake risky mortgages, but the tsunami of defaulting subprime mortgages had more to do with greed and the quest for a piece of the market action at the time than with regulation.

Even when it comes to looking ahead, we must stop playing the blame game and start accepting the hard reality we face. Liberals need to realize that even though the financial system bailout was passed in an extremely hasty and shady manner, it was necessary to delay if not prevent the collapse of the financial system. On the other hand, conservatives need to realize that even though the projects in the administration’s economic stimulus plan are contrary to their ideological beliefs, they are the best known means to rescue the economy.

For example, even though Republicans are adamantly opposed to government welfare, food stamps have the highest return for government spending. Every dollar spent on food stamps creates a dollar and 73 cents of economic activity, while tax cuts — the holy grail of republican principles — only create a dollar and 2 cents of economic activity. So even though they might not like it, Republicans need to realize that in our current situation welfare is a better option.

Another prime example of how partisan bickering and fear of higher taxes is stalling essential government spending was Gov. Bobby Jindal’s characterization of volcano monitoring as wasteful spending. That may have rung true in some people’s ears until the recent activity in Alaska’s Mount Redoubt.

So instead of standing against tax increases on a purely ideological basis, Republicans need to realize spending just might be the best way out of this crisis. At the same time, Democrats should stop blaming those working in the financial system for this mess and own up to their lack of regulation of those markets in the first place. At the end of the day, this country if facing a crisis and those governing it should look for the best way out of it, even if it lies in the ideological gray.

Ammar Al Marzouqi ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in computer engineering