The government's approach to the economic disaster that is overtaking our people is simply another trick on its part to transfer taxpayer money into the pockets of the rich.

The theory that masks it was called in the 1980 elections "supply-side economics" by Ronald Reagan, The Great Showman. (George H. W. Bush, more honest and a good deal smarter than his son, correctly labeled it "voodoo economics.") The idea is that if you, the taxpayer, give money to the rich, it will trickle down from them beneficently to the rest of us.

Even the image is wrong, if one thinks about it. Instead of letting it trickle down through the filter into our coffee pots, the rich will of course ladle as much of it as possible out of the filter into their cups before it even starts to trickle down.

It is based on this approach to economics that the government has handed $700 billion so far -- $2,333 per head of us sheep -- to the Treasury Department, headed by Secretary Henry Paulson, former CEO of Goldman, Sachs, one of the Wall Street financial institutions that looted the economy, which Treasury is now handing out to the rich -- the banks, brokerage houses, credit-card operators, insurance companies and who can imagine who else before it is all over.

Congress participated fully in this piece of work. The Bush administration sold it the $700 billion maneuver as help to Main Street, which is scared in the face of a tumbling housing market, rising unemployment, damaging inflation and a disastrous credit situation.

But it was classic "bait and switch." The bailout instead is benefitting Wall Street, the rich, the Republican Party's base, the multi-residence, tax-sheltered, giant-compensation-package, huge-annual-bonus crowd.

Teddy Roosevelt, whom modern politicians of both parties profess to admire (presumably based on a lack of knowledge of his policies) called this group "malefactors of great wealth" and went after them with his "big stick." (Will President Barack Obama be able to pull himself away from Chicago patronage appointments and basketball to emulate Teddy?)

The Bush administration used classic tactics to get Congress to take $700 billion from us and give it to the malefactors. Just as it rolled Congress into approving the fraud-based Iraq war just prior to the 2002 elections with the suggestion that to oppose it would be to show insufficient concern for the security of the American people, it pulled the same stunt to get the relatively stricture-free $700 billion just before the 2008 elections. This time it was, "Main Street Americans are suffering and need help. Which member of Congress would like to stand up and oppose helping them, particularly right before an election?"

So -- surprise, surprise -- out popped money, into the hands of Mr. Paulson, and thence straight into the hands of the insurance giant American International Group, numerous banks, American Express and, on your own corner in Pittsburgh, PNC Bank. That "needy" institution has used the favorable governmental climate to buy itself National City Bank, with lots of help in the form of tax breaks -- of guess whose tax money?

It might be nice for Pittsburgh. It is always tempting not to pass up a chance to "dish" rival Cleveland (home of National City). But we need to count jobs and tax revenues not only for the city but also for the state and country at the end of the day to see the real impact of the PNC acquisition of National City. "Beggar thy neighbor" is stupid policy, even when thy neighbor is Cleveland.

Let's look a little more at what was supposed to happen with the big bailout, as opposed to what did happen and is happening.

ln theory, just as little Mary was saying goodbye to her room and her dog in the foreclosed house, Santa government was supposed to come along and say, "You don't have to leave, Mary. I have bought that bad old mortgage and will reschedule it so that Mommy and Daddy can make the payments and your family can stay in your house." Instead, foreclosures have continued to mount and the family dogs are going to the pound.

In the meantime, banks and financial houses have been spared the penalty for their irresponsible use of investors' funds. Their holiday seasons will still be merry and bright with big bonuses and even -- such as in the cases of PNC and Wells Fargo -- new games to run, more assets to manage.

The best question to ask to understand what is happening is based on the Watergate admonition: "Follow the money." In this case it goes from your (and your children's and grandchildren's) pockets, into the hands of Mr. Paulson and associates, whence into the hands of Wall Street and the other bankers. If you would like to think they will pass it along to you, I will try hard to revive my appreciation of naive faith in honor of the holiday season.

How did they -- how do they -- get away with this -- "they" being our blessed leaders? First of all, the American and world economy is hard to understand, not by chance by any means. The American people are thus inclined to leave managing it to their leaders.

The American people also haven't yet caught on to the fact that their government will lie to them and take advantage of them shamelessly in the case of the economy just as it did with the Iraq war and the weapons of mass destruction and Iraq/al-Qaida links. Follow the money and it becomes clear.

We can hope that Mr. Obama will focus on the fact that he won't face reelection until four years from now and act on the basis of the people's needs, as opposed to continuing his predecessor's approach of shoveling the taxpayers' money into the hands of the rich. As far as one can tell, it wasn't the fat cats that Mr. Obama appealed to, or who elected him.