Where is Popeye when we need him? Perhaps more important, what can we learn from the spinach-munching sailor when it comes to the national economic bailouts?

Before you write me off as having finally “lost it,” let’s consider a couple of things.

For decades in the Popeye comic strips and animated cartoons, Popeye represented all that was stable, strong and good in the world.

He protected Olive Oyl and Swee’Pea and fought off his nemesis Bluto.

But you know all of that.

Consider, however, how Popeye treats his acquaintance J. Wellington Wimpy, sometimes just named Wimpy.

If you don’t recall off hand, Wimpy was the gluttonous hamburger addict who was a little on the sketchy side of things.

“I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today,” the character was often quick to say.

But Wimpy never paid much back; he just kept asking for more.

Now most of the characters surrounding Wimpy became furious at Wimpy’s antics — the hamburger mooching was only a portion of his shenanigans.

The exception to that, however, was Popeye. The sailorman somehow managed to take the mooching in stride.

The federal government is currently the keeper of the “hamburgers” in our economy. They’ve taken a cue from McDonald’s and have already served up “billions and billions.”

Our government has piled on billions of tax dollars to help bail out financial institutions along with the auto industry.

When all the chips settle, the economic bailouts and stimulus packages are likely to be measured not in the billions of dollars but in the trillions of dollars. One trillion, by the way, requires 12 zeroes, so you see we’re talking about an amazing amount of money.

The problem in all of this is that most Americans don’t have Popeye’s iron-muscled will and good heart.

Most of us expect the Wimpys in our world to pay us back.

In fact, most people who lend money to a friend or a relative begin questioning every action the borrower takes.

“Did you see that they bought new clothes? I wonder how much that cost and why they wasted money on that?”

The same thing starts happening when the government starts doling out dollars to businesses.

The other day I saw a TV ad for Bank of America. That very morning, I’d read that the federal government had given the company another $20 billion from the Troubled Assets Relief Program. In exchange, the government received stock and dividends in the company. Hopefully those assets will pay back the funds to the government eventually.

But seeing the ad made me pause and think, “I wonder how much taxpayer money that cost?”

Hopefully, the economic woes will melt away soon, and we can put an end to the free hamburgers.

With that, the questioning of those who have borrowed against the public trust will fade.

In the meantime, pass the spinach, and let’s hope we can all be a bit more forgiving and understanding, like the one-eyed sailor.

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.