(Warning. Long political rant coming.)
I must be missing something. Feel free to enlighten me. Someone tell me why this bailout crap is necessary because I am livid at our federal government right now.
There are things about this bailout that make sense.
1--Tax cuts and rebates--for people who make less than 300,000 a year. This makes sense to me in my limited knowledge. Give us a little more leeway with our money.
2--New Deal type government infrastructure jobs. This makes sense. We need money, but we need to work for it. Give unemployed people a chance to help themselves.
What does not make sense.
1--Why are we bailing out companies that made bad business decisions. In my world when people make bad business decisions, they lose everything. Why are bankers exempt?
2--Speaking of exempt, why in the world are we bailing out an auto industry that was failing to begin with? GM has already cut 10,000 jobs world wide. Is one governmental band-aid going to suddenly make it so that people want to buy American made cars?
3--Stalling foreclosures. Please tell me how this makes sense! I can understand making things easier for people who lost jobs, but what about all the people who couldn't afford it to begin with. What about all the people who listened to the hype and made stupid buying decisions. If we help these people out, won't we just be delaying the inevitable? (This one is a particular pet peeve of mine. It kills me to listen to people say, "The loan officer changed the amount I made and put me down as his employee and I'm heartbroken that I lost my house." What in the world happened to personal responsibility?!?)
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Who is really going to fix this?
Us.
We the people.
We must resolve to face up to our stupid decisions.
We must resolve to be stronger than the economy.
We must resolve to live within our means.
We must resolve to buy a house we can afford, not one the bank tells us we can afford because, as has been proven of the last little while, the banks are out to make money, not keep us solvent.
We must resolve to save for retirement ourselves because the government isn't doing it.
We must resolve to take responsibility.
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What would happen to the financial problems in this country (not to mention the political system) if every person and business owner decided to give all the money they are donating to political stuff--parties, PACs, legislators, etc.--to a volunteer effort like The Red Cross or the United Way, or to their local church for the benefit of their struggling neighbor.
It's a pipe-dream I know, but think of the difference it would make!
-----------------
One more rant that's been bothering me since inauguration day. President Obama said it was time to make hard decisions.
Really?
Let's start with 10 inaugural balls. Really? What a colossal waste of money. It's things like this that I think, "Where could that money have been better put to use? How many houses could it have built? How many food banks could have used an infusion of cash?
President Obama also said that he would work for bi-partisan objectives and goals.
Sadly, that particular pipe dream already seems to have gone up in smoke.
I think that there are things that need to be done to help our country--mostly by us as citizens. However, the bailout plan worries me. One thing that is bugging me about the whole thing is that people are pushing it through saying it needs to be done now, and I worry that some half-baked plan will happen. In my common sense world, anything worth doing is worth doing right. Lets pause, take a collective breath, and work together with both sides of the aisle--incorporating common sense ideas from both sides of the aisle and do it right! A breath now might save a lot of pain later.
Rant over. Hope I didn't just show how completely out of touch I am. I have ranted, but I happy to hear more opinion and information. Tell me what you like. Tell me what you don't like. Educate me! But be nice about it please.
I must be missing something. Feel free to enlighten me. Someone tell me why this bailout crap is necessary because I am livid at our federal government right now.
There are things about this bailout that make sense.
1--Tax cuts and rebates--for people who make less than 300,000 a year. This makes sense to me in my limited knowledge. Give us a little more leeway with our money.
2--New Deal type government infrastructure jobs. This makes sense. We need money, but we need to work for it. Give unemployed people a chance to help themselves.
What does not make sense.
1--Why are we bailing out companies that made bad business decisions. In my world when people make bad business decisions, they lose everything. Why are bankers exempt?
2--Speaking of exempt, why in the world are we bailing out an auto industry that was failing to begin with? GM has already cut 10,000 jobs world wide. Is one governmental band-aid going to suddenly make it so that people want to buy American made cars?
3--Stalling foreclosures. Please tell me how this makes sense! I can understand making things easier for people who lost jobs, but what about all the people who couldn't afford it to begin with. What about all the people who listened to the hype and made stupid buying decisions. If we help these people out, won't we just be delaying the inevitable? (This one is a particular pet peeve of mine. It kills me to listen to people say, "The loan officer changed the amount I made and put me down as his employee and I'm heartbroken that I lost my house." What in the world happened to personal responsibility?!?)
---------------
Who is really going to fix this?
Us.
We the people.
We must resolve to face up to our stupid decisions.
We must resolve to be stronger than the economy.
We must resolve to live within our means.
We must resolve to buy a house we can afford, not one the bank tells us we can afford because, as has been proven of the last little while, the banks are out to make money, not keep us solvent.
We must resolve to save for retirement ourselves because the government isn't doing it.
We must resolve to take responsibility.
-----------------
What would happen to the financial problems in this country (not to mention the political system) if every person and business owner decided to give all the money they are donating to political stuff--parties, PACs, legislators, etc.--to a volunteer effort like The Red Cross or the United Way, or to their local church for the benefit of their struggling neighbor.
It's a pipe-dream I know, but think of the difference it would make!
-----------------
One more rant that's been bothering me since inauguration day. President Obama said it was time to make hard decisions.
Really?
Let's start with 10 inaugural balls. Really? What a colossal waste of money. It's things like this that I think, "Where could that money have been better put to use? How many houses could it have built? How many food banks could have used an infusion of cash?
President Obama also said that he would work for bi-partisan objectives and goals.
Sadly, that particular pipe dream already seems to have gone up in smoke.
I think that there are things that need to be done to help our country--mostly by us as citizens. However, the bailout plan worries me. One thing that is bugging me about the whole thing is that people are pushing it through saying it needs to be done now, and I worry that some half-baked plan will happen. In my common sense world, anything worth doing is worth doing right. Lets pause, take a collective breath, and work together with both sides of the aisle--incorporating common sense ideas from both sides of the aisle and do it right! A breath now might save a lot of pain later.
Rant over. Hope I didn't just show how completely out of touch I am. I have ranted, but I happy to hear more opinion and information. Tell me what you like. Tell me what you don't like. Educate me! But be nice about it please.
It sounds to me like you are better informed than I am. I used to work as a loan processor in mortgage banking--back then we would NEVER do the kinds of deals they are doing lately. I say they should go down with the ship--it's the natural consequence of their actions. I realize there is some kind of thinking behind why they want to bail out the banks, etc. but the whole economy thing just really scares me. On the other hand, as Americans, we have been living very high on the hog for a long time--even those who are struggling have far more than most people in other countries. I guess we are getting our comeuppance. (or however that's spelled)
I agree.
There is a couple in our church who lost their home due to foreclosure. One week before she gave birth to their third child, they were cleaning out and fixing up a sorely neglected 100 year old farmhouse (a rental) so that it would be liveable. Their previous home was brand new with top of the line everything. As I cleaned and painted along side them, what I did not hear was martyrdom and victimization. The husband stated very clearly that they had purchased a house that they could not afford. When their arm expired, then they really couldn't afford it. He took ownership of the fact that they never should have had the house built in the first place, but their priorities were off! What a blessing it was to here him taking responsibility and not blaming banks or the government or anyone else. They've matured so much through this situation (and some other serious trials), and God is sustaining them now! If only more people would own up to their mistakes, learn from them, and press on!
The band-aids bug me too. For example, Detroit: Why not start by addressing the real problem, which is figuring out how to design and build better cars. Japan and Germany kick our butts when it comes to that.
The bailouts make me the angriest when I think of the greed of those decision-makers still being fed, on the dole. Thank heaven Obama put a cap on executive compensation...even if it is TEN TIMES HIGHER than the average American's salary.
I so agree with your post and the comments made. The church teaches us to take reposibility for our actions, and that is exactly what the government is trying to remove from the equation. A loan officer was telling me that with the last bailout, there were new refinances/loans that were available to help the economy. Unfortunately, it was a joke. It would help those who were late on house payments, but up to date on all their other debt. Who does that? Don't we all pay our house payment first? So who does this help? Nobody. If this is what we can expect from a second bailout, I, too, am scared. Thankfully, we have guidance from a Prophet who loves us. Great articles in the March Ensign about self-sufficiency and the blessings that come from it. Maybe we can get some politicians to read the Ensign...
What a nightmare!
Thanks for ranting, I enjoyed hearing your views. I share many of the same perspectives!
(How funny that my word verification for this is "messe" ... our world truly is in a mess!)