| Friday, September 26, 2008 |
| Let the chips fall where they may |
I am not asking you to agree with me. I am not even asking you to give me your opinion. Frankly, I don’t care what your opinion is. Nobody knows what the future will hold. Nobody knows how our economy will be in a year or five years from now. But, what I do know is what has happened in our past.
Now, I don’t want to hear anybody telling me that I left something out of this. There are so may levels involved that no one person can fully understand it. And I can promise you that no matter how many times you tell me that I am wrong, I will still be right. Just wait and see. I am sick of hearing “experts” talk about something that they know nothing about --- The Economy and this crisis that we are in (which I am about to talk about - weird).
If you know me, then you will know that I am a FIRM believer in consequences. I believe if you do something (right or wrong) there is a consequence that will / must take place. I believe that there is a lesson that should be learned. If you do something wrong and there is no punishment (i.e. this bailout), then no lesson is learned and it WILL happen again. This economic crisis is no exception.
I will go out and say - I am 100% AGAINST the $700 Billion plus bailout. There are so many reasons why I am stating that this is the WRONG thing to do (prior to it passing). I know some of you are asking “What do I know? Who is this guy?” Well, I am willing to say that I may know more than your average bear. I am Tom Chenowith, a tax paying, law abiding, living within my means US citizen.
This bail out is HUGE. It will be the biggest check ever written (it is what I call a “blank check” - you know, here is the money to fix the problem, but we aren’t really doing to fix the problem). There are so many echelons that will be impacted. I am not for sure if anyone can fully understand just how deep this problem goes. I guess we can start with how this started. That would fall under our Congress, our brilliant Congress that has screwed up virtually every task that has ever been given to them. To include, but not limited to, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Education, TSA, Border control, Border responsibility, Immigration, etc. And now - to add to their long list: Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 (a law that forced banks to make loans to people with bad credit). From 1993-1997 as directed by President Clinton, the CRA took on an enormous task of trying to enable low income families to have the ability to own their own home.
So, basically you now have people that can’t afford a home, buying a home. But, hey - it’s good for the economy, right?
Due to the mandatory relaxation of the rules and regulations for getting a loan to purchase a big piece of property - the American people continued to do what they do best - live beyond their means. The American people were (still) buying homes that are bigger than what they need, more expensive than they can afford, and have become a burden on our society. But, hey - it’s good for the economy, right?
Do you know that they average credit card debt is $9,000.00 (probably even more now, because this was an old reference). But, I would encourage you to read this.
A couple of highlights from this article are that 1 out of 73 filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and the average household debt in America (not counting mortgage debt) is $14,500. In comparison, in the 1930’s the middle and working class had NO major debt.
Enough of all of that, though, I will be honest with you. I believe that our government has PROVEN to me that they do not have foresight or the ability to do this bailout correctly. Let’s face the facts. Our government can’t even build a border that 85% of the US population wants and has paid for. They have actually spent more time, money and energy (not the physical energy either) than it would have taken to build the border in the first place. Doing this bailout will mean that our economy will still collapse, markets will remain low and now we are even in more debt. Do you realize that $700 billion dollars is 40% more than what this war has cost? Do you know what you can do with $700 billion dollars? If you stacked the bills on top of each other, you would be able to touch the moon. If you laid them out, you could cover New York, Washington, D.C., and Delaware. You could give every man, woman and child in the U.S. over $2,000.00 each. Bailing out the rich folks is probably not the best solution for this $700 billion. But, hey- it’s good for the economy, right?
What should happen? Well, I will tell you. The FBI (which is finally involved) should find all the padded pockets, all the overflowing bank accounts and arrest each and every person that has been involved with the people’s money. Which means Obama (who received over $126,000 from Fannie May and Freddie Mac) and even McCain (who received $21,000) should go to jail. I know many of you are saying that them receiving this money is legal. Of course it is legal. Congress which passes the laws makes it “legal” for them to do this. They have been padding their pockets for decades, however, it is unethical. There needs to be a new law - if it is unethical, then it are illegal. Taking money from private companies to turn your head is called bribery in the civilian sector. Seriously, it is time to play hard ball. It is time to clean the corruption in our government. If that means that every single congressman and senator goes to jail - then so be it!!!
Once the FBI has found and arrested all parties involved, then the government (whomever shall be left standing) should then look at the individuals that did nothing wrong. The people that put their money into these banks (saving and checking accounts) and say, “Basically, X amount of dollars where stolen from you, here is your check” and give them back what they lost (I am not talking about stocks either - the stock market rises and falls, it’s a risk - we all know it when we buy). And for people that bought or lived way beyond their means that is TOUGH. The tax paying citizen should not be responsible for you living a life that you can’t afford.
I have been told that by not bailing out the banks our country would go into a recession or even depression. My response is, “Good!” Maybe we Americans would then learn to live within our means. Maybe we should give up one of our four cell phones. Maybe we should turn the plasma screen TV off and play board games with our family. Maybe we should stop going to fast food restaurants and start having dinner around the family table. Maybe we should give up all of our cars and walk or ride a bike. Maybe we should stop using credit cards for buying stuff that we can't afford. Maybe would should clean out the 100 pair of shoes that we have in our closet. Maybe would should stop wearing designer clothes. Maybe we should turn the air conditioner off every once in awhile. Maybe, just maybe, living a simpler life would be better. Maybe instead of trying to “fix” the economy or bail rich people out - maybe, our do nothing right congress, should let the chips fall where they may. |
posted by Capt. C @ 2:53 PM  |
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