The Bailout: Automakers, Banks, and the Rest

Right smack in the middle of a horrendous election, Americans were faced with yet another pending crisis of banks folding, 401K's dwindling and our lives pretty much going to hell in a handbasket. Henry Paulson, George Bush and others told us again and again that unless they got $700 billion from the government, these businesses going under would put America in another Great Depression.

They told us what they would do with the money. They gave Congress pages and pages of solutions to the problems. They lined out their ideas and made the commitment to resolve this crisis. Congress hum hawed around, fought, took millions of phones calls from concerned Americans and assured us that they were looking out for us.

John McCain even halted his campaign to go to Washington to make sure this crisis was resolved. He told America he was going to make sure it got solved.
Most Americans were in agreement with this plan. Millions of people around the country said, NO, NO! Don't bailout these people. Our government ignored the will of the people once again. They gave this money to Henry Paulson and put Neel KashKari in charge of giving it out. He was supposed to be the bi-partisant watchdog that would assure the money was put, where it was needed. Part of that plan was supposed to be directed at failing mortgage holders to help Main St, America start to recover.

According to the Committee On Oversight and Government Reform heading by Henry Waxman:
On November 12, 2008, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that TARP would not acquire mortgage-related assets.
This has led to hearings by the Committee.

As I watched Neel KashKari sit before the Oversight Committee of Congress yesterday, I saw exactly what I had a feeling I would see. KashKari and Paulson have given a lot of this money away to the tune of over $290 Billion of the $700 Billion and they haven't applied any restrictions or accountability clauses in anything.

According to an article in "The Big Picture":
"It's a mess," said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department's inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program, until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. "I don't think anyone understands right now how we're going to do proper oversight of this thing."

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) called it a Bait and Switch tactic. Neel KashKari fumbled and stumbled his way through a pat answer that was only proving to infuriating the panel.

I would say that once again, we have turned the henhouse over to the Foxes. We put someone in charge of this precious money that we have to borrow to provide and they have stabbed America in the back. Yet hundreds of so called Congressmen and Senators are sitting there LETTING it happen. What is the good of having hearings and oversight if the money is gone?

The Washington Post reported this morning that the Bush Administration "signaled yesterday that it would reject a proposal by congressional Democrats to immediately advance $25 billion in government loans to ailing Detroit automakers."

That is probably the best decision Bush has made since he has been in office. Go Bush....

Everybody and their brother is coming out of the woodwork wanting a Bailout now. They have acted irresponsibly. They have been living large and now they want the Government to get them out of it before they fold. Yet, when or if they do get the Bailout, they aren't willing to change their ways. They want to continue lining THEIR pockets and let the Government and the average American take the fall for it.

My grandpa would call that "Throwing GOOD Money after BAD"!

The CEO's of the Banking, Securities and Financials and the Automakers, have thrown their lifestyles in our faces. People, homeless because of this crisis. People without jobs, many because of the CEO's bad management and rich lives. Yet, they continue to flaunt it. Citibank didn't need a Bailout. Henry Paulson gave them one anyway. Why? A story I heard on the news said they would be spending their part of the Bailout on CEO pensions and salaries. You have got to be kidding right?

America, we have been living large for years now. Not just businesses, but the average Joe the Plumber. We have bought on credit until we can only pay the interest. We have taken on more than we could handle. We have stopped saving our money like generations before us taught us to do. Just for cases like now.

We have stopped being a nation of hardworking, proud of what we do, Americans. We have become lazy and irresponsible. How did George Bush and the Government get to this point? We let them.
We go to our jobs and spend more time walking around talking or carrying a coffee cup and goofing off than trying to make our companies stronger and better. People aren't willing to work for a living anymore. That is why they say without the immigrants from Mexico coming America would fail. Because people would rather live off of the Government than work or get paid for a job they aren't really doing.

We have allowed Unions to kill this country. They have stopped being for the worker and started being about creating an impossible situation. The average auto worker makes about $30 an hour. How can these people sustain that in this economy? We have watched these Unions destroy jobs because of their unwillingness to compromise.

Main St. is as responsible for this craziness as the CEO's of Big Business. It has been bad behavior across this country.

This whole scenario has been boiling underground like a volcano for years. Across the board, America has become the most irresponsible country on Earth.

Then we wonder how the Government will let this money just go unchecked before it is too late? I don't wonder. This is getting to be a whole new crisis in itself. They have turned two people loose with this money and they don't have a clue. They are just throwing it whichever way the wind blows today.

Will Americans stand by and let this happen? I don't know. Will America continue to act irresponsible itself?

America just fought the toughest campaign in our history. We stood up and told the world we were tired of the same old ways. We elected Barack Obama our new President. Now what? Is the fight over with? Hardly over.....It has really just begun. Things are going to get worse before they get better for everyone.

Will Henry Paulson and Neel KashKari try to spend all of the money before the new Government takes the reins?

Time to get busy America. I won't stand by and let this go unchecked. I am making calls already. Will you call? Our future depends from this point on, on us. If we become complacent again and LET the people in Washington do what they want, we will find ourselves here again and again.

Washington needs to STOP NOW any more money being spent. They need to STOP these CEO's from profiting from this crisis. They need to STOP the waste and the bad habits of these people asking for money. They need to STOP the abuse of money that is being given out for any reason. Such as an email I got saying Get your share of the Bailout now!.

America, you can't keep bleeding the Government because that is their name. America was built on self sufficiency and hard work. We had to stand on our own and take care of our own. Be responsible for ourselves and our families. Not sit around and try to snake the Government so we can live better with less effort.

Individuals and businesses small and large have become so dependent on taking from the Government, they have forgotten how to make it by themselves. Now here we are wasting this opportunity we were forced into, because our Government has failed us yet again. We have gone back to our lives after the election and these people are going back to their old ways.

Are you tired of this? Then CALL....Call your Government. Not just YOUR Representative, but all of them. Just Google U.S Senators or US Congressmen and you can get phone numbers and emails. Bombard them and tell them to STOP IT! Do it today!

Take responsibility for your behavior.Take control of your situation. Be leaders for your families. Tomorrow may be too late.....for all of us if we continue on this path.