The Financial Bailout and Why it is Wrong

It is my belief that the idea of government for the people and by the people is as extinct in Washington as the dinosaurs. Since World War II the expansion of the federal government has led to corruption and an insatiable thirst for power by most public officials. Our system of government has been completely changed right under our noses and we have done little if anything to stop it. We have in fact at times supported it without knowing the facts. Big government it seems supports big business and big business is the downfall of society.

It was not long ago that a family could live comfortably on one paycheck and even save up enough to buy a house and maybe even start a small business. It seems today that saving up for anything is as silly as a child's believing in Santa Clause. Big business, in this case the banks, will lend us the money to purchase our home or open a business. The problem with this design is that no matter how well our small businesses perform we still must pay debt every month. The debt. Consider the word. Debt is not a good thing. When one is in debt they are essentially slaves to the debtor. If you do not perform your work diligently regardless of sickness, natural disaster or other unforeseen circumstance you can not pay your debt. The debtor will in turn take your house, your business, your possessions, and in fact your dignity.

Big business has laid a careful plan to control the masses. We buy what we are told to buy, we eat what we are told to eat, we are essentially sheep in a flock with Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart our shepherds, dictating our lives for us. Big business does not micro manage our day to day lives but they do in fact control our spending habits and that is the key to controlling society.

I only bring up these points as precursor to why I feel the "Financial Bailout" scheme is going to cause more harm than good. In principal alone it is not good idea to allow the huge corporations to continue doing business. It has a negative effect on society as can be seen by the lack of small businesses in every small town in America. There are no more butchers, bakers or candlestick makers, there is only Wal-Mart and K-Mart. There are no locally owned lumber yards there is Home Depot and Lowes. There are not locally owned and operated banks keeping money in the community, there are huge corporate banks like Chase and Wachovia that are taking in our money and paying very small interest rates while lending that same money at much higher rates and getting rich in the process. These are the types of companies that are benefiting from the "Financial Bailout". The small business owners keep money in the community and care about their customers. These are the businesses that are good for society. These are the businesses we should be supporting.

While I do support a complete and total boycott of big business I realize that a total boycott is almost impossible as there are very few alternatives available. So for now at least Wal-Mart and company are here to stay. It seems to me however that these companies and banks made poor investments. When John Q Public makes poor investments and can not pay his bills, he is denied further credit. When the bankers have made the same mistakes we can overlook it and run a line of credit in the trillions of dollars. Whatever happened to "What's good for the goose..."?

Proponents of the "Financial Bailout" claim that without the bankers and the big corporations the economy will flat line. This is a justifiable claim as for the past 60 years we have slowly built the backbone of our economy to be supported by these wealthy bankers and business owners. A poor decision to say the least but reality is what it is. This does not mean that we can't change things for the better. In fact it seems things have changed themselves. GM and Chrysler are on the verge of collapse while banks are scrambling to reorganize and drop dead weight. The current system is in a process of self destruction. The real question remains: Is this is or is it not a good thing? I say it is.

In the end the idea of government for the people and by the people is the backbone of our society and the one true way to allow the people to make the decision as to what companies and banks deserve saving should be left to the people.

I counter the "Financial Bailout" with a ground up economic recovery plan. Give the people the money. It is theirs to begin with and they need it a whole lot more than rich and powerful CEOs and bankers. Let the public decide where to spend their money. I would imagine most of us would pay off our big debts (house, car, business etc...) In essence this money would flow right back up stream to the bankers and CEOs. The current plan leaves the everyday person out of the equation. The money is given directly to the bankers and the CEOs. Once again these are the same people that have time and again made poor decisions and bad investments. These are the people that have caused our current economic situation. Why then are we enabling them to continue doing the same thing only this time with our money? The answer is simple. Money is power and those involved in big government want as much of both as they can get their hands on. Of course I have used the world give when referring to loans being made to big businesses by the government. These are loans but my expectation is that these companies will falter long before they have a chance to pay back and money. However if loaned at low interest rates most of the public will pay back these loans.

The facts are the facts. Banks loaned money to individuals and small businesses with no clear ability for them to pay back the money. Now the bankers are feeling the pain from those poor decisions. Or so they claim. It only makes sense that the bankers knew exactly what they were doing. In the worst case they figured they would own a good percentage of the real estate in the country and in turn have more control over the masses. The fact that they want this power in evident. Even though almost two trillion dollars in bailout money has gone to the bankers and big corporations there are still jobs being cut and houses being foreclosed. The jobs that are available come from the big corporations and pay an unreasonable salary to most. There is an shrinking middle class and an growing lower class. We will soon have the very rich and the very poor there will be no in between.

The current "Financial Bailout" is a bust. There is little evidence to the contrary. Let your congressman know that you do not support any more money going to big business or big banks. Let them know that you are more qualified to make decisions about where your money is going then CEOs and bankers. Let your voice be heard because it really is supposed to be for the people and by the people.