Failed Bailout Package

I've been off the blog way too long. My apologies.

Let me start by saying, I have mixed emotions about the failed package. Something should be done to help Americans, but without snatching away $700 billion dollars from taxpayers and giving it to firms that made risky investments.

All firms are supposed to be able to cover their debts. Just like all homeowners are supposed to pay their mortgages. When a homeowner can't pay, he goes into foreclosure and has to declare bankruptcy. The government doesn't walk up and say, hey, I'll take all your credit card debt, auto loan, and anything else you have to pay for, so you can still have your house. But that's exactly what the bailout was for corporations.

And even worse, the choice on which debts were purchased and which firms were saved was completely arbitrary. It seems on recent experience, the largest firms were rescued and the rest allowed to fail.

So your neighbor builds that second level, or buys that enormous McMansion across the street, while you stay in your one-story, but when you both lose your job, since your neighbor has the bigger loan, he gets the helping hand and you get nothing.

There has got to be a better plan in Congress. Something that is fair to the majority of Americans, that will help the majority of Americans, not reward selfish risky behavior.

I remember the big push ten years ago by banks and investment firms to try and deregulate the market. And here's what we got.

My wife was in WaMu a day before they went belly up to renew a CD and the New Accounts rep asked her if she would like to put her money in a money market account. Beautiful. The banks are getting exactly what they deserve. Sell, sell, sell the associates are told - and if they don't they lose their commissions or their jobs if they don't meet their goals. Sell these crappy risky products that are now worthless to the unsuspecting bloke off the street.

I know America will go through a tough financial situation now and for the next few years, but maybe, just maybe, for a few years a few lessons will be learned and remembered.

Look at the Great Depression, it's lessons were learned and held on to for over 50 years. Then the S&L thing blew up during the last bid to deregulate the financial markets and McCain was known as one of the Keating Five. But the lesson from that debacle lasted less than 20 years. McCain was in DC the entire time. You think he would've learned.

I wonder how long our government and Americans will remember their lessons from this disaster.

Hopefully, a lot longer.