Capitalism or Socialism?

When we bail out banks, Wall Street, and states, are we embracing socialism as a way to solve our economic crisis? The words "socialism" and "socialists" have been bandied about by the press, but is this the way we are really headed? Do we want to depend on government to always come to the rescue when we get ourselves in financial trouble or do we want to pull ourselves up by our own entrepreneurship or "bootstraps" if you will?

Apparently we want both.

A business will succeed or fail on its own, but often needs a boost in the early years to keep afloat. There is nothing wrong with that. But what about a business that has gotten ahead by cheating or lying about its assets. Are we supposed to try to keep these afloat as well? What if the business made lots of profit for the owners, only to drain the business itself and its workers dry? Sound familiar? Where do we draw the line in saving a business, especially when the business impacts a lot of people. President Obama has tried to address this by requiring salaries of top executives to be capped if they request federal bailout money. This is a good start, but falls short. Many of these executives are criminals. They should be in jail instead of being rewarded for bad business practices and shady deals. I wonder how these people sleep at night knowing how many people are suffering due to their misdeeds.

How do we decide which businesses truly deserve help and which ones should be weeded out...I don't know the answer, but I believe that capitalism will do the weeding out eventually. Only the strong and well run company will last in the long haul. In the meantime, socialist-type bailouts will be acceptable until we get back on our feet.

Senate Balks at Bailout

The auto industry bailout is not a done deal. The UAW has refused to give concessions in pay and benefits. At one time I would have applauded the UAW move, but watching more and more Americans lose their jobs has given me less tolerance for the highly paid auto worker.

I look at how much a policeman makes, or a teacher...

and I wonder...is this fair??

If the auto industry wants to be competitive, the auto industry will have to be like any other business and trim it's budget when necessary. Don't expect the rest of the country to be sympathetic when the rest of us have to deal with budget cuts as a way of life.

I realize that there is a trickle down effect. When the auto industry doesn't prosper, it effects many others down the road. The industry needs to realize that there are many others (who do not make the guaranteed high wages) who are effected by their industry. Somehow I don't think these lower paid workers are very happy when the auto workers aren't willing to give a little during times like these.

My Dad was a "Ford Man"

My father was a loyal "Ford Man." He couldn't understand why anyone would want to buy any other kind of car. He often preached "Buy American."

Is that so wrong?

But what about free enterprise? Choice? Getting to buy the best product for the money?

No one wants to encourage protectionism in the global economy of today, but should we offer incentives to buy American? Maybe instead we should just encourage the auto industry to make a car we would be interested in buying. If the problem is the auto industry's lack of responding to the market, why are we bailing them out???

Americans should be just as proud to say they bought a new Ford as my father used to be. The know-how is there, the research is there, and the ability to make a more fuel efficient car is there.

Get with it, Big Three.

GM, Chrysler, Ford Bailout

The Federal Government has somewhat agreed to the bailout of GM, Chrysler, and to lesser extent Ford. Everyone has their hand out. What we must not forget is that we, the taxpayers, will be paying for the mismanagement of these huge companies.

No one wants to see these companies go under or to see jobs lost; but a lot of belt tightening is necessary and changes have to be made.

If the Federal Government is expected to bail out all these companies, what is expected in return? Do these companies want to be publicly owned or do they simply want to be rescued every time the books can't be balanced? There must be accountability. Their new partners (The Fed and the American taxpayer) deserve to have input to what they are planning. Since Chrysler didn't learn from past mistakes, why do we expect them to do any better this time.

The "Big Three" need to wake up. How can they be so out of step with what we want in a car? Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Audi, VW, Honda...How do they stay afloat?

Every business has layoffs. How can we justify the "job bank" for auto workers, when other Americans are simply out of work and having to look for a new job. Maybe benefits and wages need adjusted or frozen. I work under a "topping out" system of salaries...I don't like it, but I still have a job.

We all need to balance our books; that has been our problem as a country. We keep spending regardless of our resources. This should remind us all that eventually the piper has to be payed.

Financial crisis or Pork crisis...Oink!

I am totally disgusted with the "Bailout" and our Washington, DC leaders. Allowing all the pork barrel spending to be tacked on to the Bailout bill, demonstrates the lack of conscience of our entire Senate and the disrespect they feel for us all. I thought we had a crisis. Apparently this crisis is not important enough to allow a prudent discussion of the problems facing our banking, credit lending and insurance institutions without including the wants and desires of the lobbyists and special interest groups. Fear and drama have been used to corral the American people into the pen; however, the porkers are the only winners. The average American citizen will pay for the "pork" as well as the "crisis." Oink! Oink!

The Party is Over? Maybe

Is it time to call it a day? What a bunch of babies! There is certainly a lot of blame to go around, but now is not the time for Congress to point fingers. The American people are disgusted enough with the lack of leadership concerning the Wall Street financial crisis; but the refusal of Congress to find an equitable solution to this problem is criminal. Do we really expect any more? It is just business as usual on Capital Hill.

As Wall Street continues to falter, life goes on...

No one wants to pay for this mess, but I hope we don't end up losing even more before a plan is hammered out. We have lost money, sure; but will we continue to lose the respect we have for our elected leaders.

I hope this bailout crisis will make everyone aware how important it is to vote in the upcoming election in November. Hopefully, people will stay interested in the 2008Presidential election. I fear apathy could take its place as we watch Congress fight among themselves rather than take a real interest in resolving the immediate crisis.

I believe I am feeling stressed and a little helpless myself. I don't like this feeling. I like being in control of my future. Obviously, someone else is in the position to dictate what can happen in my life and to my life savings. Greed is a hungry monster.

I hope Congressional grandstanding will become less important as the next few days go by, and I hope a plan can be agreed upon for the good of the American people as well as for the financial wellness of our banks and Wall Street.

I want it now

After my big rant yesterday about Wall Street and the financial bailout, I began to think more about how this financial situation could have been allowed to happen. I was blaming the "Big Guys" up in Washington, DC. But I really began to worry about how this mess was going to effect me personally. The operative word being "me." I have grown up in a "me, me, me" culture. I have contributed to this climate of greed and recklessness. I have been guilty of saying "I want it, and I want it now."

I have a job that pays decent money; however, I expect my bank or credit union to give me easy credit when I "need" it. We all have laughed at the number of credit cards and bank offers we receive. Maybe all this easy money comes at a price we have been willing to ignore. We all knew something was just not quite right about it.

Well...now it is time to pay the piper.