The big three auto makers were in Washington, maybe they are still there, requesting a bail out for their companies. and low and behold AIG is also back needing more. I believe the figure is, $185 billion dollars. And Barack Obama’s opponets were worried that he was a socialist!!!
None of this surprises me. Under the Bush administartion, Alan Greenspan and Congress deregulated so much. I believe it was Alan Greenspan who testified in a Senate committee hearing who said something to the effect that he presumed these banks and big corporations would act responsibly and not take such risks as they would want to protect their shareholders, the public and their employees.
No denying I am a senior citizen but I am not near out of touch as to the deteriorating of morals, ethics and good business standards of most of the society and especially of the corporate moguls. Greed grows and expands when the conditions permit. With the massive deregulation the time was ripe. Every parent knows that if you do not set down the rules every child will go astray. It seems to me the older generation still assumes that everything was like the old days – a hand shake seals a deal or a loan, that people were basically honest. Perhaps basically we are honest until the tempatation to be otherwise is just too great and there are no checks and balances. I believe in part it is why Senator McCain lost the election. He is no longer in touch with the way things are.
As for socialism we have been heading that way on a fairly steady course. Welfare is a form of socialism, so is the earned income credit, school lunch programs, medicaid and now the bail outs. The bail outs have now given our government ownership in part in coporations. In a truly capitalistic society these businesses would have folded, been shut down and the unemployment would be off the scale. Because the problem was astronomical and perceiving the horrific circumstances that would follow, the government made the decision to borrow money to bail out these companies. What a mess President Elect Barack Obama will inherit.
The bailout has not gone as planned. the banks have not really opened up credit again but instead the money has been used in many cases to buy up smaller banks. Instead of taking it easy on creditors they are actually tightening the screws. Credit limits on existing credit cards are being lowered and in many cases the interest rates are being raised to between 30 and 40%. So this means for the consumer that he may been making his minimum payment of say $50.00 but the monthly interest is now say $150.00. In reality he will be adding another $100.00 dollars every month to his balance owed without ever charging a thing. And then of course as his balance continues to increase the monthly interest amount will also keep going up. The banks contend that these steps are being taken to encourage people to pay off their cards. Yeah, right. The unemployment is going higher every month, more and more company closings and more layoffs to come. So there will be more and more defaults on the credit card bills. The banks are in my mind just speeding up that process. I believe bankrupticies will escalate over the coming months as well. When you have no job, unemployment benefits do not pay the bills.
Congress is also wanting to have another stimulus plan passed in a lame duck session. This time to bail out state and local governments. My God where will it end? Yet I have not heard how those being foreclosed on are being helped to stay in their homes. All the bail outs are doing is giving to the big banks, big corporations and now to the state and local governments. Okay so this will or should help people keep jobs. Perhaps the others are just collateral damage.
So where do go from here??? Many of us will experience disaster in our lifestyle and there are no quick fixes. Which brings me to President Elect Barack Obama. His desire is to turn things around but none of it can be done quick enough to keep some of us from financial ruin. Pretty pathetic. There has been some talk on CNN that the only way to create 22 million jobs in his first year in office is to start a public works program like what was done during the Great Depression. Heck no one even says we are in a Recession yet and the prospect of Depression like solutions are being considered. I find that very interesting.
A very bleak outlook to be sure. My trust is in God who will help us through all of this. So no matter what happens I will remain in His peace knowing that He is in control and will intervene in His time. People will then recognize that only He could have turned everything around.
Do try to smile and laugh and if you are a believer then rest in God for all will be truly well.
Jm
You may also visit helium.com/users446975 to read other articles I have published on various topics.
Tags: Economic crisis, Government bail outs, John McCain, President Elect Barack Obama, recession, Seante Committee Hearings, Socialism, the Great Depression
