Bailout Shmailout

I haven't blogged anything political lately, not because I don't know what's going on, or don't have opinions (hahaha!) on it, but because if I start, it will go and go and go and I will short circuit in a puff of smoke and collapse and never be able to find my kitchen counters again. Oh, wait, that last part has kinda already happened. I'm working on it though. I am.

I did finally come to a conclusion of sorts on this bailout. I was surprised yesterday when it failed, more so to find out my representative had voted for it. In his defense, he did so with much deliberation and gnashing of teeth, believing it to be 'better for the tax payer' in the end.

I don't know about that. And I mean that at face value. I really don't know. Of course, I think 90% of our politicians know as much or less (thank you, public education), but I was able to come to a conclusion on the idea of it, without understanding every nuance.

When I tried to email my congressman, the page took forever to load, and I eventually got a "we're sorry, Capitol Hill is experiencing high email volume. Please try back again later" message. Ha. I bet. I used a different avenue, which sent my message to all my senators, reps, the Big Man himself, and the treasury guy. I did reference my congressman in particular, however.

My thoughts come down to this (excerpted from my letter):

I DO understand one thing: I WOULD RATHER HAND MY THREE CHILDREN A COUNTRY DESTROYED BY AN ECONOMIC DEPRESSION THAN HAND THEM ONE DESTROYED BY SOCIALISM. Depressions and hard work and effort sometimes bring out the best in us and our communities. Socialism never does. And if you do this (whether or not with taxpayers' best interest at heart), the next hiccup in the economy (or dire consequence of other liberal policies) will have the expectation of some (more) government intervention, ultimately suppressing our freedoms and liberties. I DO NOT SUPPORT THAT. Worse, people wanting more power, more government (maxine waters, anyone?) will have nothing to do but create another crisis by which to sweep more of the private sector under the umbrella of government management.

I don't think Thomas Jefferson or James Madison or any of their esteemed cohorts had that in mind, do you?

Lower the capital gains tax, if you want to flood the markets with money and confidence, and quit trying to create some false utopia wherein people can buy houses (and more) without money.


It took me a long while to get here. I really don't know what, if anything, should be done, but I think it's a slippery slope, and given the options above that I perceive, I'll take my chances with less government.

Do you agree? Disagree? Prefer some cake? Say so. :)