Bang for My Buck

I am losing my patience with our government. I keep telling myself to put down the newspaper, take a step back and breathe, because it’s not as bad as it seems. What’s got me hyperventilating? Our current financial situation for one. It seems we've given out 2-trillion dollars and nobody in government knows who got the money or how they are spending it.

I’m not happy with the bailouts presently going on. Not because I fear we’re sliding into a socialistic kind of government. We’ve had some sort of socialistic tendencies going on for years, like our progressive tax system, for instance. What bothers me is all this money is being given out in taxpayers’ name, and still, nobody is being held accountable. I mean, who is getting this money...what are their plans for this money...do the CEOs and other honchos still get their bonuses and golden parachutes....are other companies, like AIG still funding getaways for their execs on taxpayer money...was any criteria set before they got the money, or did they just say, we’re broke..give it to us...

That doesn’t work for me or anyone I know for that matter. When those of us in the real world go broke for whatever reason, unless we have a benevolent rich relative to bail us out, we have to sign over everything as collateral including our first born, in blood, on parchment made from the skins of our ancestors.

More and more companies are asking for a handout. Whatever happened to the unregulated market place. What happened to survival of the fittest? I’m being forced to live by those rules. Why not big business and Wall Street? Why do they get to change the rules when they don’t work. Seems to me that if you allow your company to fall into financial ruin, and the workers lose their jobs, then you need to lose your job, your parachute and whatever bonus was promised when you signed on. It’s not fair for CEOs and others to walk away with the money while the workers get furloughed and thrown into bankruptcy. Especially if their back up plan is to ask for taxpayer money to get them out of their self constructed ditch.

Now the auto industry is crying for a handout. I’m in favor of giving it to them, because so much of our economy runs through Detroit. The big three are the major employers. They fund other industries, including our defense industry. Losing any one of the big three would be a catastrophe.

But, they need to give us something, too. If the big three want my money, then they need to build the kind of car that I need. I need a fuel efficient, safe car, that is environmentally friendly like the ones that are manufactured for the overseas markets. The big three also need to return some jobs to America. Let’s manufacture these cars over here, for a change and ship them out, rather than ship them in to the country.

Some of that is actually going on. Half the cars on the road, no matter what the name, are made here. I drive a “foreign” car with a Japanese name that actually rolled off the assembly line in Moraine Ohio between GMC Envoys and Chevy trailblazers. The only difference between my “foreign” car and the Envoy, is the name on the side panel and ten thousand dollars in price. My foreign car had the cheaper price, yet was loaded just like the Envoys and the trailblazers. My car is even roomier than the Trailblazer. Why not cut the price to the American market, too. That Moraine, Ohio plant shut down earlier this year in a cutback move, by the way.

I hope that if and when the government decides to bailout the auto makers, it will get some bang for our buck. Better cars, more jobs with a living wage. Then I would feel better about signing off on these bailouts.

Queen Johnny

To quote the late actor Robert Preston in the film Victor/Victoria, “there’s nothing sadder than an old queen with a head cold..”

Johnny Mac doesn’t have a cold, but he does seem to be channeling his inner drag queen this week(who else would pay $5500 for makeup), preferring to stir up chaos and a lot of drama, rather than campaigning like an honorable politician seeking the highest office in the land.

Actually, honorable in context with the word politician or in any sentence that contains John McCain’s name is an oxymoron. McCain’s campaign has been totally dishonorable. I didn’t think it could sink any lower, but apparently he prefers swimming in muddy waters.

A couple of days ago, McCain held his first news conference in a hundred years to tell everyone that he was suspending his campaign in order to run back to Washington and hammer out a bailout for Wall Street. Queen Johnny likes playing president. Remember when Russia jumped all over Georgia. John John took to the airwaves to tell everyone what he would do...not that we asked. He jumped so fast, you would’ve thought that Shrub had already retired.

Her majesty said no ads, no campaigning, no political work of any kind while he was being presidential....McCain even wanted to cancel tonight’s debate, because he said he had too much stuff on his plate to do something so trivial as to talk to the American people about foreign policy, which is his strong suit, by the way. Well, that stuff may work with reporters...he hasn’t talked to reporters since he started using Sarah Palin as a shield...but it doesn’t work with we, the people. And his campaign during this suspension has been business as usual, complete with the underhanded, lying attacks on Obama.

All that came out the oval office yesterday was this photo of McCain sitting at the end of the table staring out into space. So what happened? Did the big deal maker have an old timer’s moment and forget where he was? Reports from inside the room said McCain barely said a word nor did he really push for anything substantial.

So.....what was the point of all this nonsense except to say...”look at me, world...I’m John McCain...vote for me because I said so...” Drag Queen drama!

But he still has the spotlight....the question today is will the debate happen tonight....My guess is that it will....but Queen Johnny will arrive fashionably late in order to make an entrance...

W.T.F.?!

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.-maya angelou

I’ve just been listening to our sitting President, the short timer, talk about the current economic crisis. This is the second straight day that he has come out of the White House to talk to the people about the stuff going on, on Wall Street.

He spoke less than five minutes and took no questions yesterday. Bush was so brief that Charlie Gibson was left without words and nothing to say. Gibson’s shock was visible. The MSM had obviously expected more.

Today, Shrub spoke for about five minutes longer. He took no responsibility for what is going on, preferring to dump the problem onto Congress with a kind of “okay, now do something” attitude.

Again, he took no questions and simply walked off leaving Treasury Secretary Paulson flapping in the wind.

I think we are inching closer to the kind of national commission that was put into place during the savings and loan crisis several years ago. Those who don’t remember that scandal should crack open a history book or two. Or google it, you can find the information readily enough.

While you’re at it, look up the Keating Five Scandal, because it ties into not only the savings and loan mess, but also today’s presidential campaign.

Since we’re looking back, I found an interesting article on the Warren Harding and Teapot Dome...What? You say....check it out...it weighs heavily on what’s happening today.....


And let’s call these bailouts what they are.....Socialism at work.....We are seeing, I believe the death of American Capitalism...But I’ll save that thought for another day...I’m still mulling that one over....