On the one hand, I know the question itself is rather trite. But we have to look at what is going on in wonderment and dismay, because if the precepts of capitalism (as I understand them) still exist, then the very thought of our government (and thereby every working citizen of this country) paying for the bailouts of companies like AIG or our Big 3 Automakers should seriously and completely just piss the crap out of everyone.
And yet, we sit here and barely protest the idea that these companies should die their natural deaths?
Let’s look at this realistically, folks.
AIG has received not one, but 2 bailouts now. Serious freaking money. It’s coming out of my pocket and yours. OK, so it supposedly won’t hurt us for awhile, but wait! We have a new feted president-elect coming our way, and guess who’s gonna take the heat for this in the long term? I can hear it now: That damn Democrat got voted in, everyone thinks he’s going to fix everything overnight and all he’s done is stick us with these TAX policies. And, um, those “stimulus checks” we’ve been getting? Yeah, we pay for those too; from where? The taxes we were supposed to get back next year! Or maybe the year after that — when Mr. Obama takes over…
Um, I believe this one belongs to “W” again, m’kay?
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Dem in my heart. I’m a Libertarian in principle, and very shortly a card-carrying member. I’m not liberal, although most of my friends who have no idea what a libertarian is all about think that I must be… I’m not a conservative though either, by any stretch of the imagination. I would say that I’m moderate, but primarily I’m a wife, a human being and a business person who is trying real hard to believe that our government has better things to do with MY money — with your money, and yours and yours too – than to throw it after bad companies that REFUSE to progress; or companies that REFUSE to do right by their clients and customers and shareholders and their own country! I think our government has absolutely no business taking any of my hard-earned cash to make these companies attempt to become re-solvent when all they have done is ignore the writing on the wall out of their own corporate narcissim.
If I hear one more story about AIG abusing bailout cash, I’m going to scream. And if Speaker Nancy Pelosi gets Congress behind the Big 3 bailout, I’m going to scream again! Trust me, you’re going to hear it in Tallahassee and in Cleveland, not to mention DC.
This is supposed to be free trade. Capitalism is not about getting governmental perks and ass-saving! If you can’t make the bills you should ”die”, just like us penny-ante small business folk, OK? I want to know who is going to bail my sorry butt if I can’t make my bills? Joe Nobody, that’s who. And what would be the reason for my failure? Poor budgeting? Stealing from my company? Yeah, right.
What does it really prove, to have the US government bail these companies out of the danger zone? I think it proves that monopolies are alive and well, living in America and abusing its’ people, buying their politicians; and these deregulated, wasteful, obsolete monsters are sanctioned by the government – not by the people of this great land. The CEO’s and upper management of these mega-corps that plunder and switch and then move on to another sucker-company should also be held accountable for the losses and have their hands slapped (and perhaps a goodly chunk of those large severance packages put back into circulation if it can be proven that they were corporate pirates!) Ruthless bastards exist, but come on, we’ve had enough, and we’re saying so!
There are new crimes in America.
Do YOU really want to pay for the cleanup? I think Honda and Toyota could do a pretty good job of keeping us in viable, as-green-as-it-gets-for-now automobiles, until something new comes along.
Burn the trolls, for crying out loud!
OK, I apologize. I know, probably better than many of you, just how many jobs that stand to be eliminated if the bailouts fail. Both my husband and my former husband worked for GM and it’s subsidiaries and both have had those jobs eliminated in less than 2 years. But if small businesses like mine go under because I can’t make my bills — in part because my taxes have escalated to some ungodly point, or my gasoline bill goes through the roof, or I have to live with my elderly parents because I can’t pay a mortgage – then Mom and Pop America is going to have just as many effective job losses in the long run and we’ll be back to square-one.
Perhaps we should look at ways to ease the burdens of the deaths of these big companies while still allowing them to die. The workforce is what needs protection – not the company itself! There has to be some alternative than these ill-conceived bailouts. I would rather our government remove segments of workers and pay to retrain them and to help them get jobs elsewhere than to continue to throw good money after bad. Why continue to reward the management and shareholders for their lack of forsight and their general greed? They have to be held accountable in some manner. Forcing them to go lean and mean might actually cause them to W-O-R-K to resolve their own crises.
People take jobs not just to work, but to support families, to have pride in themselves and to, hopefully, work for a company that stands for something good and positive. We want loyalty from them, but corporations feel no loyalty toward us! We want to enter our old age knowing we’ve done right by our children, and maybe, just maybe we can even take some kind of retirement. Today, however, all we feel is burned; burned by corporate America, and now by the government that is supposed provide us with a level of protection: just as Honest Abe said — government OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people… Are WE perishing?
And the question remains: Does capitalism still exist in America? Ross Perot, where the hell are you?
1 Comment
November 14, 2008 at 11:24 AM
My deepest sympathies – eventhough they may not mean much coming from not only a complete stranger, but someone who is trying to build public opinion. Nevertheless – my deepest sympathies. Your opinions are by far the most realistic I have heard so far. This being a public forum, there is just one thing I would like to comment.
“I think it proves that monopolies are alive and well, living in America and abusing its’ people, buying their politicians; and these deregulated, wasteful, obsolete monsters are sanctioned by the government – not by the people of this great land. ”
It is a common misconception that you build monopolies by deregulating, when that which is true is in fact the opposite. These huge companies are relying on one thing for their survival – that the governments regulate the markets. Because in a regulated market, if you have enough “political pull”, you can make the regulations benefit you in front of your competitors. These companies would never have survived free competition – because they are so incompetently managed. What we see now is nothing more than the end of another cycle, where all good competition has been regulated out, and the government has to save the pathetic incompetent giants that cannot even stand up without aid anymore. Have you ever wondered why so many of the “regulators” (people in key financial positions in the government) seem to have been once “regulated” (managing some huge bank or other financial institution) and vice versa? The governments and the banks have their own club – and this club can only survive if they regulate away any competition. This goes for most business sectors. Regulate someone into a favorable position – and he get’s enough money to be able to “pull” the politicians into giving him even more favors.
The real businesses, that are interested in their employees, and in making good business, and providing good products – are the competitors that are being driven out of the markets through regulation.
Deregulate – go back to real capitalism – and let people decide for themselves what they want.
….no, there is no real capitalism left, not anywhere in the world. It is the first thing to be sacrificed when anyone gives too much power to the government…..
//hpx83 Save capitalism