Keep it up America

It keeps seeming like the bailout bill is ready to be passed. People make compromises and it looks like we will move forward with a massive financial plan that has only been discussed for a week(or less). Thanks to the strongest declaration that America is run by the people that I have ever seen, and a few congress members who are against it on principle, the "final" bailout bill got rejected by the house. And stocks plummetted. Like many people, I am worried about the affects all this will have but I know that an optimal solution can be reached as long as we slow down. My family is starting to be affected by this crisis already as my wife works for Citigroup now( so it would seem ), but that only makes me want to make sure we take the time to work out a plan to keep this kind of mess from happening again. While this was created by a failure of the entire system, I still think we need to make sure that the most heinous corporate criminals pay for their crimes against society so that in the future people take a moment before letting their greed take over.

Who is and has been talking about this for years? Ralph Nader. Along with speaking out against corporate crime he has said again and again that citizens need to take back their country. The amount of letters, emails and phone calls that our members of congress are recieving is making them balk at passing this bill. Keep it up. I am proud to be an American today.

Nader Gonzalez 2008!

Thank you...Republicans?

Yesterday all the news I read pointed to lawmakers coming to an agreement on the bailout. Then this morning my wife told me all about what she watched on C-Span during a bout of insomnia last night. It seems everybody is in agreement on the direction of the $700,000,000,000.00 Bailout except the House Republicans. Because of that I must say thank you. ...

I have one reader/commenter Jason the Saj who continually complains about politics down the party line and I agree with him whole heartedly. That is why it is easy for me to applaud any group of lawmakers saying, "Hold Up! What other options do we have here." My wife and I even discuss a $25 co-pay to decide whether or not it is the best option even though good health is extremely important to both of us. So I applaud someone saying, we can take a little time and make sure we are doing what is best for the tax payers.

FDR said it best,"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". There is also a quote from Dune that works but I digress. We must not cave to the fear of the situation. In the recent past we have found ourselves doing this too often and it seems to breed more fear and uncertainty. We must let this fear pass over and through us as we see our way forward.

On a slightly related topic, it would be nice to hear people begin to talk like the $700,000,000,000.00 bailout is not a done deal. When I first heard about it, I thought it was already written in stone. Now it appears that it isn't a sure thing and yet the media and most others are all talking like it is. Let Wall Street live through a few weeks of uncertainty - as all the paperwork says there is no assurances in investing. Those of us who don't work on Wall Street ( A.K.A. the vast majority ) appreciate less panic and more calm discussions leading to the most agreeable outcome.