Bail Out Schmail Out

If one more private company gets a government bailout I am going to scream!!! This is ridiculous! These companies have approved bad loans, they have made investments in people that didn't meet certain standards. Now things have finally started to really crumble because the foundation that rocketed Bear Sterns, Freddie and Fannie Mac, Lehman, AIG, Merrill Lynch, and soon to see WaMu wasn't a true foundation. It's like having an unlicensed contractor pour your concrete. You don't know what you are going to get, and yet, these companies got greedy. They thought, we can get this huge house built on this super cheap foundation! GENIUS!

WRONG! It was not genius, it was greedy. And now the Government, who clearly doesn't believe in, or understand basic Economics, is bailing out everyone and their mother. And guess what? It's not even real money. The Government hasn't had it's own money since 1938. Our debt has spiraled out of control and today we wonder why offering private companies BILLIONS of dollars isn't enough. Has anyone checked how much a US Dollar is actually worth lately? It's because a US Dollar isn't worth what it used to be worth. And it's all because it's not real money. It's all fake. Where does this "bailout" come from? It comes from an existing debt of $9 TRILLION.

So, let's re-cap:

1. Advertising/Marketing sells the American Dream,
2. People make poor financial decisions in the hopes of attaining the American Dream,
3. Un-educated mortgage brokers find loop-holes in the systems and get these less than desirable people approved for loans they can't afford,
4. Banks approve these loans because they are greedy for the money, because of an increase in competition in the banking industry
5. Greedy private companies look outside the US for backing for these loans
6. Everyone lives happily for about 5 years, until the ARM's actually adjust their rates... opps!
7. People can't make new rate payments
8. People start losing jobs and can't make payments
9. Banks/ Investment Firms start working with some people and selling off more of their "bad loans" to overseas investors
10. Banks/Investment Firms wake up and realize they are doomed and try to sell to the competition or even better- beg for government funding!
11. The government bails out the first 4 large investment firms claiming that if they let them go down, it would hurt the economy. (I don't know if they live in my neighborhood, but the economy is already hurt) Even though the government just bailed them out with fake money, that's not going to hurt the economy at all!

And now we have a chose your own adventure story on our hands

Option 1:

1. Suddenly what used to be a highly competitive industry is run by the government
2. It becomes impossible to get a loan for a house, a new business, or school because requirements for these are so high because of the fear of more defaults.
3. Growth stops, we continue to lose jobs, people continue to lose their houses, people can't afford to educate themselves beyond the free high school level, no one has medical coverage because it too has become too expensive and without a shelter or health, we have lost the first two levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
4. The gap between those that have and those that don't grows significantly and we see poverty levels higher than the great depression.

Option 2:

1. The government stops helping companies, lets economics take hold of the system and there will be lawsuits.
2. No one wins, just the lawyers

Option 3:

1. The government stops bailing out large investment companies, forcing them to be sold at pennies on the dollar or go bankrupt.
2. People who have their money protected under FDIC regulations get their money back
3. Greedy CEO's and management teams lose their salaries, and possibly their houses- wow, now they really know what they have done.
4. Regulations are put in place about who can become a mortgage broker (more than a 6 week course this time)
5. There are less regulations on who can get money. The standards we have today are sufficient, but they should not get any tighter.
6. Responsible people with good credit ratings are able to get loans and help to rebuild the economy because as Americans, that's what we do, we man-up and get back to work
7. There are some government funded community building projects that help the economy grow
8. The debt still grows, but hopefully we have some economic growth to back it up.