It didn't pass...

and I have to say "thank god." I swear if the tax payers have to pay for some really stupid decisions on the part of other Americans we might as well become socialists. I work my tail off most days and I have been working my tail off since I was in high school. I still have school loans, I don't own my car, I don't own a house. I am trying to take care of my debt before I get a bunch more. And this day in age, with all of the uncertainty in the market, I am not going to be able to get a loan for a house, because some people made some REALLY DUMB decisions. And now they are telling me that not only do I not qualify for a home loan anymore because I don't have 20% down, (even with excellent credit) but on top of that, those tax dollars you pay, those are going to bail out these greedy people who were at one point living the American Dream. It's not fair.

And if there is one thing I get after working in the corporate world for the past 10 years, is that life is not fair. But do we need the government to say it now too?!?!? I am an optimist. I am always looking for the situation that will please everyone. But I really feel like we are missing something big here. There HAS to be a way for us to prevent the failing of more large banks and financial institutions but also doesn't stop our entire economy from growing. And I should note that it should also not further separate the elitist upper class and the quickly booming lower income class.

I studied Economics, and I KNOW that there are some REALLY smart Economists out there that we could really use to shake some sense into our leaders. When Corporations attempt to break into a new market. The first thing they do is RESEARCH. They find the smartest people in the field and they get them in-house to help break into that new market. Now, all the sudden the government is setting economic policy that will help or hinder our nations ability to grow for decades to come and they clearly haven't talked to anyone with any real intelligence on the matter.

Maybe they need to poll some creative economics students... Get the people who haven't fallen victim to the "system" yet and can still think outside of the box.

I did just read this quote on another blog and fell in love:
"Capitalism will always survive in the United States as long as the government is willing to use socialism to bail it out." - Nathra Nader, Ralph Nader's father

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.

Are voters smart?

My brother is a bright guy. He was always getting better grades than me in school. He is an architect, so he has this ability to understand numbers and be creative at the same time.

Today we were discussing Sarah Palin and the voters in this country. In the past few days there have been a few reports of McCain winning over white female voters in this country because of Sarah Palin. I don't get it. I don't understand choosing a book based on its cover, especially in this case. Palin might actually become president. McCain is the oldest presidential nominee we have ever had, and he's not dying now, but 4 years at his age is a LONG time. Palin is a good looking, young, female Republican. But she is also a supporter of aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska. She believes that getting oil from ANWR will benefit the country and won't impact the environment, or at least she's willing to forgo the environment for what is BELIEVED to be "about a year and a half worth of U.S. oil consumption and many months of natural gas."

I wonder why we are talking about sucking more from our environment when we don't even know if we will have a planet and safe ground to live on 20 years from now. Shouldn't we be focused on creating new energy sources. I am not smart enough to tell you which one, but I do know that the one that we have been using for the past century isn't working- it's killing the environment and it's not sustainable, because for some reason, we keep going to war over it.

So, back to the part about voters being smart. Why is it that all the sudden all of these women are flocking to Sarah Palin? Who are these women, why don't they care about her disregard for the environment? Or is it because she's not pro-choice? I wonder if it's because people don't educate themselves. So, as a woman, I ask that these women at least read the following two articles and you decide what's best for your country, for your earth, for your family...
Article 1
Article 2

My education sculpted me

The title is an obvious statement. Who's education doesn't sculpt them. I went back to St. Mary's last week when I made it back to the bay area. I was walking through one of the buildings full of classrooms. On all of the walls there were quotes from Dante, Socrates, Plato, etc. St. Mary's is a Christian Brothers school and probably one of the reasons I am who I am today.
I learned at St. Mary's the importance of asking questions, and listening to others opinions. I learned that even though you think you are always right, there are other people who feel the same way and you have to listen in order to understand. I remember being in seminar class (a required and invaluable part of a Christian Brothers education) and being forced to listen. It wasn't just about the smartest, nerdiest kids taking over with a 1:1 discussion with the professor. It was a professor who wanted EVERYONE to share their opinion.
There is something to be said for silence and listening and as I walked down the hallway and drank in all the quotes on the walls, it made me think, and I relished the silence and my thoughts. I felt alive, I felt challenged, I felt lucky. As I was 1/2 way down the hallway a lone professor came out of her office and said "that's exactly what we intended, people to drink in the quotes and think." And that's just one more reason I loved St. Mary's. People get it, they understand the value in thoughts, active participation, and listening to yourself and to others.
I fell in love with the Christian Brothers style of education my junior year in high school, and I am so grateful that I was able to attend La Salle High School, which drove me to choose St. Mary's, another Christian Brothers school, for college. It's not just about sitting through lectures and turning out machines that will help the economy. It's about producing real people, who will give, listen, continue to learn and act to make the world better.

Disappearing adverbs

This weekend, my Aunt Gail, brought to my attention the plight of the disappearing adverb. I hadn't noticed and I could possibly be the worst offender. Here are a couple of my most often mis-used phrases:

• Fly safe
• Drive slow

The disappearing adverb reminded me of an article I just read about how the capital letter at the beginning of sentences might be a thing of the past. I have searched again for this article and can't find it, but it makes sense to me. As I type this post, my fingers have to work extra hard just to get the capital letters at the beginning of sentences. why not just keep typing? why reach for that "shift" key? I think in general it will be at least two generations before we completely lose the capital letter, but don't say I didn't warn you...

So, the question on the table is: who's job is it to change grammar and writing? It's the job of the people. If we hadn't taken it into our own hands centuries ago, we would still be speaking old English and the language of Shakespeare. Would not thoughst be difficult to comprehend?

The Supreme Court disappoints

The Supreme Court has let Exxon Mobil off the hook with their recent ruling. According to the Boston.com article, "The Supreme Court on Wednesday cut the $2.5 billion punitive damages award in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster to $500 million." The court divided 5-3. I don't know why at this time in Exxon's history- recording record profits, why they would be dismissed for their part in a disaster that dumped 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound and led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine animals. Having just been to Alaska for the first time, I am deeply saddened to learn that our highest court doesn't believe in holding people responsible for their environmental impact. I can see why we are where we are...

Is inefficency contageous

I am on a plane at least once a month. And it stresses me out. I will be the first to admit, I am not the person who gets to the airport 2 hours ahead of time. I am the one who rolls in about 45-60 minutes before my flight takes off. I never check bags and I pride myself on being quick through security. I limit my exposure to most airline personnel as a general practice. I am sure these people are perfectly kind, but why bother. I don't need their help and they certainly don't need to deal with another customer.

But, why is it that other people don't do this? Why isn't everything more automated? If I did need to check luggage, why can't I just have a luggage drop-off line. I don't want to stand with all the people that have missed their last two flights and need to update their address and airline reward numbers... I just need to drop off my bags. I planned ahead, I got to a computer, checked-in, printed the boarding pass, and just need you to put a little sticker on this bag. Heck, I will put the sticker on myself, I just need you to give me the printer. I do it at the grocery store in the produce section...

Is it a control issue? Are their regulations around me putting a sticker on my bag and dropping it on the conveyer belt? If so, I have a few suggestions for that.

I will also mention at this point there are different airlines and different airports that run more efficiently than others. I love the Delta terminal at Logan. I get to chose how I want to go through security- with the families and crying children, as a casual traveler, or as an uptight huffy puffy business traveler. It's great to seperate people, b/c families don't want to be stuck in front of a late business exec as much as the business exec doesn't want to listen to crying children longer than she has to.

I might suggest at this point that any corporation that is so closely linked with the government is doomed. Airlines, Energy, Waste Management, etc. If a corporation has to work with government agencies too closely they will never be able to realize or institue efficient business practices, because that would just be too easy...