I have been working for hours on a paper on "The Compassion of Christ as Shown in the Gospel of Luke." So, since I have 11 full pages of content and only need 12-20, I am going to take 10 minutes and blog, since this is something I do not HAVE to do, and I'm not on deadline, for sure!
We are living in momentous times. The way this economic crisis is handled will determine the well-being of at least the next generation in the United States of America. The effect may be even longer lasting than that.
Having said this, though, I confess that the fog of words and expressed sentiments has been overwhelming for the last 2 weeks. Probably the statement that made the most sense was one I heard last Wednesday on Glenn Beck's radio program. His guest was Senator Jim DeMint, a conservative stalwart from South Carolina. Glenn essentially asked DeMint to give him the lowdown on what all the hubbub was about. DeMint was breathtakingly honest when he allowed that his belief was that "no one really knows what they're doing!" I felt vindicated, having made virtually an identical comment to my lovely wife 2 days earlier, as I watched Secretary Paulson try to explain what the White House was trying to do.
It has not been impressive to watch government in action for the last few days. Michael Gerson has termed the whole ordeal an affair of "small men in a large crisis." I agree with Gerson's general description, but not with the particulars; he cites the House Republicans' failure to pass the Monday (9/29) bill as an example of smallness. From what I have seen, from Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Indiana's own Mike Pence and others, they never intended to support it! Even John Boehner, Minority Leader, who was championing the bill, only voted for it reluctantly, colorfully describing it as "a crap sandwich", but one that he would eat for the good of the country. He might as well have saved himself the unsavory "meal"! It failed anyway.
The whole idea of a bailout for corrupt and inept businesses is just a monstrosity. As clearly as I can ascertain, the chief danger to "Main Street" (which has become the moniker currently in vogue to describe us little people out here) is the unavailability of credit, as well as, ostensibly, more layoffs since businesses won't be able to borrow money. I will admit I did not know that large corporations, especially, borrow money on a regular basis just to survive and then pay it back within a few hours. This doesn't seem to me like a viable survival model, but as O'Reilly says, I could be wrong.
I do know that the unavailability of credit to individual consumers would not be a scourge. I am delighted to report that I can't remember the last time I used a credit card (though I always run my National City Bank Card transactions as credit buys, in order to accrue VISA points and get gifts! National City financed my one and only visit to Ruth's Chris Steak House, to date, in this fashion.) George Will, Steve Pearlstein from the Washington Post and others describe the typical American lifestyle as being vastly overleveraged due to credit card debt. If this is indeed the case, and it appears that it is, then a day of reckoning has to come eventually. Would it really be that traumatic for everyone to learn to live within their means once again? I can see financing a house or an education; indeed, I am currently doing both. But nothing else, though I could give some leeway for a car. And there I go...one thing leads to another, doesn't it? Because if you lease or make payments on a car, then surely you can excuse some Christmas credit card purchasing and then there are the kids' birthdays, and on and on it goes.
As a parting thought, I could only wish that this whole fiasco would cause Americans to become more economically curious, but I don't hold high hopes. Most are ready to blame everyone else's greed but their own for the problems in which we find ourselves and the media is all too prepared to jump on the bandwagon of damning the "corrupt CEOs" who received golden parachute buyouts. Thomas Sowell makes an interesting point on this in his column today, namely, that if a CEO is doing a bad job, you may very well SAVE the company money by paying him millions to leave rather than letting him stay and run the compan further down the tubes, losing hundreds of millions in the process.
At the end of the day, it seems this plan may be necessary for reasons I will confess I don't completely comprehend. So my own economic ignorance is shameful. But I do know that this bailout sends all the wrong messages, and I fear it sets a foul precedent. Might not Andrew Jackson call this the "corrupt bargain" of the 21st century were he alive today?
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2 comments:
Another crisis, the government must step up. The way I understand it McDonalds is concerned fast food is harmful, and is no longer going to produce it. Hamburgers could dry up for the little American. Ya about as silly as a bank no longer giving credit. IT IS WHAT THEY DO. Now if the gov would stay out they would have to be more selective who they loan. But then again how would we get all that pork passed?
Please take a few moments to PRAY, whatever your view. This is a big mess that is going to define our future for many years to come.
The Republicans are getting hammered for the economy??? Why are the Republicans "letting" the Democrats get a free ride on this? Do we need a lesson on who makes law in the country? Do President's make law? (Yes, Bush could have been more vigilant in veto power-but his "getting along" with the Democrats hurt him just like it did the first Bush President!) The House & Senate have been controlled by the Democrats how many years? And think of the "changes" a Democratic President, House and Senate will bring!!
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