A Billion here a Billion there.......

The pen is...... The price tag for bailing out the bad mortgages went up 20 plus billion this morning. If we have become so oblivious to the economic crisis we are in that a 20 billion dollar increase in what you and I are going to have to pay to bail out others for THEIR OWN MISTAKES, then no wonder the politicians think that they can do TO us whatever they want and we will just take it.

I have emailed, phoned and written both my Senators and all members of the US House in and around my district that I want them to stop spending yours and my money this way. WRITE, PHONE, EMAIL your representatives today. We have to make them listen. This is the best chance we have ever had to make them feel the accountability for what they do. DO IT!!

Incest on Wall Street

We must find a way to take away the argument that "we cannot allow them to fail" because it would cause systemic failure and therefore we must pump more money into whoever or whatever entity "they" are talking about. That argument is exactly what incents Wall Street to DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, which is what I predict.

There is NO incentive for GM, Chrysler, Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers executives to any differently because they "got their's". As a nation we need to put in safeguards that would make it too painful for these companies to do this. Oversight should be through the American people who elect members of Congress that will make sure this happens or lose the next election. It is up to us, we have to get more involved and hold people accountable.

Term Limits

The pen is ........When you have people who are more interested in getting re-elected than they are doing the people's business there is a way to change that. Term limits. I propose that we change the US Senate term to 4 years instead of 6 and have an 8 year limit on the amount of time they can serve. For the US House, leave the term at 2 years but have a limit of 8 years for them also. When politicians have less to worry about than getting re-elected maybe they will get more interested in doing the best they can while they are there.

Executive Arrogance or Stupidity?

I watched in amazement as the CEO's of 8 of the largest financial institutions in the country testified before Congress yesterday. In listening to them it is not hard to imagine why what happene. d, did. They seem to either be oblivious or just don't care what the public thinks OR that they can do whatever they want and get away with it. Of course with the criminal lack of oversight I don't know what else we should have expected. Unless the PUBLIC holds these institutions accountable I don't think it will happen. I frankly don't think the government has the stomach for it. And about that jet, would you want your mega banks CEO waiting in line for the TSA. Give me a break.

And about peanut butter. The owner, manager etc and anyone else who knew this atrocity was going on and sent salmonella to the public should at some point be in jail. Put them in a cell and give them bread with peanut butter on it and water. What do you think?

Fast or Right?

We seem to be in a headlong rush just to "do something" rather than making sure what we are doing is right. The long term consequences of what is done will be felt for decades. Stimulus does not just mean "spend" Mr. President. It means that we put forethought and purpose into the things that are done so that those deserving Americans can get jobs and relief quickly. How much difference "really" is there between pork projects and bonuses paid to executives. Admittedly, giving bailout money to executives who have been running failing businesses is ludicrous. But so is bailing out people who took on mortgages they knew they couldn't afford. It does seem to matter whose "ox is getting gored". We should help those that through no fault of their own find themselves in dire straights, however bailing out companies and people who have their handout because of a sense on entitlement is throwing good money after bad and is not what America needs now to bring us back to prosperity.