The Sky… er the Econo… er Wall Street is Falling! Right?

If you live in the United States and you’ve purchased a house in the last year or so, then you probably know that the housing market has been on a downward spiral, leading to the inevitable “failing” economy, or what I had heard earlier… an economic mushroom cloud.  Very clever.  Even if you haven’t purchased a house outside of your means, you’re still feeling the bite of the insidious Wall Street snakes.  Your 401K may be in disrepair, the stock market has plummeted and 1% of Americans have failing mortgages…

Yep… 1%.  That is the approximate percentage of what’s causing this economic turnaround.  And no, they’re not wealthy people… they’re regular Americans who were raised with the idea that living outside their means was perfectly acceptible.  These bewildered citizens were given the choice to open a $0 down, interest only mortgage.  They jumped at the chance, thinking they could make double their money in the after market, since housing prices were skyrocketing.  Of course, a lot of these people were in disbelief that the infamous housing bubble had been reached, thinking that prices would continue to soar.  Well, this bubble burst about 6+ months ago and now people aren’t able to sell their homes, aren’t able to pay their mortgages and since that’s the case, these wall street companies are in trouble and the rate of foreclosures are at record highs.

The talk of another great depression is afoot, because of 1% of America!  Can you believe it?  I can’t.  I also can’t believe that the companies of wall street, especially the ones we’re talking about: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Merrill Lynch & Co, are the cause of this recession “soon to be depression.”

Who’s to blame?  The Americans who bought into the idea that an interest only mortgage was ideal?  Or perhaps the companies even offering such a “deal?”  How about both?  Actually, let’s point the finger toward the people who foresaw this coming and actually jumped ship before chaos hit.  Let’s point the finger at the corrupt CEOs of these companies that first, thought it would be a great idea to pull one over on the American people, offering this phenomenal “deal,” and second, knew the outcome of their actions and ignored to warn America.

While we’re at it, let’s point some fingers over at the politicians in the government, since they had some dealings with these companies and assuredly (well, assumingly) had an understanding of what was going on.  Investigations are underway, so hopefully we’ll find out who, specifically (and truly) are/were involved and who were responsible.  I can say that the CEOs that left prior to their company’s destruction are completely negligent and unethical.  They should be charged, tried and sentenced.  Look at what happened to Enron… why should this be any different?

So, all said and done, many Americans are in trouble.  Personally, I am not… but many are.  Actually, I don’t really know anyone in trouble, per se, because I don’t know many ignorant or stupid people.  Just saying…  Most people I know are pretty responsible and not “corrupt,” as it were.  They also didn’t buy into the super $0 down, interest only extravaganza.

Anyway, with the 1% of the population in trouble, and the crumbling of these enormous financial corporations, leading to 100s of thousands if not millions of lost jobs (many employees, by the way… who are quite wealthy as a result of working for these financial institutions), the government wishes to deem this as an economic crisis.  Yes, I agree that it’s an economic crisis for many people in the United States, but not for everyone.  To top it off, they want to bail out the majority of these corporations, excluding Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch & Co (which sold itself to Bank of America to prevent their demise).

How would the government “bail” out these companies?  By offering up a $700 Billion bailout package, distributed between the companies.  Rumors are flying rampant about the Democrats in congress, who are also seeing to it that some of their programs be shadow-funded, using this bailout as a cover.  Awesome. ;]  If that turns out to be true, the verbiage will obviously be melded into the final document, so misconstrued that the everyday person wouldn’t even be able to figure it out.  That’s my guess, anyway.

What’s funny, is that the government, since at least 2005 can be held responsible for this catastrophe.  In 2005, the issue of placing a reform on these financial companies (namely Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) was being discussed and voted upon.  While most republicans voted to reform regulations to prevent the current devastation, Democrats voted against, saying that there was no evidence of a downward spiral.  It’s obvious that there were and are Democrats in Congress/Senate… government as a whole, that benefited from this decision.  While executives and politicians were making bank on these interest only loans and an increasing housing market, Americans were being taken from behind and finally lead to an economic downfall.

That, to me, is corrupt and some would say treasonous.  These politicians and executives, who got out at the last minute, before the crumble, should be held accountable and should face the consequences of their actions.

That being said, a free market system is a free market system, and we should leave it at that.  Government should not get anymore involved than they already have.  The tax payers should NOT have to bail these corrupt corporations out… and it IS more than a bail out.  These people will get even more wealthy as a result of this, while our taxes will more than likely rise, our debt will increase by about $1 Trillion… and it’s already at record highs (not that that’s far from typical).

The fact that President Bush is actually trying to push this bail out package is really disconcerting.  I’ve voted for him twice, in hopes that he’d do the right thing for this country.  My main reasons for doing so were because I believe in our cause for fighting terrorism and liberating countries that are under the rule of ruthless dictators, hellbent on demonstrating their power.  My other reasons had to do with securing our borders, keeping America(ns) safe and upholding the constitution from a conservative point of view.  I expected that he would remain strong and hold fast with his conservative values, even in the wake of a democratic congress.

President Bush has done a terrific job at handling the War on Terror and securing America… with the exception of securing our borders.  More and more illegal immigrants are plowing through our borders on a daily basis.  Regardless, his stance on social issues within the United States has faltered and I’m very disappointed.

The economy has remained strong for quite a while, even with a war going on and ensuing national debt being incurred, but now he turns a 180 and almost bends over for the democratic congress and Nancy Pelosi (who elected her to be Speaker of the House, anyway?!).  A conservative turned democrat, President Bush now poses that the government should take hold and rescue the economy, essentially ignoring the relevance of capitalism, which is the only reason we have one of the strongest economies in the world.

To say that I’m flabbergasted is an understatement.  Government needs to get its hands out of the pockets of corporate executives and they most certainly should not bail out a failing company.  How many companies are build up and eventually fail without government assistance?  Why should Lehman Brothers be excluded from the bail out?  If they’re going to do this, why make any exceptions at all?  We’ve heard of socialism and communism, right?  For all the talk that the United States does, concerning the disbelief in socialism and communism, and the fact that we cherish our constitutional rights and free market society, this is a real kick in the face to governments around the world, as well as the citizens of this great country.

Given the chance, the economy can and will turn around… the market will correct itself – it always does.  We need government to take a step back and let the people of this great nation (who absolutely make it great) fix it themselves.  We can do this…  trust me.  Don’t make the mistake of doubting the free market & the people of this nation.  When we set out to do them, we can do phenomenal things.  This is but one challenge in the course of many and we can overcome it.  Don’t let government play a role.  Call or E-Mail your congressman or senator.  Even if you support the bail out, make your opinion known.  Tell your representatives how you feel.

You see, that’s what they are.  Representatives of the people.  The government is of the people, for the people and by the people.  YOU have the power, but politicians want you to believe that THEY have the power.  Don’t let them control you.  These factors only come into play when their positions are threatened.  Tell them, when you call, that you won’t vote for them for a follow-up term.  America needs to take her country back, and that’s up to you!

Economy failing?  Bull… Corporations making wrong decisions leading to their demise.  That’s what’s happening.  America is full of entrepreneurs and self starters.  If you don’t like the way things are done or how a company is run, you start a better one up, you make changes, you compete… that’s our way.  The people losing their jobs will find new ones, they’ll start their own companies up, etc.

People losing their mortgages is no small thing, but these people knew what they were getting into.  Interest only loans?  Really?  Who thinks that’s a good idea?  Especially when you’re “purchasing” a house for $500,000 and only get paid a $60,000 salary… let’s think about that…  We should bail these people out, as well?  They’re living outside of their means, making a mistake… something they will certainly learn from.  Let’s have the people take some responsibility of their own for a change.  Let’s get the hell back on track.  If you ask me, these people… this 1% of the population deserves the outcome of their mistake.  That’s life… that’s the world.  Get real and live it.  So they have to live in an apartment for a few years… so what?!  I’ve done it, my family members have done it, friends of mine have done it…  Why is this 1% so deserving of a $1/2 million house?  Pah… such arrogance, or maybe I should use the recent hot word “hubris.”  There, now I feel like I fit in.

This will all turn out better in the long run, but a bail out is not the answer.  ‘Nuff said.