All We Need is a Little More Debt
My fellow Americans, I come to you today with a heavy heart. I was told that George would be coming on TV last night to make the case to America for his bailout plan. Well, he was on alright. Apparently, the White House felt there were some misconceptions about this plan, and sent W out to clear the air.
Well I watched it, and here is what I heard:
Americans need easier access to credit. Debt.
We need to be able to acquire loans to buy a car. Debt.
People need to be able to secure mortgages to buy a house. Debt.
Easy access to credit is needed to carry out day to day operations. Debt.
Thanks, but no thanks. You see Mr. President, we quit borrowing money. We paid off our debt and fund our day to day operations with cash money. We make our budget and stick to it. It seems to me that easy access to credit is what got us into this mess. We can't borrow our way out of it. It doesn't work for the same reason that debt consolidation loans don't work - because you haven't addressed the real problem. The problem isn't the debt, the foreclosures and the bankruptcies. Though those do suck. The real problem is the behaviors that led up to it. I don't see that being addressed here.
The job of the government is not to step in when things get bad and attempt to force the economy to return to the 'good ole days' when anyone could get a mortgage and drive a $40,000 car. It's not the details of your plan that confuses us, George, it's the principles behind it.
We don't need more debt.
Home prices aren't going back to 2005 numbers, because those weren't real. Maybe we'll hit those in 2016, or 2020. But not 2009. Wall Street is just going to have to come down off of it's 'free credit for all' high the old fashioned way - cold turkey. Debt is what got us here, it won't get us out.
What Washington doesn't understand is that some of us are doing just fine. Some of us have been wholly unaffected by all of this turmoil. Those are the people who are out of debt and have their finances in order. We aren't rich - we're not the jet set. Maybe that's more what we should be striving for. Maybe we shouldn't be coddling Wall Street and ignoring Main Street. Maybe we could get Dave Ramsey to go on TV and explain this to Washington. Wait! He has a TV show! Tomorrow should be good!
Contact your congressperson. Tell them how you feel about this plan. Demand an alternative that actually benefits Americans. Consider taking out Patriot Pact. It's coming soon.
2 comments:
My BIL lost his job because Banks have pulled back. See, he's a construction worker and if Banks don't give loans to construction companies (and other small businesses, I assume), they can't get the materials they need to do the jobs that they will be paid for when the job is done. The administration thinks that if banks feel comfortable enough to loosen the purse strings so people (which includes small business) can get loans, then things can get moving again. I don't know if bailout is the best way to go about it for the country, but I know it will help my BIL's situation.
Anony -
Thanks for your comment.
While it is unfortunate that your BIL lost his job because of this stupidity on Wall Street, that's not the real problem. The real problem is companies, especially small businesses, becoming reliant on lines of credit to operate.
The problem with the bailout is that your BIL will be right back in the same situation when this all goes south again - unless his employer makes a change in life. Companies can, and do, operate without debt. Asking for a percentage upfront is not uncommon in industries like construction. That, along with other debt-free business practices, will make all the difference in times like these.
The same goes for individuals and families. Banks have convinced so many that they should live on credit - inside their means or not. Even if you are paying it off each month, when disaster strikes, you're up a creek. As we have seen here - that disaster may have absolutely nothing to do with you. But the affect can be far reaching.
Moving away from debt is the answer, and that's where Washington is wrong on this issue.
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