I am reading about mortgage bailouts, bank bailout, automaker bailouts and I am thinking that maybe a resession is what this country needs.

Whoa did I just say that??

I guess I have been getting more and more disgusted by the sheer greed of people in general.
When I hear that the auto executives are genorously offering to not take their millions of dollar bonus' it makes me boil. That is not generousity, they rode these companys into the ground with their greed and now want the government (us) to bail them out. What exactly do these executives do that rates millions of dollars in bonus'? They aren't curing cancer.
And it's not just the wealthy, I work with people whose household income is $40k and are now surprised that they really couldn't afford a $335k home.
These same people would turn up their noses when offered produce from someones garden because it didn't look perfect, like it does in the store. And brag about having a new vehicle every couple years.

I don't want to see the US turn into a third world country due to poverty but I also think that as a country we have been riding for this fall for a long time.
Maybe it's time people learned to live within their means.
Maybe people should have to struggle a little, so that they appreciate the things they earn.
Or maybe I'm just having a bad day and I'm a little cranky.

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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

I'm with you, Cashchik!

I *love* the way we're pressured to "get the economy going" again by spending more (many of us, of course, being encouraged to spend what we don't even have...).

What a great message - it's our duty, as Americans - it's what makes the world go 'round...

I think you're right. We need to think out of the box a little. If all of our own investments have just plummeted, why should we be in the hot seat to "improve" our own economy by continuing to spend spend spend????

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"The errors of faith are better than the best thoughts of unbelief." - Thomas Russell

I agree 100%. Economists from 40 universities, including Harvard, Yale and MIT, have spoken out against bank bailouts and the like via a petition. Their basic premise is that the economy, bank and company failures, etc, need to run their course and the economy will eventually straighten out.

I liken it to messing with an ecosystem. You are just going to screw everything up.

But, then again, I owned Washington Mutual stock valued at about $16,000, now worth about $50.00 Where is MY bailout???

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Raising my baby RIGHT!!!!!!

All the cool babies are wearing cloth!

As much as hate to see the big guys getting the bailout money, this country and the "regular" guys in particular do not need a recession. It will be horrible for the country. Our homeless will increase; our uninsured will increase; our children's education will definitely suffer. We all need to bite the bullet to a degree, but a recession would definitely NOT be "good" for the country

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

If you really watch the cable news, you'll know that this country has been in a recession for over a year now. The idiots in Washington are trying NOT to get us in a DEPRESSION, Russia is laughing at us and can't wait til Obama becomes President.

As for the Big 3, I really don't want that bailout, and the Senate, and House are waking up that Joe the Taxpayer doesn't want it either, but it WILL happen. Look around in your own communities, what car dealerships are there? I live in a small town, under 10,000, there are only 2 dealerships left. Pontiac (GM) left 3 years ago, there is Ford, and Chevy (GM) left. As for car repair shops <trying not to laugh> there are NONE to speak of. 90% or car repairs are done at the dealerships. OH yea if I need new tires I can go to Goodyear they will put the new tires on, car parts to NAPA, but I can't replace anything on my own, I'm a dumb blonde when it come to mechanical stuff.

They really need to get rid of the UAW, and tighten their belts, and make a HUGE speedy effort for more hybrids, etc.

I'm not very educated on economics, politics and the like, so I just go with my gut and my values...and I say no to a bailout, let things falter and let the entrepreneurs and those who really care come up with a new model. Hey, nobody bailed out the dotcom bust. Companies tanked, people lost, and the market adjusted. Lot of people lost lots, but things corrected eventually. And most of the electronics industry doesn't have to deal with unions. UAW has to go...paying people ridiculous salaries for labor jobs. How the hell can you remain competitive? And then wonder why jobs go overseas....

I don't think that a recession is a bad thing....in fact, I think it's part of the normal cycle. Something needs to snap people back to some sense of reality....or this country is going to continue to go down the toilet.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

A recession is NOT a good thing, IMO. Yes, the auto CEOs did stupid things, but in making them pay, you affect the entire economy. For example, if the car companies go down, no only do you hit the company directly, you hit the local economy -- restaurant, stores, etc. Then you hit people that service the auto companies -- like my BIL, who works for a tire manufacturer in Illinois. And when he's hit, then the economy of his area -- miles and miles away from Detroit -- goes down. And when that's hit, it spreads to neighboring areas, etc., etc.

If the crash of the auto companies only hit the greedy CEOs, that would be fine with me. If the banking and credit crash hit only the greedy who lived beyond their means, that would be fine with me, too. But it doesn't work that way. Letting those people crash will eventually mean you and I crash, even when we've done everything the "right way."

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Reading is Fundamental.

Where I live armed robberies are up. Partially due to the economy I think mostly indirectly it's because we don't lock up criminals here (please don't send us your unwanted hoodlum relatives LOL) due to lack of jail funding.

We live in a small one bedroom 750 sq ft home. We certainly would loved a 3 bdrm with a swimming pool but we chose to buy a home we could afford the payments on. If people lose their job or some other unforeseeable thing happens like an injury or illness that is one thing. But why should we bail out the banks or the people who bought bigger homes than they could afford out of greed?
Why should I pay to bail out the auto industry for their fiscal irresponsibility? There are plenty of local companies that have shut down or are having unscheduled unpaid "vacations" for their employees for two weeks or a month right now. Why are we not bailing out the small Mom and Pop companies that make this country run?

Bull$h!t if you ask me. We only bail out the industries that the govt and politicians profit from directly and indirectly? That is crap.

If GM, Ford, and Chevy cannot make it let them go.
And as a former Union activist I can say this is no time for the Union. It has become a bloated example of power gone wild. How the hell do you pay people for NOT working? And where do the rest of us sign up? When I am not working I DON'T GET PAID--it's as simple as that.

And if Toyota, Honda, and the rest can make it then the Big Three can just disappear no matter how much I love my car and would marry it if I could.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I think all things have to have cycles. A recession isn't so bad. I am NOT for the bailouts. Yes, it will affect more than just the auto industry but so be it. It's the "circle of life" so to speak. We can't always bail out those who have run themselves into the ground. How is that fair??? Yes, I know life isn't fair but until the "average" American like me gets rewarded for *doing the right thing*: ie: paying my bills on time, paying my mortgage, not spending more than I have, etc, I am just pissed at the whole situation. I am SICK of seeing people/banks/companies being *bailed out* for failing. Why do we reward the ones who don't do the right things? Ah, you can't make your variable interest rate? We'll lower it down to a low fixed rate. Uh....where is MY lowered interest rate? Oh, wait, I've been PAYING my bills....sorry....maybe I should stop that

Sorry for my rant but it REALLY burns my backside up!

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I think all things have to have cycles. A recession isn't so bad. I am NOT for the bailouts. Yes, it will affect more than just the auto industry but so be it. It's the "circle of life" so to speak. We can't always bail out those who have run themselves into the ground. How is that fair??? Yes, I know life isn't fair but until the "average" American like me gets rewarded for *doing the right thing*: ie: paying my bills on time, paying my mortgage, not spending more than I have, etc, I am just pissed at the whole situation. I am SICK of seeing people/banks/companies being *bailed out* for failing. Why do we reward the ones who don't do the right things? Ah, you can't make your variable interest rate? We'll lower it down to a low fixed rate. Uh....where is MY lowered interest rate? Oh, wait, I've been PAYING my bills....sorry....maybe I should stop that

Sorry for my rant but it REALLY burns my backside up!

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

What I think is important that some may be overlooking is that the failure to aid the auto industry now is going affect ALL of us -- even those of us doing the right thing for decades -- down the road.

And then it will be too late to stop the depression.

A few months ago, Britain and Europe was laughing at American's financial problems. But now, just as will happen in our own economy, the problems affecting America rippled out to affect them.

If there's a fire in your neighbor's house, do you let it burn because it's not your house? Or do you put it out so that your home won't catch fire, either?

This is not a self-contained problem.

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Reading is Fundamental.

Everyone keeps talking recession...but we could very easily be heading to a depression. I guarantee that nobody want that ....

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

The auto companies won't close their doors if they don't get this money. They'll file bankruptcy just like other companies do (i.e., Circuit City comes to mind). Then they're regroup and business will continue. And they need to rid themselves of the unions.

This 'the sky is falling' mentality is getting really old (and I'm afraid this is just the beginning of the handouts).

I can't say that I know or completely understand all of it, but from an outsider looking in, the union issue seems a big one to me. We have relatives in Detroit and the husband is union. Interestingly, he's not even particularly pro-union but in his line of work he has to be a member.

He does an honest day's work every day, doesn't have a college degree, and is more 'repairman' than 'captain of a ship'... and they were able to get loans for $600K worth of house. When their kids were born their insurance was so 'good' that the only thing they had to pay for was the charge for having a tv in the room. They've got a couple of boats, decent vehicles for their kids to drive (and large-sized SUV's for themselves).

I really can't fathom living like that. I just can't. The umbrella of 'protection' around his salary and benefits sounds so very nice, but never having lived with anything but the necessity to make our way through without an employer guaranteeing so many things for us, including a very large salary for work that requires know-how and willingness (something most jobs require if you're going to do them well) but not a tremendous amount in the way of education.... I just can't fathom it.

And though they are my favorite relatives of all, I can't also help but think that things are out of sync when it comes to what he does vs. what he is paid. And... they tell us they are considered the less-well-off family in the area, which just shocks me to no end.

Do we really need new cars every couple of years to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars? How much would those autos cost if the workers there made salaries commensurate with the salaries of similarly-situated workers in non-unionized parts of the country in other industries? If a repairman in Nowhere, Kansas and a repairman in Detroit, MI, made roughly the same amount of money?

I'm not for communism or socialism or mandating that those salaries be equal. What I'm saying is that it seems to me that the unionization of things in cities like Detroit seem to have ultimately resulted in an imbalance that is harmful to the overall state of things. People in many parts of the country can't *buy* new cars because they can't afford them, and they can't afford them because they cost so much, and they cost so much because the labor involved in making them is expensive - from salaries to monster bennies. My relative's job is one that services the auto industry indirectly and just knowing what *he* has been able to afford, and knowing that the auto industry subcontracts his company... it just blows my mind to think of not only the money that makes its way through there, but the sheer litany of *stuff* people in that industry buy - new IPods the minute they come out, vehicles with all the bells and whistles, all the game systems and all the... just all the trappings.

When we spend time with the relatives, we are very much aware that what is 'standard' for them isn't standard for perhaps 1% of the teens in our area of the country.

And I don't know that that's truly a free market-driven situation. I think it's union driven. And I think it's not best for us in a 'big picture' sort of a way.

But like I said... I'm on the outside looking in and perhaps don't understand it all that well.

I've never lived in a unionized area so

wowitsdark.....i feel like there was more to your post.....it stopped mid-sentence. did you reach a post limit or something? tell us more!

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I don't agree. A recession hurts the country and the people in it. It's nice to think that people will take time out to appreciate things more but having less isn't likely to make that happen. A recession hurts everybody and it hurts the ones who were barely getting by before the most of all.

Just my two cents' worth: We've been in a Recession for a long time. It's insulting for the government to infer otherwise. I'm not an Obama fan, but we do have some hope to get this situation under control with a new presidency if we can regain the respect of our allies. The value of the dollar is such an important factor in the global economy and that affects each and every one of us.

I don't like the bailouts. That said, I am pretty tired of the idea that the majority of people currently in economic trouble are in that position due to over-reaching mortgages and luxurious lifestyles. While mortgages were given in the sub-prime market that were certainly ridiculous, many many many families are in trouble despite having done things the "right" way!! The loss of so many jobs in so many industries & professions leave people who have lived within their means to the edge of homelessness. You can have a plan, and keep your spending under control, and savesavesave for emergencies, and if you end up jobless for extended periods due to downsizing or health issues, you are screwed. Your bills do not decrease. Your kids' tuition increases. Your car gets older & needs more repairs. Your property taxes continue to skyrocket. Grocery shopping costs a smalll fortune. Gas prices, while lower now, were so high people could not afford gas for their cars! These are educated people who are now applying for the same jobs as their local high school kids just to get a little bit of money in the door.

It is easy to believe it is all due to irresponsible behavior, because that means we are protected if we are prudent.

But it is not true. Nobody is immune.

Momshops

I agree with you 100% (except for the not an Obama fan). Yes, there are people who did buy themselves into their financial mess one way or another, but I do not think they are the majority of people in this country by any means. We by no means live beyond our means in any area of our lives. AND we pay all our bills every month. Yet, there is no way that we could have saved 6 to 9 months of living expenses as all the financial experts suggest. And, if either of we working parents in this family were to lose our job due to lay-off, business closing, etc. we would be on a quick downward slope without quick re-employment. We have never been irresponsible with our funds and we are not extravagant in any area of our lives. The only things we would have to cut out of our lives are food, clothing and shelter. My 15 yr old car was paid off long ago, as was my husband's. So, we would be screwed and have to sell our house or refinance---and that is not so easy to do in this day and age.

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.