I’ve been searching and searching for public opinion on the Bailout rejection- and I’m just not finding it. Why is this? Reading articles written by reporters with political agendas is somewhat informative if you can see through their biased leanings… but I find out more about what’s really going on from political blogs, and responses to those blogs. It’s kind of like a warped easter egg hunt… I’ll search for a topic, and find the most popular conservative blog- then I’ll scroll through the reponses to it and Poof! There are all the informed and educated folks responding to crappy conservative rhetoric… and then I take that info and look it up to see if it’s actually fact. It’s a ridiculous process… but it’s the one I’ve found that works out the best if I’m looking for real information.
But I’ve had a really hard time finding any commentary about the $700 Billion Bailout that’s worth a damn. Why is this? Is it that people just don’t have enough info to form an opinion (which never really stopped anyone from opening their mouths previously), or is it just that it’s more fun to shit talk the candidates then talk about the possible destruction of our economy?
Yes… it’s super fun to shit-talk the candidates…. but this situation that our befuddled Congress is trying to sort out is just as important as the election- and really really scary. Why are people not discussing it? Or sharing information? Or just plain freaking out? Because it’s TOTALLY freak-out worthy.
Yesterday, after the Wallstreet Bailout was denied, the stock market dropped almost 800 points (I think the exact number was 777, but please correct me if I’m wrong). That is massive. Why was it denied? Because the members of Congress are too afraid of pissing off the public during election time to make a solid stand on anything. This is BULLSHIT and is keeping anything from getting accomplished.
From what I’ve read, the general public was opposed to the Wallstreet Bailout. And I can totally understand the frustrations of the public… people have lost their homes, their jobs, their possessions and financial stability. The state of our nation is in such chaos because of major financial instution’s greed and horrifying practices… so why should THEY get the bail out? Why not give it to the people who lost their security?
From everything that I’ve looked into, this is why…. In order for individuals and small business to grow and regain stability- Wallstreet has to have it’s feet on solid ground. Totally shitty, I know… but it’s just the way it is. Individuals and small businesses RELY on banks, lenders, mortgage companies, etc to grow. How is a family going to buy a house if the lenders don’t have the money to lend? How is a buisness going to get started, continue growing, or even pay it’s employees or it’s bills if their lender doesn’t have any money (a common business practice is to use money from borrowed lines of credit or the like to pay employees with, and then it gets paid back throughout the month as money comes in from sales). If there’s no money to distribute to employees, businesses, or individuals- things come to a halt. People don’t get paid. Then people stop spending. Then businesses don’t have sales. So people don’t get paid. Then people stop spending…. etc. Ya see where I’m going here? That’s just one of many scenarios going on right now that are putting our country in a downward spiral.
Because these financial institutions have no money because the market has shit the bed, they have no money to lend. So right now they’re not taking any chances on ANYONE unless they have impeccable credit. For example, let’s say you need to buy a new car. Right now, your credit score needs to be in the ballpark of 720 in order to get a loan or to lease one. 720!!!!!! The average American’s credit score is much lower than that. So what does that mean? People can’t get new cars, and the automotive industry takes a dive, and MORE people lose jobs, can’t pay bills, and lose their homes. That’s why no one is buying houses (no money, and their credit scores aren’t high enough to get loans OR you now need 15%-20% as a down payment, and with the average home costs being close to $200,000- I don’t have $40,000 laying around… do you?), people who’s homes are have been on the market for a year or more while they’re paying 2 mortgages are having to foreclose, and things keep going down down down.
I think the wording of the denied “Wallstreet Bailout” was what pissed people off and confused them. When you’ve lost everything because of the horrible business practices of big business, the last thing you want to see is the government bailing them out. I totally get that. But there is no way that anyone can make a plan that will save everyone. And it took years for us to get to this state of emergency- so it’s going to take some time to pull things back together. But the first thing we have to do is get the financial lenders (the ones who DIDN’T subscribe to illegal business practices) back on their feet so that they can start getting money back out into the economy- and then people can have the option again to buy homes, business can make sure they can cover their payroll so employees get paid instead of getting laid off, and the economy’s wheels can get back into motion instead of being at the grinding halt they’re at right now. BUT the way this money is dispersed has be done under a microscope and with massive amounts of legislation so that it actually gets to the right people. Nothing open ended, realistic and solid timelines, and the people in charge of this being kept in check. I’m not sure if that’s possible considering our congress is made up of crooks fueled solely by their own greed.
As much as I would like to say “Fuck big business! Fuck the banks!! Give the money back to the people”… it just isn’t realistic to give everyone back everything they lost, AND still find a way for the economy as a whole to get back on their feet. I think this is the first time I’ve ever supported giving money to the banks. It’s one of those “big picture” types of things. And since our entire nation is built on these lending institutions (whether we like it or not), those institutions need to be made strong again in order for a trickle-down effect to start. I deal with small businesses daily (boutiques, galleries, various people involved in clothing production and sales, etc)- and small business is being destroyed because of the cancerous state of financial lenders. Earlier in the year, all my small business banking loans got cut in half because of the banking decline (seriously, there was no other reason except that my credit score wasn’t over 700, so I no longer qualified for the amount I was previously qualified for, and they just took it back)- which means that I can’t make more products, which means my sales drop, which means I can’t pay my bills, which means I have to go back out and get another job (one with flexible hours so that I can be able to take care of my kid) AND run my company at the same time- but noone is hiring because everyone has had to downsize because noone else has any money. If the lenders have stability, that stability is stretched out to the people.
That’s all I know from everything I’ve read and talked to people about. But I would love to find out more. I’m dying to hear other people’s ideas and possible solutions. And if I’m wrong about some of this- please tell me!! Because I’ve had little to go on except what the newspapers are saying- and they’re nothing more than propaganda for whoever’s agenda they support.
Feedback? Anyone??
Tags: Economy, Politics, Wallstreet Bailout
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