I'm watching John McCain right now. This whole bailout plan is scaring me. I'm no market expert, nor am I an expert in political science. But what it sounds like on the surface is we're handing the US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, $700 billion dollars of our money, and he has said that he cannot be regulated nor investigated by any agency, including government agencies. That seems incredibly fishy to me.
I don't know what they're going to do, but I just don't see how our market is going to pull out of this without us going into a drastic recession before it all starts moving back upwards. Thank goodness Logan and I didn't sink too much of our money into stocks; right now we've got savings bonds and savings. But the bad part is that all the American people are calling their senators and representatives voicing a LOUD protest against this bailout, but it appears that it may still pass! I think the days of of America being a true democracy centered around the voice of the people are long gone. If the people were the deciding factor here, the bailout would have already been flat out denied or restructured drastically.
I'm looking for Barack Obama... I want to support him, but when he's mysteriously missing on this particular day when the news channels are filled with John McCain and his speeches, it's difficult to blindly side with a man who doesn't have a voice during a crisis. I'm hoping to hear something from him soon. And I'm hoping his words will voice my opinion: that the government has no place meddling in financial affairs. We are "free market", in good times and in bad. Should the government get entangled with mortgage companies and other businesses, would that not inherently corrupt the government? What is the root of all evil? All together now....money. It's scary to think about the government taking $700 BILLION and doing with it as they wish, unchecked.
Until the past couple of weeks, this presidential debate was undoubtedly important because of the war in Iraq and the weak economy. Now, we see the urgency in the next couple of months as we observe the actions of these two candidates and wait for the outcome of this situation. Like I said, I've been leaning towards Obama, but now I'm wavering. This morning, John McCain looked fresh, well-rested, and calm. Obama looked like he slept in his suit, appeared perhaps unshaven, and looked exhausted. But then again, that could be McCain's lengthy political grooming and training in public speaking. It's so hard to watch them on TV and try to deduct from a prepared speech what their character is, what their intentions are, and how much you can trust them.
There is also a mild fuel shortage, caused by the pipelines being shut off in Texas during Hurricane Ike. Now that they're just beginning to rehab the area, the pipelines are still shut off and will be restored soon, but until then, there isn't enough fuel. I saw two gas stations yesterday on my way to pick up Austin that had bags over the pumps. I think I'll fill up today, just in case.
This is an unprecedented time. We have men and women fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan as we speak, yet our elected officials are busy trying to save our financial butts. I'm worried about what this will do to our already financially-strained troops on the grounds. I pray that they're safe and remain that way. I'm thankful that Logan is only on a work-up and will be home soon. I still miss him, but I know he's safe. I feel secure in our financial standing, also, as we are almost out from under our credit card debts and are paying in down in large amounts and will soon be free from large debt (other than our mortgage, of course). Thank goodness we aren't one of those families that got a mortgage they could not afford. We can comfortably afford our home, and though it's small and modest, it's clean and cozy and most importantly, we aren't defaulting on our loan...we can easily afford the payment so we can also feed our family healthy, fresh foods and dress them warmly. I feel sorry for friends of ours who wanted a huge home and got it, and are now struggling very much to make ends meet.
I hope everyone in this nation makes it through this time without poverty, without children going hungry or cold, and that our next President can make the changes needed to turn this nation back into the prosperous great nation we should be!
No comments:
Post a Comment