Hey, What's Another $30 Billion?

Hope and Change for AIG.

I'm not sure, but I think the term "money pit" may not be enough in this circumstance.

All Right! Squash Tournaments Sponsored by Taxpayers!! UPDATE: Wells Fargo Trip Funded By You!

As if this pathetic stimulus.....no wait, I mean uber-earmark, wasn't bad enough, look at this!!

I have about HAD IT!!

UPDATE:
Unbelievable. Is anyone else ready to do something about this garbage?

My 2008 Final Thoughts on Bailouts and Stimulus Packages

You all know I've opposed the bailout syndrome that seems to be infecting this country lately. You know I've been critical of Congress, the UAW, AIG, and all those other money-grubbing loser companies that just refuse to go into bankruptcy because God forbid they of all companies go out of business. Well, I found this video and maybe you've already seen it, but even if you have, take the time and watch it again. This is Fred Thompson, it's 8 minutes and he sums up the insanity of the whole bailout/stimulus mess better than I ever could hope. Time to get motivated and contact your representatives in the coming months.

The UAW's Concession? A Giant Middle Finger to the People

It's a Christmas miracle! The White House gave the UAW....I mean Chrysler and GM....a $17 billion bailout with some loose conditions. One of the urgings from President Bush was that the UAW make deeper wage cuts to ease strain on the manufacturers. Well, just like any standard con artist, UAW President Ron Gettlefinger has changed the rules mid-way through the game. Instead of meeting with the auto companies to renegotiate wages and benefits as Bush had requested, Gettlefinger now says that the UAW will work with Obama after he takes office to renegotiate the bailout terms instead! He says he will work to remove the wage cut requirement. How fun. "Give us the money.......thanks, and now that we have it, screw the taxpayers." Gettlefinger and the UAW are working hard to ensure that Americans won't feel an ounce of sympathy for them when they finally do lose their jobs and the companies go under.

Bush's Nationalization Plan Continues

This morning President Bush gave the GM and Chrysler the money they were looking for. Regardless of how Americans felt about a bailout, or what the US Senate had made clear, President Bush unilaterally gave TARP funds to these two failing auto manufacturers. $17 billion, to be specific. And the oh-so strict requirements placed on the companies? Come back in three months with a solid plan in place for restructuring; oh, and if you get a chance UAW, consider ending the jobs bank program in place now. Awful. There are no strict requirements placed on these companies or the UAW and basically, the White House circumvented Congress and gave the companies what the US Senate said no to a week ago. This is very frustrating in itself, but add into the fact that part of the provisions in the funding is that the US government can be a stockholder in the companies, effectively nationalizing the domestic auto industry. Fun! Welcome to Socialism 101: first step, nationalize major industries (i.e. banks and auto manufacturers); second step, create a national welfare state by redistributing tax revenues across the board; step three, create an inflated government that touched more aspects of daily life. Now, many said Obama would usher in socialism. Of course people may be right in that aspect, who would have suspected that George Bush would be the first to initialize that process. This is just terrible, and somewhere, guys like Hugo Chavez are laughing hysterically right now.

Obviously President Bush Can't Hear Us

The American people have spoken but for some reason no one's listening! NO BAILOUT!!

My Letter to Senator Harry Reid

I sent the following to Senator Harry Reid this morning. What do you think?

Dear Senator Reid,
I am a constituent of yours and have a question in regard to this horrible auto bailout. Why should they get the money? Are they too big to fail? Too many would be affected by them not getting a band-aid to their wound that requires more internal work? Well let me ask you this and I WANT AN ANSWER!
I am currently in financial hardship. I run into the red nearly every paycheck due to bills, college loans, and car payments. I am married and have a son. They depend on me to make money and stay afloat financially. I have worked hard to finish college and get a sound job but am just a bit behind in paying my bills, but the outlook is not so good for next year. I am requesting from the you and the federal government a small bailout, or a bridge loan, to cover us for an indeterminate amount of time. Just a small amount, maybe $15,000 total, and we would be able to pay our bills and get out of the crisis we are in. I am simply too big to fail, sir. My wife and son will suffer if I cannot get this loan and the banks, well they won't extend the necessary credit to help us. I can look at my spending and report back to you next year to show progress, but without this loan, my family will not be able to compete and make it into the next year. We would need this $15,000 as soon as possible as our funds may not last. Now, will you grant me and my family this bailout so we can survive this current economic storm? No? Why not? Are you really going to sit there and tell me that three failing auto companies are worth more than my family? Worth more than my family's well-being? Are you saying we don't contribute as much? Well, we may not have employees and produce cars, but we purchase goods and pay taxes. We may not have lobbyists that contribute to your campaign but we buy gas, and pay our utilities. And we may not have some union backing, we have the support of our families and friends.
So what makes these companies more important than the hardworking families in YOUR state and across America? I guess it just comes down to money and favors owed to some union in Michigan, right? And that is the problem. My son will be paying for this mess years down the road because somewhere along the way, you, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and the others lost your commitment to the American people and sold your souls to the lobbyists and the unions. If you took ten seconds to think you'd realize that if the people of this country could get that $15 billion or whatever the REAL amount is, we'd be able to pay bills, and purchase goods and drive the economy. This bailout is a bad idea and Chapter 11 was created for ALL companies, NOT just some with the exception the auto companies. Use your common sense and vote against this bailout. And in case you couldn't tell, I do hold the value of my family far higher than three non-competitive car companies. And I know I'm not alone in this sentiment.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Sherwood (an American not worthy of a bailout)

Bailout Crisis, Round Whatever We're in Now UPDATED!

Genius! I just heard the Senate Republicans that are leading the charge against this auto bailout and they are right on the money! Senator Ensign and Senator Shelby simply said that a bailout is a band-aid to the problem without a fix to the problem itself. Throwing $15 billion onto a mound of trash still makes it a mound of trash. And taxpayers ought not be responsible for paying for that trash. Without demanding restructuring, renegotiations with the UAW, or getting rid of these failed CEOs, nothing will change, and even a "car czar" (so awful) will be able to do any good. Fix the problem, auto industry, and then ask for a loan, not the other way around. Oh! And Congressional Democrats.....how about letting Republicans take a look at the language in the bill before saying it's good to go!

UPDATE
Now House Republicans have put forth a plan. It's a much better alternative than some handout. See the summary of the plan here.

UPDATE II
Represenative Dan Lungren of California has got it exactly right.

Wow.....Nevada Has One Smart Senator! UPDATED

Every state has two Senators (well, in the case of Illinois, it maybe upwards of five, depending on what the Governor gets in return). In the case of Nevada , we have one smart one and one that....well, he's got his own thing going on. Senator Harry Reid, our infamous Senate Majority Leader has cruised for years in Washington, and he shows up here enough to run re-election and ensure that everyone knows he's from the tiny town of Searchlight, Nevada. I'll never forget the period in 2003 when Republicans were asking for a straight up or down vote on judicial nominees and I turned on the TV to see Harry Reid reading about the history of the bicycle. It made my stomach turn seeing him in complete "inaction."

We also have Senator John Ensign, a Republican who has worked over the years in the Senate. He's well-spoken, capable, and knows how things work in Washington.

Now, in this critical economic period, we have one Senator more than eager to bailout the failing three from Detroit and any other company who wanders up Capitol Hill. And we have another Senator who's saying enough is enough. John Ensign came out today and spoke out against the bailout and I applaud him for that. Hopefully him, Senator Shelby, Senator Corker, and others can work together to push this awful bailout into the ground. It's nice to see one of our elected officials doing the right thing rather than feeling sorry for companies that deserve to go bankrupt.

UPDATE

Senator Ensign has support for a filibuster and I wish these men well. Write your Congressmen and women and let them know that you support this!

Hey, Just to be Safe, Let's Just Bailout the Whole Planet!

I watched the hearings with the CEOs of Ford, GM, and Chrysler these past two days and I tell you...it's a bunch of garbage. So we gave billions to AIG so they could go and play on the beach and at resorts, and then we gave $700 billion to Wall Street and banks without any oversight on where the money went and how it was used. And now these three are begging for $25 billion....no scratch that.....$34 billion (and rising) from the government. When did this become the norm? So now if a company is in trouble we bail them out? Whatever happened to the word 'bankruptcy?' Now states are begging for at least $100 billion in aid from President-Elect Obama. Now, imagine if you or I walked in to see Senate Majority Leader Reid, or Senator Dodd and sat down and explained:

"well, we're just strapped for cash and have a home in foreclosure. We also have credit card bills that aren't being paid because of rising utility bills and car payments. Now.....all we'd need is a small 'bridge loan' of $10,000 to get back on our feet. We have six kids and so....we're too big to fail. If you could just grant us this loan with some critical benchmarks for improvement, you won't be sorry!"

We'd be shown the door in a second with no help and a 'thanks for your support' as you were on the way out. So the American people, the people that spend money and drive the economy are allowed to fail but three car companies who have failed to keep spending in line and have been poorly managed are okay? AIG is okay? Citibank is okay? When did this happen? Why did we let this happen? Because we've become a coddling society. Because it would be so sad to see people lose their jobs. But it's critically important to realize that bankruptcy was designed for a reason. It's important to remember that while many would lose their jobs, sometimes that step is necessary to remain competitive in the world. A stagnant company with falling revenues that is given money from taxpayers to stay afloat for maybe a year is the worst investment because all it does is provide a band-aid for the problem, when what is really needed is stitches or more. I say let the companies go bankrupt. Let them restructure and become more efficient and cost-conscious. The unions can complain all they like, but if the money isn't there, they lose all leverage. Let them go back to square one and try to be competitive again. Let those companies take the risk, not the taxpayers.

And if the federal government feels sorry and gives the money to these companies, and then gives money to the state governments (who blew record surplusses over the past five years), then I know it'll only be a matter of time before small local businesses are next, and then even individuals. Finally, some allied country, that we already give money to in the form of aid, will come knocking and asking for their own bailout. And then what do we do?