Bailout Bleedout

February 22nd, 2009 8:44 am

The question in the New York Times today was - should the corporate executives who took huge bonus just before the government gave their companies survival funds, give the money back? I am NOT kidding you. My answer:

Of course the executives of our Fortune 500 companies (maybe "Fortune" meant they make a fortune and the jokes on us?) should return the huge bonuses they took so swiftly when they saw the financial crisis coming. Does ANYONE think they were fair in taking that money? Does EVERYONE cheat at cards?
As a common taxpayer I am sickened by this injustice in our country. Is it part of a free market to compensate the rich and punish the poor? We are two working adults who have managed (carefully) to raise one child who is in college now. We have saved for our retirement too. We have never even taken an extension to pay our %40 of our income in taxes..We are not poor but we do not receive bonus pay as we both work in NPOs. We are not eligible for scholarships for our son. Our tax bracket is the highest there is. We have no extra cash and have stopped eating out and entertaining, even on a small scale. We believe in giving back to our fellow citizens and sacrificing for our country so we don't complain.
The executives that took huge bonus compensations before the bailout are thieves and now we have to pay again to "save" their companies and our banking system.
Will someone tell me what we did to deserve this? Are we just stupid? Are we "bad?" Did we get the wrong instructions and fail the test? How can we continues believing our country will always be on the right side of the law, that our government will always come to our rescue, that all Americans are created equal?
I give up the notion of our nation being any different from the rest of the dictatorships and military juntas around the world. Maybe now is the time to go live on that island under a coconut tree on the beach. So much for fifty years of belief in the good triumphing over the bad. I'm sad.

The Two Party Failure

Eric Cantor, the minority whip, is the epitome of conservative republicanism. Intransigent, towing the party line all the way even if it costs his country dearly. There are Democrats who are his equal, adhering blindly to dogma that is outdated. Both political parties should unite under new platforms that are in keeping with the times, as well as the desires of their constituents around the country. Such a collaboration and unity will never be. I firmly believe this is an end of an era, the one where America was king of the world, and that the era before us, where we are already a weak world power, will be dismal if our government can't overcome it's bickering and divisiveness. How sad that the two party system should be so anachronistic and unable to adapt new ways. Who will save us and bring us glory once again?