The Bailout is about YOU … like it or not.

As I have said in the recent past, damned if we do, damned if we dont.

Congress has rejected the bailout of the Wall Street banks.  The Republicans voted against the bill in even greater numbers than Democrats; the Minority leader indicated that emails and other communications by constituents was running nearly 100 to 1 against voting for the bailout….these guys are up for re-election and whereas they read about the rising unemployment rates back home, they don’t want to join that particular crowd.

The American people need to better understand what is going on here.  Yes, it has been tagged as a bailout for the “Wall Street Fat Cats” that got us into this mess, and it smacks of that indeed.  However, we are ALL affected by this =%@*!&@ mess!   This is how the credit crisis get to YOU, the men and women on the street

• Banks loan money to companies, short term cash to buy inventory and supplies to support the products and services the company sells.  Maybe it’s YOU that owns that company and can’t buy inventory for your Halloween store.  Maybe it will be YOU that goes out of business next.
• If you don’t own your own company (why not, I might ask?), this could be the company that YOU work for.  If they don’t have cash flow, maybe YOU wont get your paycheck.
• Further down the line, if the company still can’t get what they need to stay in business, it may be YOU that gets laid off (say ‘Hi’ to your congressman when you are down at the Employment Development Deparment)
• Banks also loan money directly.  Right now, TONIGHT, it is harder for YOU to get an auto loan, harder for YOU to get a student loan, harder for YOU to get a home loan
• Banks also loan money to others … such as Mr. and Mrs. Homebuyer that really want to buy your house.  They have a 20% down payment and good jobs (for now!).  But guess what?  They can’t get a loan, which means YOU cant sell your house.

Yes my friends, like it or not.  The bailout IS about YOU.  I have been saying the sky would fall for literally years now.  I really did think that there were smarter people in charge that could have done something to have softened the meltdown.   I guess I gave those bureaucrats too much credit (pun intended).

Flawed at best, I for one am willing to take my lumps in the market (and my chances on Main Street) to get something better.   We cannot let the economy grind to a halt.

Tell your Congress Person that.