I mean come on. I don't know about you, but i'm pretty pissed off that all my tax money is going towards failing businesses. I mean, we're already in a shithole with the debt we have already... how is giving even more money we don't have to companies that are probably not going to be there very long helping out? Even worse to fund this we have to print more money witch is making it even less value? I don't have any suggestions now but i'm sure there's some way to invest in new technologies or something to help create a better economy. Hell just give all this money going to the companies back to the people so that we can spend more. Either way why don't we have any protests going on? We're just sitting here taking it in the ass watching what use to be the best country in the world plummet.
My main problem with the bailout, is that they are all going to wards the car companies (at least in Canada). Any other business that is failing won't see a penny. So bailout everyone or no one.
I'm with you, bailouts suck. Our society protects millionaires and millionaire corporations, these corporations get their money by stealing from the common man, and if they happen to screw over the books and run out of money, they need only go the the federal government and ask for more. It's a pretty sweet deal for those who exist on the highest rungs of the social ladder, but those of us at the bottom are the ones who get screwed by it all.
Bailouts are socialism for the rich at the expense of the rest of us, but then I reckon the rich are better connected to the politicians they own, right? Ideally capitalism can be thought of as a point where Darwin meets economics, in which corporations that aren't competitive will fail, and any corporation that is "too big to fail" should fail, then smaller more efficient companies can be built from the fallout. Funny how the banksters have always supported deregulation and hands-off government until their asses are on the line. Bare in mind though that our economic situation is complicated. I read somewhere an account from a guy who went through the Great Depression. Everyone was pissed at the banks, the government did nothing, and the economy collapsed as a result. He said he changed his tune after that, and wished the government had intervened. I'm not so sure I'm as against the bailouts themselves as I am against the way they've been handled. This business of forking over billions of tax payer dollars without accountability is unacceptable. More oversight and transparency is needed, and as citizens we should have a say in the policies of any corporations receiving bailout funds. Executives whos creative book keeping led to their company's demise should be fired. Bailout recipients should not be permitted to lobby, period, and no more outsourcing, we shouldn't be paying them to have our jobs exported.
Check this out, it's basically a government-sponsored ponzi scheme, fraud on a massive scale, and the longer they deceive us and we subsidize it, the worse it'll get.
I think a better thing to protest is just capitalism as a whole. Capitalism, when all is said and done, got us into this mess, and Capitalism will continue to do so. I hate paying taxes, anyway. I don't like where they go. I don't want to pay for the government. I am aware that taxes are supposed to go towards things like roads, and just generally keep society going, and that's FINE, but the tax system is corrupted and any form of coercion (forced taxes... don't pay and you're fucked) doesn't sit right with me on both a political and moral level. It sounds awful without any kind of explanation, but this seems like an intelligent forum so I'm sure people will understand where I'm going with this: Capitalism needs to fall and be destroyed, anarchism needs to take over, so we don't have to worry about this shit anymore.
The problem with capitalism is that it appeals to mankind's inherent greed, which when not kept in check leads to socially destructive behavior (ie the fraud that led to the bailouts). The only way to enforce social responsibility is through regulation and oversight. Capitalism dictates that a corporate executive do what's best for the bottom line, regardless of the ethical consequences. Executive's performance is evaluated on a quarterly term, which often conflicts with what's best long term for the company, the share holders, and the general public. I used to be against capitalism, but now I'm not so sure. Being competitive and being rewarded for one's success inspires hard work and efficiency, and I think that's healthy, assuming a level playing field in which the rules are fair, everyone knows what's going on, and no one can get away with misrepresenting the value of their assets. We can belly ache about social disparity all we want, but to some extent our overall standard of living is higher as a result, because people have something to strive for. Conversely, if we didn't have an incentive to succeed, we wouldn't. Don't get me wrong, I think we work too hard in America, while at the same time the distribution of wealth does not accurately reflect people's contributions, but that's subjective. Capitalism in its pure sense does not permit government subsidies for corporations in the private sector. That I agree with. As long as there is a public infrastructure of roads, schools, etc., the government needs contractors and employees, leaving the door open for fraud, waste, and abuse, which is why we also need independent watch dogs who aren't connected with those they're watching.
we americans, hold fast to our "old time religion" even after, it has been proven to be nothing but a farce. for about 40 years corporate america has been wagging it's finger and, preaching that shit to the american people and, the rest of the world. since 1969, the economic policy institue has published a yearly journal entitled 'the state of working america.' the institue started that project in response to their horror that richard nixon was starting to set in motion the same policies that lead to the great depression. a voice in the wilderness crying for america (and the world) to change course because, we were starting down the road to ruin. in 1995 the economic policiy institue published a book entitled 'beware the americian model.' that book flop badly! now, 15 years later it is back in print and, no one can keep it in stock long! 15 years ago the capitailist call that book "wild eyed crazy socialism that, is trying to kill, the goose that is laying the golden eggs!" the moral of this is: all that glitters is not gold; and, that is the case of the american model.
...And they say only Republicans support corporate welfare! On a slightly different topic, with the TEA party rallies this past April, what blows my mind is why the hell didn't these activists raise Cain when Bush was spending money like a drunken sailor?
Corporate welfare is not a partisan issue. The US government has always supported the bankers and corporations at the expense of the people, it's just a matter of degree. Now that the Bush administration has set such a destructive precedent, it's that much harder to reverse it, but if enough people put enough pressure on their politicians, we might be able to reverse the trend to something more reasonable. I heard an interesting discussion recently about the distinction between industrial capitalism and finance capitalism. Industrial capitalism relies on manufacturing, and it's products are real goods and services, while finance capitalism's only product is debt. Based on the disparity between the bailouts of the banks and the bailouts of the auto industry, it's obvious which brand of capitalism our government favors, and this is a serious problem. Obama put the same foxes in charge of the hen house Bush did (namely Geithner and Summers), so the only way we can put a damper on the stronghold finance capitalism has on our economy is to significantly reduce or stop borrowing money ourselves. The tea party movement was spearheaded by the GOP run media as an attack against the Obama administration, and while I agree with the message they were sending, the idea that it was a grass roots movement is bullshit.
