Bailout?

...and now the government plans a $700 billion bailout. Does this bother anyone besides myself? I realize that the losses won't be $700 billion. Some of the assets that are being "purchased" will offset the $700 billion amount and that some of this incurred debt will be resold and redistributed, So what is the actual cost to the taxpayers? And more importantly, why does it matter? Isn't all of this based on speculation, assumption, and "educated" guesswork? And by the time all is said and done, it will all be sifted, softened, padded, and trickled down. Let's face the facts, we will never know the cost.

The study of economics is a very inexact science. For a field of reason that requires cold, hard numbers to function; economics is as much theory, not fact, as the Hadron supercollider and String Theory. Why else do we have so many opinions and ideas regarding things monetary? How else can we explain how we can become so polarized in our economic views?

And why is the government involved? And when will government involvement end? Is this what Alexander Hamilton had in mind? Did Adam Smith's philosophies cease to be worthwhile in the previous centuries?

All things evolve and people must adapt, but I still fear something is rotten in the state of Denmark; and it ain't just the cheese!

I'm not so naive to think that we can live without government intervention in these matters. But to what extent? When does the government stop becoming a servant to the people and begin to be a nursemaid? And that is what is happening, make no mistake. As consumers, we have been childlike and immature, and now we need someone to wipe our noses and tell us when to come in out of the cold, cold rain. We have ceased to know what is best for ourselves. We have fallen prey to marketing and given in to our petty desires. We have had it so good, that we have taken things for granted. If we can't afford cable or a new Wii or a newer car, then we are being deprived of our civil liberties.

And when things get so out of hand and seem larger than we can deal with ourselves, we want to turn it all over to the government. Let our hired nursemaid clean up the mess we made ourselves. We will cry and sob and lament. But most likely we will not change. Not when something larger and impersonal as government can step in and bail us out.

And how can I say these things? How can I seem so calloused in a time of crisis? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

First of all, things are not that bad. Regardless of what the media and the scaremongers tell us, things are not that bad. Look around, globally. Then look at things here at home in the U.S. I think we still have it pretty good. I may not drive as much in as big of a car, but not alot else will change. Except the rhetoric.

Politicians will prey on people in times like these. We will be told how bad things are and how much worse things will get if we fail to vote for change or fail to buy into the audacity of hype. But I tell you, things are not that bad. Things could always be better and we should strive for such. We can be, and should be in many cases, outraged by prices of gas and groceries; but when we put things into perspective we should still thank God for our country and that we only have to make do with only two boxes of Pop tarts, while people in other countries around the world eat rice for the umpteenth consecutive meal...We just don't have it that bad.

Another reason I am able to say these things, is because the truth is that we have gotten ourselves into this mess. And though it is a mess economically, i think it is more of a mess philosophically. Our current ideology needs to change. Our economy has been kept afloat by means of social programs and credit for entirely too long. We need to return to the outlooks and notions that we were founded on. We need to return to the concepts of hard work, ingenuity, individuality, and even sacrifice. We need a revival of work ethics! Not the ideology that someone else will step in and pick up my slack. Or the notion that we are entitled to more than we work for.

Another reason I am able to say this is that we are still free in America. Thanks to our men and women in uniform. Thanks to those who put their lives at stake for my right to be harsh and opinionated. And if any service people read this, Thank you! And we should never forget our war heroes, regardless of politics.

But the main reason I can say this is that I have the knowledge that God is in control. I will digress on the sermon, but all of this reminds me not to trust man or money to be consistent. But to trust God at all times. Not that we can use Him as another nursemaid;we have a responsibility to listen to God and to respect Him. And we have the responsibility to "man up" and get ourselves out of a mess that we placed ourselves into. But God's grace will always be great! And there may be many rewards that will never be measured financially.

Again, I will back off of the sermon. But as I end things for today, I do ask that we all examine what it is that we serve.

And can the government bail out our souls?