A Rant

That's it, folks. I've had it. I swear to you, I've had it. I'm this close to poking my eyes out. Yes, really, to show my disdain for what is happening, I am that desperate to make a statement.

Liberal or conservative, politically active or living in a hole in the ground, you all should be very, nay horrifically, concerned with what is going on. Government has over-stepped its jurisdiction-- big time. And that's scary. Bush has circumvented democracy-- the very will of the American people-- to bail out the auto industry. Bush (and his apparent sidekick Obama) has directly placed the government in the middle of capitalism- well, what used to be called capitalism.

So, we are placing on the alter our way of life, capitalism, to save 40,000 jobs (an incredibly biased number given to congress by the auto industry. It includes people they don't even directly employ, such as suppliers- who, I might add, are on the payroll of other non-failing companies). That's the price of your and your children's long-lasting economic freedom, my dear readers. Temporary discomfort. Lovely. To a donkey, I am sure this all makes perfect sense. He doesn't care if he is fenced in, as long as he has some hay. To people further up the evolutionary chain, however, the very nature of this "bailout" screams insanity.

What's next? Where's the line? Has it even been placed? I can guarantee you, Congress has placed no line. No boundaries. GM is going and people are sadly losing their jobs. But what about the thousands upon thousands of people who have and will lose their jobs? Are they less important than the auto workers? Apparently. So to be fair, government starts saving other businesses from certain economic destruction. They have to, you understand, it's only fair.

If you think the bailout is going to stop with the auto industry and the banks, you're out of your mind. You altruistically understand, of course, that more and more of your paycheck will be taxed in order to finance crappy CEOs and deficient business models.

Another item of concern: businesses are more likely to engage in risky behavior. Make risky investments. Why not? If the investments fail the over-reaching government, with taxpayers money in hand, will bail them out.

So, that's who we are going to trust. Congress. The same Congress who forgot to place someone in charge of dishing out the $700 billion bailout it already promised. Yes, it's true, a HUGE bureaucratic failure. The same Congress who did not even specify how banks were to use taxpayer "bailout" money. So, instead of giving out loans, which was the intention of the bailout, the banks paid off their executives. Failures of this nature will continue to happen. It's government. Has it ever been efficient? Last time I read about the founding fathers (today) Congress was built not to be efficient. So why do we keep handing it power? Power it shouldn't have?

Isn't that how all dictatorships/the-hell-we-know-as-communism started? An emergency. An economic emergency. People panicking in the middle of an economic emergency. Foolishly giving government all sorts of power to get them out of it, and quickly. And in the very process sacrificing something more than a healthy economy-- freedom. Government promises to return power as soon as the emergency is over. So what is the most concerning part about all of this?

We believe them.

Let's not sacrifice temporary economic discomfort in favor of permanent radical changes. We have more sense than that.

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To the CEO's of the auto-industry

My deepest apologies, gentlemen, that you are apparently devoid of business sense. That you failed to create a fruitful and stable business model. That the majority of vehicles you produce have consistently been placed on the "worst cars to buy" list. That you lacked the necessary political talent to rein in your far too powerful unions.

For all of this, I deeply and sincerely apologize.

But you must understand at least this much-- it's business. You failed to survive because you failed to adequately produce. You failed to read your market. You failed to innovate. And thus the market has failed to support you. That's business. And hopefully, if I have my way, that will always be business. Because that is capitalism. And capitalism is what made this great country great.

I am very sorry for the loss of jobs for your workers. But it wasn't the American people who failed your workers, so I fail to see why it is the responsibility of the American government, and hence the people, to financially save your companies.

It was you, and the leaders of your unions, who failed your workers because of your lack of talent and foresight.

So, please, take whatever integrity and honor you have left and close your doors. Stop asking the government for MY money-- because they are crazy enough to give it to you.