Bailout Plans and Real Life

[helwen]

I posted a bit on Paulson's bailout plan in September 2008, which a new person responded to this week with the following (he only joined LJ in January, so he's new here):

The current Obama Bailout Plan is on progress but we have to do our share in coping with the economic crisis the country has for years now.

(there's a link to a description of the bailout plan in his post, see above link to get to it in comments)

Here's my response:

We are coping. We're doing the best we can, at least the 'we' here on the farm -- can't speak for the rest of the country. The Bailout Plan has good intentions (and yes, I voted for Obama), but quite frankly I don't think that some of the banks being bailed out should be, especially when they're using the funds in such poor ways. And they complain about all the restrictions, when if they'd only restrained themselves in some ways, they wouldn't have had to deal with it all in the first place. A lot of people in banking and investing behaved for years as if they could do anything and it would be all right and it would make money for everyone, and paid no attention to the realities of limited resources.

The gov't can only get so much money out of taxpayers, with more folks going into the unemployment line (and yes, I know it's slowed down some, but it is still increasing). The alternative is printing up more money, which they have done. Continuously printing out more paper money devalues the money -- this should make sense to anyone. Gold and other metals are valuable in part because of their rarity, not just their physical properties. If we had a lot more gold available, people wouldn't be after it to wear as jewelry to show off as status symbols. It is the same with paper money and bonds and the like -- make some whenever you like and it becomes devalued. Then what happens when someone wants to cash in?

I don't expect miracles overnight. But I also don't think the plan is realistic enough or tough enough.

And quite frankly, the idea that our way of life (not mine personally but the perceived "American" way of life) being non-negotiable is a piece of crap. Obama himself said in his inaugural speech that this didn't need to be defended or changed, that it was fine to want to have everything people were used to having. But it isn't. Not everyone can have a flat screen tv, 2 cars, drive as much as they want, overheat their homes in cold weather and overcool them in hot weather.

We are supposed to be responsible adults, and we are not the only people on the face of the planet. The economy as currently run, with the idea of infinite and ongoing growth, is unworkable and has to change.

I did post an apology to him for coming on quite so strong in response to someone who's new here (which I didn't know until I went to look him up and see if he was someone's friend. No idea how he found me). However I don't apologise for how I feel about the current mess. The government will do whatever it thinks is right, right or not, and we'll do what we have to do to keep going too. My hope however lies not with the "plan", but in my friends and family, my community, and the garden out back.

Comments

Amen

[bytchearse.livejournal.com]

To all you said, but especially your last sentence!

Re: Amen

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It helps that I have some rather sensible family and friends, of course!

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

I'd like to send a medium parcel with live plants to you, will you be mostly home for the next week or so?

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yup! Sunchokes?

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

Yup! The weather is good for shipping. I'll pack on Monday and ship on Tues, if at all possible.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Sounds great -- Thanks!!

[vonblueguy.livejournal.com]

"The current Obama bailout plan (http://www.obama-bailout.us/) is on progress but we have to do our share in coping with the economic crisis the country has for years now." - I agree. It'll surely take some time before it will progress.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

*nods* Meantime, getting used to a different way of living can be tough for a lot of folks. We (my husband L and I) are pretty lucky, in that right now he's still employed and we're renting the 2nd floor of my in-laws' farm house. So our living costs are pretty low and we get to garden -- and of course help out around the farm! We've been working on becoming lower impact (environmentally) and on spending less, but not always with success, I admit (like going to kungfu classes, which means driving to another town -- OTOH, this has been getting us in better shape like nothing else has, so hopefully we'll cut down on future doctor bills, etc.)