Rescue Me

I have been hearing nothing but gloom and doom bailout stories on the airwaves -- so much that I just don't believe anyone really knows what will work. Remember that old song "Rescue Me" - that has been going through my head so much when I hear the news that it should be a theme song for the times we are going through.

You know there are a lot of people who would like to be rescued. And there are a lot of people who used to live with the optimism that if anything went wrong, someone would rescue them from disaster. So tell me, why should corporate America be rescued? Why shouldn't they, like us, suffer the results of their excesses, their greed, their poor judgments, their disappointments, etc.?

Are we just feeding the monster by not letting everything hit a natural bottom. Who is to say we would not rebuild a better system? We will never know because "bailout money" is flowing like a river of American blood. I don't see any rhyme or reason to the approach being taken. It seems like everything we are doing is a knee-jerk reaction to another leak in the dam. We have not had time to take any proactive preventative steps because in my opinion everyone is guessing at the solutions and throwing good money after bad. Even Greenspan admitted that his long held beliefs were wrong. I am not a total Grinch because I do see the importance of shoring up our banking system and some of the other basic systems, but as a country, we can not continue to support these failing companies with unlimited funds.

I remember when I went through what I call my "down-to-earth" moment when I was a Junior in college. I realized that yes you can do anything you put your mind to but you have to put your mind to it 100%, you have to be focused and this is important -- you have to sacrifice. That was when I realized that life was not a fairy tale and that happy endings were not guaranteed. I also realized that sometimes an individual's dreams did not match their talents or their passion. I learned to live with my own imperfections as well as those of others. I accepted that I was never going to succeed at the level I wanted to succeed. But I also took responsibility for this choice. I chose not to sacrifice, I was materialistic and I required more security than I could expect if I followed my dream.

Today, I feel satisfied with my life and the direction I took. I have reached a level of success that allows me to have very few regrets. I tried to make careful decisions, I took few risks, but I did pursue some things that required I commit to a life changing direction. None of these choices were more than I could handle and some required a little sacrifice on my part. None of my goals were unattainable, but all of them could have been derailed for a variety of reasons, and some were due to my own actions. The point is that I picked myself up from every disappointment or failure and kept on. Most of us do that, giving up is not an option. Unlike a corporation we can't just shut down operations.

So by rescuing these corporations we are saying take any risk because we will save you if it turns sour. I just think that is wrong. In the meantime, the real suffering is at the lowest level, the working "joe" who is struggling to make ends meet to pay the bills and to raise his family.

There is no doubt that unpleasant things will happen to good people. It is how they handle themselves that means the most to me. Do they turn bitter, angry and resentful? Or do they start again and take responsibility and not let the disappointments turn them into blamers, complainers, and negative people. I confess that there are often reasons to be bitter and angry, but if you don't move beyond that, how can you make things better?

I realize that this may sound like I don't care if the country goes into a deep recession. But that is not why I am wondering out loud about this. I almost sound like a Republican on this subject, but no I do believe in regulation and that as a nation we have social responsibilities to help with things like heathcare, security in our old age, and care for those who cannot care for themselves. But for the most part I do not believe in permanent federal subsidies. I do believe that the government is an agent for good not evil. But I also believe that there are some people in the government who do not serve the public good.

It is easy to see how the Libertarian ideas strike a cord on some points. But then so does Hucklebee (fair tax) and so does John Cain. It is still a matter of finding balance. I still think Obama will bring us a more balanced goverment.

So that is my point of view in this posting. Until my next thought strikes, so long for now.