If the Financial and Auto industry are receiving handouts from the government, we should get in line and ask for ours!

I’m not an expert on the subject, but I am a tax payer and I do understand most of what’s at stake. My opinion is that we are becoming a socialist society. If too many people buy homes they can’t afford or companies extend their credit beyond the assets they have...we step in and save them. If an auto manufacture builds gas hogs and complains that sales are down, we step in and save them.

Sure millions of people may loose their jobs. But why should we give our tax dollars (or print money we don’t even have) to save companies and industries that failed? Wouldn’t it be better to give the money to companies and industries that are succeeding? Or extend/increase unemployment compensation while displaced workers move to new areas to find new jobs? I’d much rather help an unemployed person directly than to give the money to a bunch of executives that failed in the first place and expect them to turn their company around.

The scuba and travel industry has taken a big hit during this economic crisis. We represent millions of hard working citizens that struggle to provide for ourselves and our families. If the market conditions depress our success, does that mean we should stick out our hand and ask for money? Or does that mean we should innovate, get lean and mean, merge, find other revenue streams and overall deal with the situation that’s handed to us? I vote for the later.

It may take "capital to capitalize on capitalism" most of the time, but great ideas and hard work also do well in a capitalistic society. Hard work should be rewarded. No work should be condemned. I vote NO to any government bailouts.

What’s your opinion?

Comments

toodive4 - 12/08/2008 5:52 PM We wouldn’t need a bailout if we could just get rid of MAP and MARP pricing. People are still buying gear... only they’re buying it on Ebay and from online sellers not being held to MAP and MARP by the manufacturers. On a slightly different topic... more than 80% of Americans are against any form of bailout... yet the government proceeds with them anyway. Short of a revolution, the government will continue to look out for special interests - not yours and mine

MouthBreather - 12/02/2008 7:25 AM I’m not a proponent of bailouts in the private sector either. (Hey! Was that pun intended? Ahh, you’re all wet!) What doesn’t kill us will make us stronger. The big three automakers have formed a sort of "auto mafia" that may have become to big for it’s own good. Time for a correction? If Uncle Sam gets into the car and bank business he should have a substantial say in what happens next in the industry. Usually, we don’t want government involved in our affairs. More government means more restrictions and less freedom and we the masses will pay in dollars and personal freedom and opportunity. When we have big problems like this financial crisis, we need to remember and return to what made us so great in less than 250 years....the freedom to have open competition, markets, and let the people do what we do best. The people can make it happen! Whooa!

KnifeDoc - 11/26/2008 1:32 AM How about not trying to decide who should get bail. From the street to the boardroom, if you got yourself into it find your own way out. Yes it will hurt for awhile but the alternitive is much worse. If Daddy gives you a cookie when you’re feeling bad all you get in the long run is a cavity.

divergeorge - 11/24/2008 6:18 PM is measuring imports against exports. If the GDP of America declines much more we are going to be in lots of trouble. What is important to note is of the economy to rebound we must lower taxes this will provide more disposable income to the consumers, they may then be able to take up SCUBA or buy new equipment. Secondly the government must reduce expenditures. Our newly elected president wants to do neither. So i believe every one should be ready for four bad years. For more information on economics people should read the following book it is easy to read and will make you much more informed on the topic of Econ. More liberty means less government, by Walter Williams.

divergeorge - 11/24/2008 6:13 PM Greg, as a student about to graduate in less than a week with a degree in econ sciences, let me say that I agree and disagree with you. On one hand we are deffently becoming socialist. National health care is the air mark of socialism in the modern world. I believe that bailing out the financial industury was wrong aswell as as the car industury. If we as a country had let the financal industury fail we would be suffering from a depression right now. What that bailout did was prolong the inevitable. If that industury had failed we would be suffering from very hard times right now but would have rebounded to become a stronger nation. The car insustury failure will bring about many more complications than are seen on the surface. One is the loss of jobs, two is the loss in stock holder equity in the auto companies. This means that the milloins of stockholders will loose 100% of their investments. The third is an major decline in our nations GDP(Gross domestic product). One part of GDP is

jeff98208 - 11/22/2008 12:12 AM so much for "the captain always goes down with the ship"! i just hope that some day this inflation of gutting jobs and and all the other garbage to protect "big brother’s" million dollar homes comes to an end... or at least slows down for awhile anways. but only time will tell.

scubaclay - 11/20/2008 12:54 PM Being retired and owning a shop, this whole thing has me scared. How long will I be able to keep my store, and how long will my pension be solvent?? I think we should fire all the top executives and hire the people that are laid off. I’m sure that they would like a real job and do much better at running the companies. When we fire the executives we should not give them the big buy outs, but let them collect the minimum unemployment wages. At the same time we should put all of the union bosses against the wall and shot them. My father was in a union and was on strike every other year. Unions have out lived their usfullness. Every year they come up with unreasonable demands for their workers, that don’t get the benefits. All the whild the union bosses are living fat and getting wealthy.

blairsp - 11/20/2008 6:02 AM I think the Government should pay a portion of the principle of each homeowner’s mortgage up to a fixed amount. Say $200k. This would reduce debt, free up cash so we can buy more necessary stuff and in the end be a better stimulus package for the economy than bailing out the companies who provide the services to consumers.

Submerged1 - 11/19/2008 10:43 PM I agree wholeheartedly. A key component of this republic and the capitalistic system we all know and love is the rise and fall of it’s players both big and small. As we all know, there is a time tested restructuring system in place called chapter filing bankruptsy that will allow the creditors and other businesses to absorb the assets. If we just allow the system work as it is designed to work, we can eventually get back on track. If we continue to bail out failed companies like this and print money to bail them out without asset protection, we are doomed for failure in the long run.

csemenko - 11/19/2008 10:30 PM My opinion is, if we are going to have a multi-Trillion dollar deficit, why not give the Tax Payers some stimulus money to stimulate the economy as we see fit. $50k-100k per tax payer. I know it is a lot of money, but we can stimulate the economy better than a CEO who is going to buy a new house in Maui. We can spend the money on debt (which will bail out the banks), we can buy cars (which will bail out the auto industry), we will travel (air lines), we will buy stuff (the commercial sector). I think it would work...so what is another few trillion in debt among friends. ;)

diverjed - 11/19/2008 1:01 PM I agree. It’s only setting a bad precedent where millions of businesses and industries will follow suit and expect a bailout when they fail. I mean I hate to see the failure of any or all of the big three, and all of the millions of jobs that follow.........but....the playing field of modern business is constantly changing nowadays, and each and every one of us has to roll with it and change accordingly.   Whether it be SCUBA, auto, finance, prostitution, that’s the name of the game.