bailing out

Okay, I'm finally stretching my brain around the whole bailout issue. It didn't really hit my personal tripwire until I read of the Citibank bailout this morning. I've done precious little if any business with AIG or any of the other companies rescued so far. As to the big three auto makers, I am a Toyota man. I bought my first Toyota in 1989 (a pickup I finally sold this past year), and have owned three others besides. They are solidly built, comfortable, reliable, economical vehicles. Detroit has yet to offer anything comparable, in my opinion. And judging by the car lots and TV commercials I've seen, Detroit is still marketing gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs to the testosterone-addled mega-hauling crowd. They don't need a bailout so much as some intelligent leadership. But, hey, I get it that a pretty good percentage of our work-force is tied to the auto industry. So, a pretty good percentage of our economy is tied to counter-intuitive thinking and empty suits. They insist on blaming the unions for their lack of competitiveness, but last I checked, Toyotas and Hondas cost MORE than comparable American vehicles. The Japanese aren't eating Detroit's lunch because their products are cheaper. They are eating Detroit's lunch because they are building better products that American drivers want to buy!

But I digress. The reason the Citibank bailout strikes me is because Citi and I have an ongoing relationship. I have a Citibank credit card with a healthy (for them) balance. Times are tight right now, but Citibank will not lift a finger to bail me out. And if I am late on two payments in any twelve month period, my interest rate will more than double overnight. In fact, if I am late on a utility payment, go temporarily delinquent on an auto loan, or fall even a few days behind on some other credit card payment, Citibank reserves the right to turn the screws to me -- check your credit card agreement, they can do it to you, too! (Thank VP-elect Joe Biden for that...he helped make it law.) So the ordinary consumer can't afford to bleed the least little bit in the water, because, legally, that will result in all the sharks attacking!

What this all tells us is that government of the people, for the people, by the people has very nearly perished from this earth. It is all stacked against us. Our representatives on the local, state and federal level don't seem to have a subtract button on their budget calculators, and most have bought into thoroughly debunked "trickle down" theory rather than protecting the engine that drives the economy: the middle class. Duh!

I am not saying "tax the rich." Those reps who come home and gloat over this or that government grant they have landed are playing a shell game, calling themselves heroes for taking an ever-growing portion of our income and then returning an ever-shrinking portion of our money back to us. I don't see this ending well. I believe Jesus was right in saying "Give unto Caeser what is Caeser's," but he wasn't commenting on a representative democracy. We, the governed, now have a say in governance...or so we have been taught.

What's a good Christian citizen to do? Pray first, then raise holy hell?!? Could be. What do you think of the state of our economy and the solutions offered by government on various levels? How does your faith inform your response? Let's discuss...