Bailout plan is simply irresponsible

In consideration of the current bailout proposals, I urge you to consider it as I and the majority of informed, educated, voting people do: Threatening the American public with economic tumult and turmoil lest a bailout be approved boils down to nothing more than blatant extortion.

That Congress is even considering sending ANY sum to the companies, industries and executives that have already proved themselves either, and perhaps both, incompetent or fraudulent is not only irresponsible it is blatantly stupid.

  The executives and investors back-slapping themselves like fraternity brothers as they take turns fleecing the public, walking away from companies they have left in ruins with pockets overflowing with personal profit is criminal. The reckless abandon with which it was done says to me that their actions were taken well-knowing that not only would there be no recourse against them, but that they would again be fattened when federal money was sent to aid industries “too essential, too big,” to fail. It is only with the dishonesty and false reporting that a massive global company, such as AIG, supposedly doing just fine one day, is then completely in ruins the next. Stockholders should be grabbing their pitchforks and torches.

Also criminal is the fact that many of our elected officials have a vested interest in bailing out these companies that were some of their biggest campaign contributors in an election year that happens to coincide with this economic meltdown. Leave them to fend for themselves. You cannot and I will not condone their irresponsible, misleading, fraudulent actions by saying “Here, take our tax dollars and fix this problem.” The problem was created knowingly and wittingly, get yourselves out. It was well put in a conversation I overheard: If the house I just had built is falling down, I certainly don’t hire the same contractor to build my new house!

  As far as the river of cheap, accessible money drying up, it may. But quite frankly, our country, on all levels, could stand to be a little more responsible in our lending and borrowing habits. As the days slip by without a bailout having been passed, each one having been forecast as “the deadline” before economic meltdown, the public will begin to see that big business and the government collectively have tried to push us into a corner and scare us into emptying our pockets to save ourselves. It’s extortion and it’s criminal.

Eric Fletcher
Waynesboro