We need a solution to the economic crisis, handing Bush a really big check is not a solution.

[Bjorn Against]

Today I am frightened for America. We have an economy on the brink of collapse and our leaders don't seem to have any idea of what to do about it. The best solution that anyone can come up with is to give Bush $700 billion and hope he spends it well. Sure Bush may not have the best track record when it comes to dealing with any type of problem, but hey just because he has screwed up everything else he has touched does not necessarily mean he is going to screw up again. Let's be honest though, it is not exactly a great idea to take a $700 billion bet that Bush and his friend Paulson are not going to screw this up.

Let me be clear about it, I do not want to see a depression. If we go into a depression I will almost certainly be hit hard by it, and I doubt I will be able to keep my job. I am seriously concerned about our economic future and I want to do whatever is necessary to ensure that lower and middle income communities survive this. I realize that we may have no choice but to bailout some people who do not deserve to be bailed out, but I am not willing to trust the people who got us into this mess to get us out of it.

I hear all kinds of people telling me that a bailout is desperately needed, but while we hear a lot about how badly they need our money we are hearing very little about how badly they need to change the system. This economic crisis did not just happen by random chance, it is the result of decades of a so-called “free-market” ideology that puts profits above people. The free-market ideologues worked hard to allow corporations to grow to show a size that their failure could have a major impact on the entire global economy, and then they worked some more to ensure there were few regulations governing these corporations.

Some of you may know that I was once a free-market ideologue myself, but I have since realized that many corporations are far more interested in their own profits than they are in the health of our communities. We are constantly seeing workers at home and abroad being paid poverty level wages, we are seeing corporations polluting our air and water, we see lobbyists buy off our politicians in order to get favorable legislation, and we are seeing companies putting us all at risk of economic meltdown by taking advantage of people through predatory loans.

The failure of the so-called free-market is what got us into this mess, and now it is time to change the system and finally abandon this failed ideology. I would be far more-willing to support this bail-out plan if the people pushing it would admit that this mess goes beyond a few screw-ups, and acknowledge that some major changes need to be made. I am not willing to hand out $700 billion to people who are just going to make the same mistake again, if we do that we will end up in a depression anyways but we will go into that depression with $700 billion less to fund the social programs that will be critical in helping us get out of that depression.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a major turning point in American history, no matter what happens with the bailout bill in the next few days I think it is clear that there are going to be some tough times ahead. Let's make sure that the people who brought these tough times upon us know that we are not going to play their game any more.