Most of my life I've been poor. I was really poor but had friends and we looked out for each other. There were people who seemed to have less than me, people with no roof over their heads and sometimes no teeth in their mouths. I know, cause I used to carry extra food to give away and some people couldn't eat it because they didn't have teeth. I never gave money to people on the street. I didn't have money to give and even if I did, I wouldn't give it to someone just for them to spend it on booze.
I believe there are people who need our help and we should do our best to provide food, medical care, glasses and teeth to everyone. I do not believe we should give people money for free to do with as they please. I do not believe people who work hard, provide employment, provide health insurance to employees, buy goods and services and pay their taxes should be punished by having thier taxes raised to put more cash in the pockets of people who pay little in taxes now. People who took on mortgages based on what they thought they would be bringing home will be harmed greatly if their taxes are raised. It's not like they can sell their houses to downsize in this martket. Their credit will be hurt and their businesses will suffer, resulting in layoffs. Or employers will have to pay their employees less to make up for the income lost in higher taxes.
Joe plumber... What did Barack say? Something about how Joe Plumber should have got help back when he was younger, before he could afford to purchase the business he worked hard at all these years? Too bad for you Joe. And let that be a lesson to everyone trying to fullfill the American Dream, about the rewards of hard work and getting ahead in life.
According to the people I grew up with, I'm a sellout. I got an education and a degree. At 44 years old, I just finished paying off the student loans. I'm grateful to live in a place that helps people like me with student loans. I think it's great that we live in a place that believes in helping people. But there is a difference between helping people who really need it and stealing from tax payers to give money away for free. Now, I'm not just talking about cash for the poor but the "bailout" too. And corporate America if their getting money for free as well.
I'm so torn because there are things about both Obama and McCain I like and others I really don't like at all. I was very excited about Obama for awhile. I frequently gave money to his campaign. Then he backed the bailout. Then he blew off Joe Plumber so cavalierly. As far as I know, he hasn't said a thing supporting homeschooling. I've never heard him mention hydrogen power. Both things McCain has been posititve about. I think both McCain and Obama's healthcare plans perpetuate a broken system. They both backed the bailout.
Both men have good ideas and bad ones. The next four years are going to be challenging for everyone no matter what. I'm thinking I might vote for Al Gore again.
I just listened to Michelle Obama speaking tonight. She was great.
I feel better about voting for Barack Obama knowing he'll have the support of Michelle Obama. It's good to know he'll have smart people around to help guide him through the challenges he'll face as president. She is a huge asset to his campaign.
Does the democratic party really want to be in charge of cleaning up the mess this country is in. Is it even possible to clean up the mess. Or will Obama just end up being blamed for the mess we'll be in four years from now regardless of who wins the election?
Senator Obama, do you really think you can do anything to stop this train wreck? You won't even be able to blame the bailout because you supported it.
Sorry everyone. I'm feeling pretty negative about our choices now. If Obama hadn't supported the bailout, I'd be more optimistic.
The people have spoken. We didn't want the bailout. Obama didn't represent us. Mc Cain didn't represent his supporters. What was Obama thinking? If he had spoken out against the bailout, not only would he have kept his supporters but he probably would have gained a lot of McCain's. Time to take things into our own hands. What can we do to make a difference? I will do all I can to limit my support of corporate america. Simple steps to take... buy at farmer's markets, not super markets, when possible. Buy second hand over corporate "label" clothing. Make your own toys from recycled goods. I love shopping as much as anyone else but I'm taking my dollars out of the corporate run stores and investing them in family businesses whenever possible. Watch out Wall Street, I may be a big enough consumer to effect your bottom line... just ask my husband:) But even if I'm not, together, we consumers can be. We can take our money and try to rebuild our county from the bottom up.
Watching "The Corporation" tonight, saw how media id controlled by the corporations. Started wondering where the demonstrations against the bailouts were. Looked on the internet and found them... covered by alternative media.
Barack Obama... if the people blogging here are representative of the people supporting you, why are you not representing us?
Are we supposed to settle for business as usual from the man telling us to believe in his ability to bring about change? How are we supposed to believe in our ability to create change when we aren't being acknowledged by the man telling us to believe?
Don't bother trying to sell me a pack of lies about taxpayers bailing out Wall Street for the sake retirement accounts and business loans for employers to meet payroll. I'm not buying it. Yes, we're having an economic crisis but Wall Street is the problem, not the solution. The people of this country have a better chance of making it through hard times if the government doesn't hand over all the money and power back to Wall Street.
It's time for more than just talk about change. It's time for a revolution. Just because the mainstream media is not televising the revolution doesn't mean it isn't happening.
Despite knowing it may not be what's best for our family or business.
Despite his support of the bailout. There's no promise the bailout will change a darn thing for us. The banks aren't obligated to loan money to businesses. They aren't obligated to help keep people in their homes.
Sent in another donation last night to show support for Jo Biden in his debate with Palin.
Despite not hearing a plan for creating jobs, health care and alternative energy resources with the same enthusiasm the bailout has received. $700,000,000,000 for what?
Still supporting Obama because I'm hoping it's the right thing to do for our country. Because McCain is not an option and because Palin would be funny if the situation wasn't so serious.
Yeah! I can't believe Republicans are blaming Democrats for the failure of the bailout. I can't believe I'm in support of the majority of Republicans who voted against it. I can't believe it was the majority of Democrats I disagree with. Nancy Pelosi is being blamed for it's failure but she voted for it. I don't even know where Barack Obama stands. The world has gone crazy. If we're going to pass something, it shouldn't just make business portfolios look good, it should help the people those businesses took advantage of. By the way, why are families evicted from their homes after forclosure, before the banks find a buyer for the homes. All that does is leave the homes vulnerable to vandals and other vermin. And if we can just print more money for something like this, why didn't we start doing it a long time ago to create jobs in renewable energy resources?
Barack, this is an opportunity to stand up for real change, not just business as usual, where do you stand?
I'm steamed. My tax dollars are going be handed out to banks who maniplulated people into taking loans they couldn't afford to pay back??? Meanwhile, my friends and family are at risk of losing their homes. First, people at risk of losing their homes should be given new payment arrangements reflecting the new housing market and reasonable rates. Next, if we tax payers are going to end up paying for bad loans, the homes should belong to us. Finally, empty homes should be sold, by the government, at reaonable rates, to people who need help obtaining homes in their communities... people who provide important services to their communities and single parents who need our help.
Empty homes don't help anyone. Greedy lenders don't help anyone. And don't get me started on real estate agents... The whole system has been set up to take advantage of people willing to trust everything will be okay when they're told to sign an insanely large stack of papers. Nobody's expected to read the papers, let alone understand the language used. And now the tax payers are expected to pay for the vulnerability of average people who have fallen victim to greedy preditors. I don't mind helping out people in need but it infuriates me to think my money is going to help the preditors, not the victims.
