Intro: The Two Big Topics

You can't even turn on the TV these days and not hear about two things over and over again...
1. The Financial Crisis
2. The Presidential Election

I for one can not wait until the election is over. Once that's over I have a feeling the economy will stabilize a bit.

I mean, it's kind of crazy isn't it?

Congress at first fails to pass the giant 700 billion dollar bailout and our stock market crashes to the merry Great Depression tune. Then it just TALKS about passing it and it goes back up... then crashes some more... all the while Japan and Europe are crashing as well. THEN we read today, that just the fact that Congress is TALKING about finalizing the bill, it goes up with an almost 1000 point jump, which is some type of record for one day... is it just me, or is the market suffering from some sort of medical disorder or something? Actually I did some research and I think the market may indeed be suffering from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD- you know you've seen the infomercials). Here are the symptoms:

• Depressed mood
• Tension
• Mood swings
• Irritability
• Decreased interest in usual activities
• Lack of energy
• Insomnia or hypersomnia
• Physical symptoms such as bloating and breast tenderness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Marked change in appetite
• Feeling overwhelmed

So yup, we've figured it out. Thankfully they make a pill for it, so no one needs to run out and cash in your 401k, just give it some Prozac and sit back and wait.

But what really bothers me, is I feel this bailout is too much too soon. It's a whole lot of money that they are throwing in to keeping large corporations/banks from declaring bankruptcy. Although I really can see both sides of this.

You may be totally against this bailout and you may think the government shouldn't help. You may not see what the big deal is because you're like, well the FDIC covers my bank... yes that's true. But only up to $100,000. Then you're like, but when will I ever have a $100,000 in my bank... uh never! True, most of us don't have to worry about that... but what about the companies you work for? What happens when they can't pay you because the banks have gone under and they no longer have money in the bank that is secured? Ya, you will be wishing you had a bailout then... but still.

It seems like too much too soon. Especially when you have the guys at AIG who will be receiving 85 billion of that 700 billion. They just took their executives on a "retreat" that cost over $440,000 including over $20,000 in spa treatments... isn't that nice! They were celebrating the fact that they aren't going bankrupt anymore! And gosh darnet they deserve some much needed relaxation.. I'm sure they were stressed (sentence lined in sarcasm).

See that's what I'm afraid is going to happen with this bailout. It will just line more pockets of the greedy people who got us into this mess in the first place. I'm hoping there is going to be strict accountability for this money... but I doubt it.
My dad gave the best summary of why we are in this financial crisis with the banks to me and my sister the other night. Most of it is because of bad mortgages... I am hoping he will write a summary so I can post it here. He explains it in layman terms and I have yet to find such a sure fire explanation than his. So hopefully he'll give us one.

Speaking of banks that I hate, Wells Fargo just was approved to take over Wachovia... I wonder if that means my car loan will be back with Wells Fargo... I hate Wells Fargo. But as much as I hate them, this merger will save thousands of jobs... and that's the point. Any of us can survive an economic down turn, as long as we can keep our jobs. What's going to suck is looking for a job in this economic climate... Although for those of us in the DFW area, we are better than most areas. Our property values have a good chance of actually going up due to the Barnett Shale (natural gas) and the fact that we are not a huge banking economy... so go us! :)

So enough about our economy... on to even more frustrating topics...

The Presidential Election... oh dear God. You know I'll get into this more in the coming weeks... but could we have a worse selection? I mean, I'm Republican all the way and will vote so regardless due to ideological reasons, HOWEVER, McCain? Really?
And despite every media outlets disdain for her, I actually like Sarah Palin. I just like her and as much as you hear likewise, a lot of people like her too. So though I won't be singing John McCain's praises on here (nor will I be bashing him), I will be spouting off a lot of anti-Obama stuff because the guy just rubs me the wrong way, though I do like Biden (despite the fact he doesn't even know what the Vice President's powers are). I would find myself getting behind a Biden/Palin ticket more than anything.
Ok, whatever, this election just needs to be over and soon it will be, so woot-woot! Then we can worry about picking up the pieces of our economy and dealing with the real issues.

But before the election is over we get the pleasure of watching one more Presidential Debate... I am really hoping this one is better than the last one. I just remember watching the debate thinking if McCain says "my friends" one more time and also how OLD he looks... then I watch Obama make absolutely no sense and smile and talk about his "change"... he loves him some change doesn't he? He loves change so much that he is going to change change, can you believe it?!

One of the biggest issues this year is healthcare and I don't like either one of their healthcare plans.
Obama's will put too much strain on an already overextended government who can't manage its current bureaus properly, yet he thinks adding one that will surely drive us deeper in debt (which he'll TRY to make up for by raising taxes) will make it all better. Very few countries that have instituted universal healthcare have been able to maintain quality after making it available to the masses. I don't kid myself to believe that we will be one of those few countries who do. If you have ever been to a government run clinic lately you will agree with me wholeheartedly.

Then you have McCain who wants to help, but I'm afraid it's not going to make much of a dent. Plus he will start taxing health care benefits to give us our $5000, which costs companies more, and may put them over the edge where they stop offering healthcare at all... but then you have Obama who will FINE the families who don't provide healthcare for their kids. Well Senator Obama, most of the people who don't qualify for medicare and don't have private health insurance just plain can't afford even paying a few hundred dollars a month extra. So to fine them would be a disaster... but then as Brad Shull pointed out, there has to be regulation... if there wasn't a law that you had to have car insurance, a lot of people would drive uninsured... it should be even more a priority to provide insurance for your kids... but what if you literally can not afford it, but don't qualify for full government support as SO many people are in this boat.

So you see? Neither has the answer. And not just about healthcare, but about many issues such as taxes and energy... though to me it seems they basically agree on the economy issues...

Well we can look forward to the debate on Wednesday where Senator McCain has pledged to whip Obama's "You Know What"... hopefully he does. I personally think there should be some sort of UFC match on Wednesday. That would cause the masses to tune in... especially after that disaster of a debate last week... BORING!

Well sorry to go on so much about these two issues, but they are biggies and figured they should have their own post. Feel free to comment!