Rage against the bailout!
I stumbled across a couple sites late tonight organizing people against the corporate welfare initiative that we know as the sub-prime mortgage bailout. I thought I’d take a couple minutes to mention them, because I do believe their good causes, although, like Ron Paul’s campaign, will really just fall on the deaf ears of the masses who are not the least bit concerned with what their government does.
First up, is Angry Renter. Angry Renter is organizing an online open letter and petition to send to congress protesting against the bailout.
The petition reads:
WHEREAS: Most Americans rent or own their home outright, and the vast majority of homes (98%) are not in foreclosure.
WHEREAS: Both banks and borrowers should be reponsible for their actions, and the government should not reward reckless behavior.
WHEREAS: It is wrong to force all taxpayers– including renters who are already subsidizing home owners through the tax code– to pay for additional bailouts for big banks and home flippers.
BE IT RESOLVED: That Congress should not pass any bailout programs that reward risky borrowing and lending. Let the free market sort it out!
As of this writing, Angry Renter sports over 14,000 signatures and comments from people opposing any bailout.
Next up, Stop The Housing Bailout. Stop The Housing Bailout is a site chocked full of information regarding the housing
bailout and how it’s going to hurt you and I. They also have pre-drafted letters, all ready to be sent to your representatives up on the hill.
Taxes are a huge part of any budget, whether you specifically budget for them or not. They come out of your check every pay period, whether you know about them or not. And they amount to one of your largest monthly expenditures, whether you count the cost or not.
You live frugally, you save your money, and you regularly read sites like FromMike.com (shameless plug, yes) to better understand how to manage your money and get out of the financial prison that has taken our world by storm. So why should you stand idly by while others who don’t take responsibility for their financial situation gain the benefit of your money because they were so careless with theirs?
Why should anyone stand by while the people on Capital Hill blow your money to help out the very people who have been profiting while the housing bubble was rising? Did you profit during the bubble? Probably not. Did you live in a home fit for a king on a paupers income? Probably not. So why are you expected to bail out those who have already benefited?
Government is not a charity. Government should be taking precautions to spend my (and your) money according to our constitution, not bailing out companies, not bailing out hyper-consumers who live beyond their means. Ron Paul recently posted a story called “Not yours to give”, originally published in “The Life Of Colonel David Crockett”. If you have a moment, drop by and read it. I whole heartedly agree with it.
I am a home owner (now) and I do feel the bailout is a sham. I had to wait to buy my home, and I bought conservatively based on my income. Even though I bought at the tail end of the bubble, and with a buyers market I’m sure I’ve already lost value, I’d still rather lose value in the home as the market “right-sizes” itself than see our government hand out another one of my dollars to those who have no business receiving it.
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April 25th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
You are right, we should not pay for others mistakes. But it is still necessary to help. Not by giving them money but by forces legislation that will prevent this from happing again. Corporate America is already doing this with the conciliation of banks. So that people will not be able to do the same damage that they did today.