Where are We Going, and Why am I in this Hand Basket? (Part 1)

As you might be able to tell, I'm not being terribly productive at work. It's Friday, and my mental capacity had fallen to dangerously low levels. I blame it on Lehman Brothers, and AIG, and Washington Mutual, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Washington's love affair with Big Oil and Corporations in general...it's all their fault that I'm mentally exhausted and becoming poorer and poorer with every passing day. Damn them! Damn them all to the depths of hell!

So, that's a little melodramatic, but it's the best I can come up with at the moment...

Why are these things exhausting me? Because I'm trying to figure out why (oh why!) I should let the Government issue me a $30K tax bill so that they can buy bad assets off of these failing companies. I understand (believe me, I do) that if the Government doesn't do something, the economy is going to go from bad to worst ("The Greatest Depression Ever" as we were joking at work last night). I understand that. But let me hit you with a scenario (and this is 100% true):

A man is hired as the CEO of a major banking institution in 2002. At that time, he is given a $7.5 Million signing bonus. In a matter if six years the bank in question has completely collapsed--in fact, it is being called the largest bank failure in U.S. history. So, what does this CEO get? He got fired, of course, but don't feel bad for him. He gets to keep the signing bonus, and he gets $11.5 Million in a severance package....

This scenario begs many questions in my mind. The first of which is WTF?! This guy ran an established bank, that has been in operation for 120 years no less, into the ground in six short years. He should be getting nothing! Just like the thousands of employees that have been and will be laid off because the company cannot afford to pay them. He should be standing in line at the unemployment office with the rest of them, waiting for his $400 unemployment check. He should not be getting any sort of severance, much less one worth multi-millions of dollars.

Secondly, and more importantly I think, if the company has to lay off thousands of employees because there is not enough liquid assets to pay them, AND the company is failing because it doesn't have enough cash to back up its bad assets, where exactly are the severance package dollars coming from?

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer to that question. I do know, however, where the $700 Billion that the Government wants to use to bail these failing companies out with will come from. Me. And you. And every one you know. And everyone you don't know.

Now, don't freak out, but I have to say that I agree with the House Republicans at this point (gasp!). They're pushing for a program that would benefit us as tax payers, not just the corporate giants responsible for this mess. Thank you, House Republicans, for looking out for me in this situation. I truly appreciate it. I really hope that you get your way here. I rather like the idea of putting the responsibility of funding this bailout back on Wall Street, as the individual investor and tax payers are hurting enough as it is. Shame on you, Democrats, for thinking that tax payers should foot yet another bill we can't afford. Have you seen gas prices recently? Or how about food prices? Shame on you.

Something needs to be done. That's an absolutely indisputable fact. If the Government allows all of these major corporations to fail, we're all screwed. If the Government buys all of their bad assets for $700B using tax payer money, we're still screwed.

I'm glad that I won't be the next president.