Hung-over epiphany.

I was driving home one morning after a long night of drinking with some friends. Hung-over like an Irish priest, I wasn't in the mood for music, so I switched off my cd player to catch some morning talk. A block of commercials were running, including one for Washington Mutual (WaMu). They were advertising the different services they offer, but what caught me was it served more of a purpose as a notice to the public. They were informing listeners that they were merging with Chase, yet nothing was going to change. They were still going to maintain all the bells and whistles WaMu has provided before.

My point is that I'm excited that WaMu is still in buiseness. Well, maybe it is. The significant thing I want to point out is the merger between the two. Chase and WaMu together. This is what happens in a recession; when buisenesses go bankrupt or go under, others will buy them out, or at least, buy shares of the company, as in the case of Chase and WaMu. It has happened to others as well. Chrysler, who was on the edge of bitting the dust, was picked up, partially, by Italian car-maker Fiat. This is one of the important aspects of a free market economy such as ours. Companies are free to buy up parts of others in order to continue growth and capture pieces of the market.

I'm not attempting to give you a lesson in Economics 101 (I never took it and know only a limited amount anyway). My point: when the market naturally acts like this, when companies will buy off other bankrupt companies at any opprotunity, why is it nessessary to bail them out? Why would the government need to spend $800 billion in tax payer's money and hand it out to financial groups and auto makers? What is worse is that most of this money is given off without any conditions or instruction. Tax payer money just written off in hopes that these corporations will do the right thing and use it wisely to promote growth, keep jobs and stimulate the economy. With no strings attatched, they are litterally given a blank check, free to use (and abuse) the money as they wish and they keep coming back for more. Why? It was misused and their companies continue in bad business practices. The government has bailed out the large corporations that are "vital" to our economy under the pretext to save jobs. So far, no dice. Each day, thousands of jobs are lost. What I find difficult with this government initiative is that the Federal government assumes these companies are too vital. Who really is to say how vital these companies are. If they were going bankrupt, losing money and credibility, do they even deserve to be saved in the first place? Second of all, if the money is primarily used to save jobs, why isn't their mandatory oversight? Without oversight, plain and simple, the companies are free to use this money as they wish, ignoring jobs and refreshing management practices.

So I say, petition your Senators and Congressmen and women. If you don't voice your anger and anguish over this issue, nothing will be done to be stopped and congress will continue to squander your taxes on needless and frankly stupid projects that will, in their view, "save" the economy.