STIMULUS CHECKS - GOOD OR BAD

Well, I have read many of the pros and cons of a second stimulus check and frankly I am not very confident about any decisions coming out of Washington D.C. But, of all of the ideas to stimulate or save the economy from a total crash, I think this one has a little more merit. At least this plan gives some relief to the average American consumer. The problem with the first stimulus check was that it was simply too small to make much of a difference. Most people simply used it to pay off bills, leaving very little expendable cash to spend on things that might actually stimulate the economy. If you really want to stimulate the economy, take the 700 billion dollars that congress earmarked for the financial companies and split it up among taxpayers. Now that would stimulate the economy. People could pay their mortgage -- mortgage crisis solved. Buy a new car-- even the "Big Three" is sure to get a fair share to help solve their "problems". Buy durable goods like furniture -- unemployment declines in manufacturing. Yes, a stimulus check would be nice if it were big enough to make a difference in the lives of ordinary hard working Americans. It sure beats bailing out the money-grubbing auto industry that can't seem to learn from its past mistakes.

BIG THREE BAILOUT???

I DON'T THINK SO.
The "Big Three" auto giants (Ford, Chrysler and GM) are suddenly crying for help after years of mismanagement and arrogance. Curious is the urgent need of a bailout now. Could it be that the availability of 700 billion dollars by the house and the senate has gotten the attention of the money-grubbing pigs in Detroit? For years the auto industry has been in decline because of the greed, arrogance, and stubborn resistance to change. American consumers have been voting for change in Detroit for years by purchasing foreign made vehicles that are more fuel efficient, less costly, and made to last longer with fewer quality related issues. The "Big Three" chose to ignore the market demands and are now paying the price for their arrogance. Now all a sudden, why should we, the American public, bare the pain of their resulting financial mess? I, for one, feel we should ignore their cries for a bailout. After all, I don't recall the "Big Three" coming to my fiscal aid when I made blatant financial blunders. No, I had to learn the hard way and I am a better educated consumer because of those mistakes. I, unlike the "Big Three", learned a lesson or two from my mistakes and I did it without a bailout. Frankly a bailout would have made my life so much easier but the only thing I would have learned is, to not worry, the government will bail me out. However, my wife and I did file bankruptcy and in doing so lost our home which we had paid on for about ten years. We felt shame as our life seemed to fold in on us. My point is this. The shame and pain we experienced through bankruptcy taught us valuable lessons we would otherwise have not learned. The "Big Three" should be forced to enroll in the same school of hard knocks that many Americans have been forced to attend after making blatant financial mistakes. Otherwise, with a bailout, they will continue on their same old path of mismanagement and arrogant behavior and we will be talking about the "Big Three Bailout Part II" five years from now, if not sooner.