Show Me The Money

While I've been busy lately, this national financial meltdown has demanded my attention. The thing that strikes me the most is that much of Washington wants to reward poor judgment with a bailout of Biblical proportions. Look. I am the sole wage earner for our family, and I work for a state university. I am underpaid by all market standards. Yes, I get a little more vacation and I get tuition waivers for my family, but all that added up, I am still underpaid. I live in a modest home and I don't even own a credit card - a debit card yes, but not a credit card. I pay principle plus interest. That is common sense. I own less home that many who are going to get bailed out. If I leave my job because I do something stupid, I don't get a $90 million severance package. I own three vehicles we balance between five drivers. Oh yea, one has 200k miles, one has nearly 100k miles and the other has 70k+ miles. Oh yea, none are under 5 years old. One is eleven years old. My house needs work, my daughter need basketball shoes, and I owe for a mortgage, a home equity loan and I own on one of my five year old vehicles. I occasionally dip into my overdraft protection on my checking account because of the timing of things. But you know, I don't owe $250k on a house that now is worth $175k because I gambled on an interest only loan. Why should my tax dollars bail out either the greedy home owners who bought way over their heads or the greedy lenders who preyed on these greedy home owners. I have a problem with this. Call me old fashioned, but I still believe in commonsense. The folks I feel sorry for are the ones who may loose their jobs because of this. Many of whom have the same values I do, and have shown restraint but will feel the brunt of this. Those are the real loosers in this. Not the greedy folks.