Emergency!

I'm not a macroeconomics wiz. I'm just a guy who wants to live within his means enough to provide a modest and comfortable life for his family.

I have a problem with the bailout, actually a couple problems.

Problem A) President Bush is selling it.

The last time President Bush went on about the need to launch immediate and costly action was with Iraq. Sure the sketchy-at-best intel suggested some danger, but it panned out poorly, and now we're on the hook to fix Iraq. We broke it, we bought it. And even many Democrats bought into the Iraq, which leads me to problem B:

Problem B) Democrat leadership is selling it.

If anyone is against the free exercise of commerce, it's usually Democrats. So then, why are they so eager to shore up an enterprise that they are hostile to? Because the terms of the deal will give Government more power over the Market. More Government, Bigger Government. And that's the likely reason that many Republicans are balking at the deal. Throw in the partisan diatribes on either side, and I'm not surprised that the public isn't buying it either.

Problem C) No one's taking ownership of the problem.

Politicians, Right and Left, are denying any culpability in the political push for risky mortgages and lax oversight. Businesses aren't taking ownership of the obvious flaws and greed inherent in the trade of dubious securities. Americans are awakening to the dawning horror that you cannot live beyond your means on endless credit.

Problem D) It has to happen NOW, or the planet Earth will implode.

I'm sorry, but I'd prefer decisions of this magnitude have well-thought out plans for execution and consequences of the action. I don't make expensive knee-jerk reactions when I can avoid it. See Problem A.

Problem E) This will take generations to recover from.

I am resigned to the idea that my children will likely be working harder and have a lesser standard of living that we do now. That said, I'd like a little hope that my grandchildren will not be even further in the hole. Still, my grandparents survived the Great Depression, and were much more frugal and generous than the current generation. Maybe hard times would be a good lesson for modern folks.

Like I said, I don't know squat about economics, but then again, that's not where I put my faith either.