Wednesday, December 10, 2008

My Christmas Wish


My Christmas Wish
Kevin Bryant

A friend of mine asked me the other day what I wanted for Christmas. Being in a sarcastically humorous mood, I responded "A Government Bailout". When he asked me what I seriously wanted, I started thinking about my original answer.

I have several real wishes for Christmas, May my kids, parents, wife and loved ones are safe and healthy throughout the year. May we live in peace this year and many more to come. May our troops be safe and treated with the respect they deserve and earned and be victorious in all their endeavors. May America truly once again become the land of the free and the home of the brave.

But..................

Why not a Government Bailout for Christmas. All the friends of the left got one: Citibank, AIG, Fannie and Freddie and the list goes on. After so much outcry from the public, the big three automakers are going to get one as well although they had to submit a plan for how they intend to spend the money.

How about those families that bit off way more than they could chew and bought nice $250,000.00 homes on less than $60,000 a year incomes and never dreamed that their Adjustable Rate Mortgages would ever actually go up. Too many foreclosures so now if you are late by three months or more in your house payment, you can negotiate your ARM into a fixed a rate that is less than someone with a 700 credit score and trying to buy a house with a fixed rate loan is going to get.

The big three automakers can't pay their debts, the CEO's of several financial and other types of institutions can't pay their debts, but why is it that a majority of the general public can? Most of us do not have economics degrees or degrees in accounting or business management, yet because most of us can actually manage our own financial matters. We are the only reason some of these companies are still afloat. We actually are responsible enough to pay our own debts.

Ever notice just how easy if was for Freddie, Fannie, AIG and the others to get their big fat checks from the government. Notice just how eager the government is to give the big three money under the pretense that they want full accounting of every dollar they are going to spend of taxpayer money. Now compare their treatment to the way the democratic controlled congress treated the oil company presidents. The oil companies make about 8 cents a gallon on gas, no matter if it cost $1.50 a gallon or $4.50 a gallon, their profit margin is the same. They are not bankrupt. They are operated quite efficiently and what did congress want to do to them, hit them with additional taxes just because they are successful.

Democrats in power now want one thing.....more power. They want the ability to control or manipulate everything in and about the market. The main reason they repeatedly roasted the oil company execs were because unlike the banks and the auto industry, they can't control or manipulate it. Then add to the fact that most of their CEO's do not contribute to democrats or the Democratic Party. So, we have a congress that rewards failure and punishes success.

So, instead of punishing success and rewarding failure, wouldn't our tax payer dollars be better used if it were given to those of us that have managed to pay our bills on time, didn't buy more house, car or whatever than we could afford and didn't max out credit cards.

So, here is my idea of what kind of government bailout I want for Christmas. No more corporate bailouts, this plan will eliminate any need for them. I want everyone who is current on all their bills to receive $300,000. $240,000 worth to come as a non-taxable vouchers from the government. This money can be used in various ways but a majority of it must be used in the following manner: 40% ($120,000) MUST go towards either the purchase of a new home or pay off an existing home loan. This would clear up all the housing crisis mess. If you owe less than $120,000 on an existing loan, the remaining balance of this portion must go back to the government to help reduce the national debt. 20% ($60,000) must go towards the purchase of a new vehicle or pay off any existing car loans or any combination of the two, but no auto loan can still exist afterwards. Any remaining amount from the $60,000 must go to help shore up a failing social security system and only to be used for that purpose. This will bail out the auto industry & help keep social security afloat without an immediate tax hike. An additional 20% is allowed to be put into a state ran college education savings plan for our children regardless of the amount of kids per household so long as there is at least one child per household under the age of 24 or used to pay off existing student loans including credit card purchases made for educational purposes. The last $60,000 issued in check form would be taxable and declared as reportable income. This could be used for any purpose we so desire. This would eliminate any need for any further stimulus packages or Wall Street bailouts because most Americans are going to spend that money for various things. I myself would spend all of it to have my kitchen and bathrooms totally gutted and updated.

There it is, What I Want For Christmas.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow Kevin. I sure like your list. Very well written – as usual!!