The Wall Street "rescue" and our economy of credit

So, by now I feel obliged to spew a little venom on this financial crisis. First of all, I'm reminded of an old adage from my "working" days: lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine. Tragically, and as nice as it sounds, it never played for me at work either. So, it is my emergency, whether I like it or not. Someone higher up screwed up, and I can't just say "No, I won't help," and make it go away.

C'mon! No one wants to "rescue" Wall Street. Those idiots trashed our economy, took the money, and ran. There's a hot, sticky place in Hell for people who do that sort of thing, whether it's illegal or not. (Maybe something with vinyl car seats?) But like it or not, we have to clean up after them.

So, give the government control of the firm, and when the market (eventually) rebounds, let We the People get some of the profit from it. Or something like that. Don't just give the idiots more money. And don't give it without some oversight. 'Cause let's admit it -- we're not out of the economic woods yet, and there's going to be a steady stream of companies tanking. We need a vehicle in place to handle these events in the future, but we need some congressional control. That's what this is all about.

See, I thought that the congress had ironed out these details and were going to vote on it today. But no, it seems that our illustrious representatives are split pretty much on political lines: those in a close race for re-election voted "no", and those secure in their jobs voted "yes". So, the economy is going deeper in to the dumper because representatives are pandering to their electorate and refusing to be grownups and approve this repugnant but necessary plan.

What the average American doesn't realize just yet is that this economy doesn't run on Dunkin', it runs on credit. And apparently, it's not just the big guys. Turns out that there's a small-business equivalent of "Can I borrow a $20 until payday?" It's, "Can I borrow a little to cover payroll until I can cash the check my client just sent me?" And it also turns out, it's pretty common practice. Unfortunately, until these bozos in congress can agree on terms, some people are simply not being paid. I'm betting those people could help congress figure something out...

So get off your butts you idiots! Take the Yom Kippur break to reflect on your sins. Return renewed, emboldened, and ready to do your jobs.