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The 2008 Bailout How

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The 2008 Bailout - How It Affects Us Today

Back in 2008 when the US economy came crashing down, President Bush thought he

would “help” the American people by giving them $300 to spend in the economy. What a sweet

gesture for a dumb little man. That was a slap in the face to every taxpayer in the country. This

bailout was a farce, showing the people of this nation that no matter what big corporation you

are, you can run your business like a wild card and get the backing of the government when you

screw it up.

During the recession, where I lived, we had large companies making everything from

computer parts to RVs and military vehicles. Within 4-6 months, over 90% of those companies

had closed their doors. The unemployment rate for our region went from around 1.4% to over

6.7%. It destroyed our communities, and big business and the politicians didn’t seem to care. To

this day, our community is still recovering 9 years later.

In my opinion, it would have been better to give each taxpayer an “equal” share of the

bailout money, instead of giving it directly to the big companies. According to money.cnn.com,

if taxpayers would have received the bailout money instead of the big companies, each taxpayer

would have received approximately $9,513.76. (money.cnn.com) The government could have

put a stipulation on this money, telling people to catch up their house payments first, which in

turn would have helped out housing lenders, or put a certain amount of money in the bank for a

certain amount of time, which would have helped out the banking system. Nevertheless, their

bailout created masses of unemployment around the country, left families without homes, and

slowed the economy for over three years.

Many economists have stated the 5 largest banks are an oligopoly and should be

broken up. Other suggestions are getting rid of ratings agencies, separating the commercial from

the investment part of banks, raise taxes on hedge funds, and holding all senior employees crimi-

nally liable for all illegal transactions and breaking the rules. (forbes.com)

In my opinion, this will happen again. Maybe not for twenty years or so, but it will hap-

pen. We must have measures put into place to curb this type of wanton management of big busi-

ness and its gross negligence and misconduct. The economic impact this recession is still having

on our economy is not felt as strongly, but it is still there. Within my region, only 12 % of the

businesses have reopened, forcing people to move elsewhere for employment. We, as American

people, must be held accountable for our own decisions of how we spend and save our money,

however, if the money isn’t there, then what do we do? My suggestion, buy gold.

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The 2008 Bailout - How It Affects Us Today Back in 2008 when the US economy came crashing down, President Bush thought he would “help” the American people by giving them $300 to spend in the economy. What a sweet gesture for a dumb little man. That was a slap in the face to every taxpayer in the country. This bailout was a farce, showing the people of this nation that no matter what big corporation you are, you can run your business like a wild card and get the backing of the government when you screw it up. During the recession, where I lived, we had large companies making everything from ...
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