BBs Blog

Last Friday night I amazed the heck out of myself and actually watched the debate between Obama and McCain. What amazed me even more is how interesting I did find that debate. It’s a good thing I wasn’t actually at the debate though because I might not have been to control myself, and may have wound up marching up on the stage and smacking that disgusting smirk off McCain’s face before it was over. The good news on that smirk is it irked many other people as well. McCain was obviously attempting to show everyone watching that debate just how contemptible a creature Obama was. His plan backfired though, and instead showed a lot of people watching the debate who the really the contemptible creature is. Obama not only showed me that he is well informed about foreign policy, but that he is also a gentleman with an exceptionally gracious temperament. I came away from that debate more impressed than ever with Obama, and disliking McCain even more intensely than I previously had.

While I was sitting in the oasis Tuesday morning listening to the sound of my little waterfall, and enjoying the feel of soft Autumn rays of sunshine on my upturned face, some of the random thoughts that flitted through my mind concerned the current mess Wall Street is in. Like many people, I am wondering if Congress will be able to agree on some bailout plan before the stock market crashes completely. Will we wind up in another economic depression that will cause Wall Street business people to start leaping from windows? Will long breadlines once more wind their way through the main streets of America? Will the 401K plans Larry and I have go up in financial smoke?

I am not exactly thrilled with this whole bailout/rescue thing Congress is trying to agree on. However, after looking at the big picture I have come to realize that like it or not, there is probably going to be some kind of rescue of Wall Street. The $700bn parachute Congress is trying to agree on will provide Wall Street with a means of making a safe landing after flying far too high for way too long. This safe landing will in turn insure that Main Street America is not hit with the devastating effects that would occur if the stock market crashes. However, any rescue parachute Congress agrees on needs to come with attached strings that insure a safe financial future for not only Wall Street, but Main Street America as well.

I had mixed emotions Thursday as I read where the Senate has passed an amended version of the rescue plan. As I read where one of the amendments restricted “golden parachute” severance pay to disgraced Wall Street executives it occurred to me that amendment is more than a little ironic considering the rescue plan itself is nothing but a $700bn “golden parachute” meant to rescue Wall Street itself from the huge greed driven hole it dug, then fell into. And although one part of me understands the rescue is a necessary evil, another part of me thinks maybe despite the devastating effects not rescuing Wall Street might have on the economy, perhaps in the long run the economy, and all of us would be better off somehow surviving those effects and forcing the ones who caused this mess to accept responsibility for it without rescuing them with a $700bn “golden parachute”. Unfortunately this whole financial mess Wall Street is in is a damned if you do, and damned if you don’t situation when it comes to that “golden parachute” The House will be voting on Friday. Either way, it is Main Street America and We The People who are going to pay the final price for the greed driven disaster that has befallen Wall Street.