WTF?

OK y'all, it's my turn to vent...

...about the recent bailout of AIG and Lehman Bros! I'm not an economist, but my business education stressed the importance of captalism and allowing the free hand of the market to determine who gets what and when. I think the US government is sending a terrible message to responsible people by bailing out these Wall Street organizations. Thanks to the mismanagement of their boards of directors and greed, these companies (along with others) are reaping the benefits of writing off all of their bad business practices and their CEOs are being allowed to walk away with tens of millions of dollars in severance packages for poor executive decisions! It's common knowledge that the largest corporations like Ford, Exxon, BofA, etc. have a strong hand in the control of the US government--I guess now they're revealing their true power and influence in who gets what and when...

I'm a capitalist at heart, but there are millions of regular, hard-working folks and retirees who lost a significant (and unrecoverable) portion of their nest eggs in an instant last week! These are the people who did everything right--lived within their means, saved money, and paid their taxes--and are now getting screwed! And don't get me started on the young kids today who are going to be saddled with this bailout debt (on top of what we already owe) as well as a possible diminished standard of living in the future because of some acts of greed done by banking/insurance execs today. Trust me, cause the media won't tell ya, but the fallout from this is mess is going to be scary!!!

Deep in my heart, I know the bailouts were a necessary evil; but why just bail out the Wall Street clowns? How about a bailout of the the average American family that's suffering due to outsourcing of jobs, higher cost of living and stagnant incomes, etc.? The responsible people who work everyday, raise their kids, pay their mortgages, taxes, etc.?

If I had a picture for a smiley face with a frown...that'd be my mood right now!