Barackcracy

I want to start this post by saying that I love my president. Economic duress or no, he's doing a great job. Granted, he has been in office only three weeks and there are times that I feel he looks in over his head, but who wouldn't with the condition that our country is in. I just finished watching the Presidential News Conference and even though I feel that he answered some questions better than others (I'd still like to hear less ambiguous solutions), I appreciate his calmness and ability to think on his feet. And the cool "Black Man Swag" to and from the podium doesn't hurt, either :)

But, with all of this discussion about bailouts and stimuli, I can't help but to side with my commander-in-chief on the topic of passing a bill that will create more jobs for our struggling economy... on the one hand, I'm skeptical as $827B is a LOT of money, but on the other hand, I'm open to the stimulus package as our unemployment rates are somewhat embarrassing. With the national unemployment rate at a little over 7% (African American unemployment at 12.6%), I'm wondering why a debate is even taking place. Weren't my tax dollars volunteered for the outlandish bailout that rescued businesses and CEOs who irresponsibly misappropriated funds? I guess the biggest argument is that the last economic stimulus package was a "failure" as people pocketed the money or paid down debts as opposed to flocking to the mall (myself included), but honestly, won't an ability to pay down personal debts contribute to shopper confidence in the future? My logic makes me think that the person who knows that they have little or no debt will feel more comfortable making purchases than the person who is inundated with debt and knows it is entirely unfeasible to treat "free" government money as an excuse for a second Christmas. Beyond a stimulus check and job creation, I see nothing wrong with a plan that not only supports the repair of roadways and bridges that pose threats to human life, but also seeks to provide a more solid education to our children and guarantees tax cuts for college students and middle class families. Perhaps I need to read up more on these issues (self-education has dropped majorly in the past few days), but right now I'm not seeing many viable ones... some say that passing an $800 Billion package is fiscally irresponsible, but passing a $700 Billion bailout isn't any less absurd. Especially when the beneficiaries earn $1M+ in three weeks. Only God knows how this is all going to pan out and whether we'll see the effects of our financial illiteracy.

Yay for superficial politics... PEACE