I'm Tired of the, so called, "Tea Party"...

When it comes to politics, I'm very liberal. It's no surprise that I have little use for hard-line conservatives like people who consider themselves members of the "Tea Party." I will also admit that I have no use for extreme liberals either. Extremism does no person any good that I've seen. My political beliefs are that the government should do things that help the citizens (like provide police, fire protection, good roads, and health care), but should allow people to make their own choices when the choices only effect the person making them. When a person tries to do something that will harm or infringe on another's rights, that shouldn't be allowed (imho).

When it comes to the Tea Party, this is my beef. Very few make statements of policy (like Sarah Palin), and even if those statements are totally untrue (death panels, Obama wasn't born in the US) the hoi poloi of the party just parrot it back as if it were true. The most recent example has been reported by Salon.com in the article linked here (http://www.salon.com/news/haley_barbour/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/02/17/barbour_birth_nation).

I'm fine if someone disagrees with me politically. However, I'm only fine with it if it's based on fact. I'm don't agree with ANYONE (liberal or conservative) spouting half-truths & outright lies and trying to portray that as the truth. (steps off soap box) :)

Auto Bail-out...

Though I do have strong political beliefs, I want to keep my political posts to a very minimum. This is because 1) there are already TONS of political blogs everywhere, 2) I'm not really out to influence anyone else. However, there may be things happening that I think I have a decent idea/solution for. This is one of those cases.

We all know that here in the USA, the big three auto makers (GM, Ford, Chrysler) are petitioning our government for a bail-out. They say if they don't receive one, they'll go out of business. It's probably true.

Another thing that is true is this. If one, two, or all of the "big three" go under, potentially millions will lose their jobs. It's also true that having no job means, in the short term, that those folks will be on unemployment. And that may/will put another strain on our already faltering economy.

I say, the big three got themselves into this mess, let them dig their own way out. I also feel that way about the bail-out of the banking/lending/mortgage industry. They caused their own failure. It was due to simple greed, and I think it should be allowed to rectify itself.

Now you might be asking, "but what about those folks who'll lose their jobs? Why should they suffer for someone else's mistake?" The thing is, they already are/will suffering for someone else's mistake. We all are. If the government bails-out the big three, the banks/investors, & whoever else, where exactly do you think that money comes from? Taxes that we all pay. By that, I mean those of us who make less than $250,000/year. We are the ones who actually pay taxes. Most people & business making more than that figure always weasel out of paying the bulk of their fair share. Even when their taxes are raised, they find loopholes that let them pay less than most of us.

So let the auto makers fail. Let the investors fail. Let the capitalistic "free market" system sort itself out. It will, and only the businesses that have a sound business plan & foresight will prevail. Maybe it will impart a lesson to those who's greed distracted them from making sound business choices.

As to those folks who would be laid-off, I have a solution for that too. Like I said before, those folks will be getting unemployment, so they'll effectively be paid by the government for not working anyway. The financial strain would already be there if there's a bail-out, or if there's no bail-out. The solution to those unemployed can be found in the past. They can be put to work for the government. There are plenty of infrastructure projects that need the manpower to be completed. There have also been plenty of cut-backs in government offices, so there are positions there too. Simply put those folks to work.

It may not be as simple as it sounds, but I think it can work. It did before, back in the '30s. I think that would go further in making people feel better if they had something to do.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.