Regarding the "bailout" -- do people understand how serious this is?

[shireen]

I emailed some people who sometimes respond to my pleas of writing to Congress or signing a petition, but this time I've not heard a word back.

There's a lot of anger on DU, and rightly so. But is there anger elsewhere? Have you talked to friends, family, co-workers about what's going on? Do they understand how serious this is, and how any of the potential outcomes will affect their lives?

People get so caught up in their own lives -- family and work matters -- that they sometimes don't pay attention to the bigger picture, the outside forces that can affect their family and job. I'm worried that most people are going to ignore it because of all the complex financial language that's used to describe the problem. I'm no economics expert and don't understand a lot of it either, but I know enough to be very very concerned.


I'm really interested in hearing from DU'ers about how people outside the DU community are reacting to this disaster. Please post your observations.

[ixion]

1. everyone I've talked to (both from the Left and Right) are against it

and are equally as pissed.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Right now my immediate concern is friends and family in SE Texas

Near riots in the Clear Lake/NASA area over lack of food and gas.

Destroyed houses in Galveston.

[shireen]

3. i'm so sorry!

This is utterly heart-breaking.

If you have time, could you please send me a PM about what's going on at Clear Lake? I work for a NASA contractor in Baltimore, and we're deeply involved in the next shuttle mission. I don't personally know anyone at the Johnson Space Center, but I've been very concerned about them and would like to do something to help them and the Clear Lake community.

[Big Blue Marble]

4. Found this in the WaPo:

A Sense of Resentment Amid the 'For Sale' Signs

By Joel Achenbach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 22, 2008; A01

The bailout doesn't smell right to the people of Manassas Park, where the foreclosure signs are as common as azaleas. They know all about bad debt here. This is a terrain of oversize dreams, misjudgment, financial calamity -- and empty houses. "Foreclosure. Foreclosure. Foreclosure," said Ed Merkle, 58, as he pointed to the "for sale" signs lining his street.

But Merkle, a defense contractor, said he has lived within his means in an era of easy credit. He didn't take on a huge loan even when his bank encouraged him to dream bigger.

"I've been financially responsible with my own money. Why should I now be responsible for the fact that you were not?" he said.

This may be a Main Street bailout backlash in the making. The details of the financial crisis are still hard for most people to follow -- what with talk of exotic "derivatives" known as "credit-default swaps" and so on -- but the central fact of the matter hasn't been lost on anyone in this Northern Virginia community: The taxpayers are on the hook for the bad judgment of others.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/21/AR2008092102534_pf.html">More

[KayLaw]

5. I post on all sorts of sites.

No one seems to support the bailout (except John McCain ).

[ramapo]

6. Seems everybody is pissed off but I'm MAD AS HELL

I'm seething myself....

What really gets me is these assholes are always quick to deny spending money to help the common citizen. Be it health care for children (never mind adults), transportation, infrastructure, education, you name it, the answer is always, "That's too expensive" or "Tax and spend", and so on and so on. But here comes an "emergency". Bail our Wall Street and the rich. Put the $700B on taxpayers. Not only do the middle class foot the bill but guess what? Don't even think about any discretionary spending for the foreseeable future.

I'm MAD AS HELL.

[Beregond2]

7. There's a lot of denial, and the reason for that is clear:

the blame for this rests squarely on the shoulders of the people who have bought into all this "free market" crap for the past thrirty years; and that is most Americans, including Democrats. It is hard for people to admit they have brought the country to it's knees through their own stupidity.