Scary Times Ahead...

The news of all of the economic turmoil in America has me a little scared. For once, I'm glad that I don't have any stocks and not a whole lot of money tied up in banks. For the first time in a long time people are questioning their deposits in banks. Hopefully this doesn't lead to a rash of withdrawals that will deplete our banking system.

As I get ready to move back to the States, I can't help but worry about the economic situation there. Unemployment is rising and it seems that everything else is plummeting. Credit, which is pretty much the backbone of the American economy, is becoming harder to come by and businesses around the world are suffering for it. I keep hearing conflicting reports from all fronts. Some people are saying that we're approaching the next Great Depression while some people say that the US is bound to have recovered by the second quarter of 2009. Both reports are coming from respected economists from various parts of the world... Who to trust?

Plenty of people are just looking for someone to blame for this mess that we're in, but me? I just want someone to fix it. Personally, I'm pretty shocked and scared by the level of involvement of the public sector in the recent financial debacles. First the Fed basically gifts Bear Stearns to JP Morgan using taxpayers' dollars and now public funds are going to bail out AIG? Yikes. We're reaching hundreds of billions of dollars this year that have gone just to save companies' asses. I'm not saying that it was the wrong thing to do... but we better get used to the idea that our taxes will be raised next year. Obama's tax the rich policy is looking better and better to me. We have to pay for it somehow, and McCain's policies just don't seem to cut it for me. Sure the $115,000 extra Obama's plan promises to tax the wealthiest 1% of America is substantial - but the wealthiest 1% of America makes in the millions EVERY YEAR. And not just one or two million... usually 10 or 20. Frankly, I don't feel too badly for them. No one needs that much money.

I would also like to say that greed in the US is out of control. The (in)famous "Greed is Good" speech has been playing a lot in the US from what I hear. I disagree with that mantra whole heartedly. As any American, I definitely experience my fair share of greed, whether I want to admit it or not, but I don't complain about paying taxes and I think it's great when our government designates taxpayer money to the poor and underprivileged of our nation. Yes it's my money, but there are people who need it more than I. What pisses me off? Useless spending of my hard earned dollars on weapons, wars and white elephants.