Yesterday my phone pinged as a message flew through the cellular airwaves. CNN update – Bailout Fails. What did I do? Cheered.

Yes, we see some problems in our financial market, mostly with financial institutions feeling the brunt of their unwise lending. Some of this comes from their bad decisions and some comes from federal legislation from the 90’s.

Does that mean Uncle Sam needs to go play a reverse Robin Hood and FORCE us citizens to “rescue” the rich fat cats? Absolutely not! It is simply not right, let alone constitutional.

Our great Republic was built to protect the PEOPLE, not BUSINESS. I pay enough into taxes now, I don’t want to think about how they will skyrocket with me being forced to pay someone else’s bad debts.

The stock market crashed yet again yesterday. The highest point loss in one day for DOW, though percentage wise it was not as bad. Not even in the top ten “worse percentage drops”. Why did it fall? Not because something happened but because people THOUGHT this bill might not happen. It is not worse than the week downfall we witnessed recently. It can rebound easily, as we also recently witnessed.

Recently a friend posted a letter to Uncle Sam on her blog. She faxed a copy to our local Congressman. I thought it so novel, I wanted to share it.

Is it feasable or constitutional? No, not really. It’s not about that, though. It is the point. Since we know it would never happen, not really an issue, anyway. Right?

But, just imagine! Imagine the waves if we all wrote such a letter! Our leaders might rethink their tactics!

I know it is easy to think it does not matter. However last week that friend and I went with a group of people to our Congressman’s local office. We ended up on a conference call with one of said Congressman’s policy advisors. This man let us know that The Hill telephones rang off the hool last week, people irate over the bailout.

This bailout, “rescue” as our leaders on both sides of the political fence call it, is far from gone. The battle won, we must wage the war.

Yes, something needs to be done about our financial market. Do I know what that is? Not really, but this is not the answer. I liked the push of bonds so people could CHOOSE if they wanted to buy in to help out. Maybe that is a start.

Here is a novel idea. Keep the politicians out of it and bring in the businessmen like Donald Trump. I believe we would see a turn around like we’ve never seen before.

Read my letter to dear old Uncle Sam below. If you want to join in and write your own letter, make sure you comment in my link – I’d love to read it! Let’s viral this puppy around the world! If you would like to read my friend’s letter, here’s the link: http://ping.fm/XoRey

Dear Uncle Sam,

I would like to thank you for this great place to live. I love this country and the freedoms you so freely offer me. I appreciate all you have done for me in the past. In return, I have paid my taxes and even married a member of the armed forces – one who served six years to defend you. I pay my bills, I try to take as few risks as possible, I go out of my way to attempt to buy American though that seems darn near impossible these days. I teach my children why this country is great and how wise men built it upon sound principles. I welcome foreign exchange students into my home for a school year so they might also learn about this great country.

I write you now out of concern, anger, and heartbreak. I do not understand what is going on and why you allow it to happen.

I get that times are tough. Believe me. It is harder than ever for me to budget to feed a family of five due to extreme inflation. I have attempted to limit my gas consumption because of the hike in prices. I pay a hefty tax payment each MONTH for a LOSS I took on the sale of my home in 2005. I try to use everything until it can no longer be used. I swap items or buy from resale shops instead of buying new. My kids wouldn’t know a name brand if it bit them on the toe. And medical bills? Don’t get me started. Feel free to pull my credit report and you can see the remnants of what a bout with pediatric cancer does to the average citizen, even with great insurance. Thank goodness that we are primarily healthy individuals.

I remember the last NEW car I had. It was 1993 and it was small with air conditioning as the only luxury item. That’s right, not even a radio. The last vehicle I purchased? A Ford minivan with over 100,000 miles on it.

I have never gone on a tropical island get away, in fact our vacations always seem to entail visiting family. It costs so much in gas that we have little to spend on tourism. We mostly sit around the table playing card games. While that’s great fun and builds a bond worth far more than any amount of gold, it would be nice to be able to go sit on the beach and tour the local sights and eat out at fancy restaurants.

Don’t get me wrong, we are making do. It is just getting harder and I feel like we’re fairly careful about our spending.

Yet all over my news I see this rich business types complaining about their hardship outside their million dollar homes or their Italian sportscars. The beaches of their private tropical islands or their personal jets. OK, so that is a stereotype and I get that they have overhead like I cannot even imagine. But still? And you want to bail THEM out when I see my neighbours losing their 200,000 dollar homes. What about us little people? Worse yet, WE have to pay for it? In case you haven’t heard, we can’t pay our own bills out here in America which has led to the problems with the banks. If we can’t pay our own bills, how can we pay their bills?

So I have a proposition for you. I’ve got friends in on this. We all think this might work out in everyone’s favour. It’ll help us working class folks and the bankers. It’ll even help you out. Let me know what you think.

Don’t give the banks the money. Give it to us. Give it to me? None of us need the kind of money you want to give to business. A cool tax-free million would do me just fine. You offer that to each family, that can’t be near the same price tag as these businesses want. No where near. What do you get? How does this help out business and you? Let me show you what you get (will Big Business offer to show you what your investment will get in return?)!

First, I’ll pay off my tax bill to you from 2005. That’s like instant money right in your pocket. Makes me happy because your IRS people will stop breathing down my neck. So we’re both happy!

Then I’ll pay off my house. Let me tell you I was looking forward to that tax break, but mostly so I could pay off the tax debt to you. The bank will be happy as that’s some money to put towards their bills, I’ll be happy because I won’t have a house bill, and you’ll be happy because I lose that tax deduction so you get more tax money. How is this anything but wins all around?

Next, I’ll pay off my two vehicles. More money in my pocket each month from my husband’s salary and more money for the banks that they won’t ask you to pony up. I’d probably then go buy myself a nice hybrid so I can afford to do more because of spending less in gas. Yeah for the car dealer and yeah for the tourism trade! And a bigger yeah for helping cutting down on our dependance on foreign oil. Just trying to do my part!

Medical bills? They’d be gone. My credit report would finally be clean. I’ll stop fighting with the insurance over bills they should pay. I’ll just take care of it.

What then? Well first I’ll buy some stocks. The stocks look fairly cheap now and maybe that will help boost the stock market. I need some money for retirement and that looks like a great plan. It’s what the 401k is all about after all, right?

Then, I’ll take my kids on a family vacation. Tell you what, I’ll not even take that dream vacation to England or Greece or Japan I’d love to do. I’ll keep it in country. I’ve always wanted to see all 50 states and at current count I need about 20 more. I’ll take my kids to Disneyland before they are too old to really appreciate it. I’ll dump cash into the tourism trade like a mad dog. This helps with local taxes, tourism, and it’ll make my family happy and our stress levels will go down from the great vacation.

Then I’ll come home. I’ll buy a ton of my homeschooling needs, which by the way are not tax deductable and I already pay money for educational expenses of all my neighbours. But that’s OK. I’ll stock up on what I need to get me through. I’ll set aside some money for the boys for their missions and their college education. Maybe I’ll spend some money improving my house. It does need some work done to it.

And then, life will get on as usual. If there’s any money left, it’ll go into the bank. Be used for future needs. Whatever they might be. More money for the banks to do their bank thing with. My husband will keep his job but we won’t have as many tax breaks with no interest payments on our home. That will help pay you over time for the cool million you gave me.

I’ll buy American, if I can find American. I’ll support American economy. I’ll help the banks. I’ll help myself. Best of all, I pay you lots of money. It sounds like a good deal to me.

Now, I understand you have people in this country who won’t do this. They’ll waste the cool million on beer and cigarettes. They’ll go to Vegas and gamble it all away. Well, at least it’s going into the economy of Vegas, to the tobacco farmers like those in my great Commonwealth, and well, where ever money goes for beer. I think a great many of us would make wise choices, at least at first and pay off bills.

So what do you think, Uncle Sam? Think you can send a little “rescue” my way? I know you can find me. I’ve moved so my last tax return isn’t the right address but the bank is the same. Plus I updated my address with that IRS guy I talked to just a couple weeks ago. So I know you can find me.

Thanks a million,
–Lady O