What we're not the economy

I was reading that Congress is postponing any ecomomic stimulus package until atfter January 20 when President-elect Obama will become President. And while they're not doing this they're continuing to spend nearly $ 1 Trillion to bailout banks, financial services companies, financial insurance companies (AIG), and now the auto industries and regular insurance companies.

They're spending our money too. Not their money or the various industries' money, but our tax dollars. And we're seeing that some of the money has disappeared and can't be found even by government auditors (AIG's first $120B). And why are they ignoring the American people?

Simple, we did what they ask with our stimulus check. We paid down debt and put it in savings. To the extent only about 15% of the money they refunded us was spent buying anything. We did what they asked and as any competent financial advisor will tell you, and now we're being blamed for the continued downturn in the ecomony because they really wanted us to spend our money.

But they failed to mention buying something doesn't help the financial service companies, they failed on their own arrgance and stupidity. Why would we spend money on failing industry, buying bad securities? What, do you think we're that stupid? We got suckered into buying all this bad shit for years now and lost much of our investment and seeing our retirement package lose extensive value. And they want us to buy more?

Another story that was interesting was the story about the soybean grower in North Dakota, the grocery store in Japan and the home owner in Pennsylvania (NPR story).

There's a shortage of containers (those standard sized giant metal shoe boxes everything is transported globally) and so the soybean grower who's products sells well in Japan can't ship there because Americans, like the woman in Philadephia who isn't buying furnishings, is hurting imports, where most goods are made now, causing a shortage of containers in the US to ship overseas, and is making the dollar stronger, causing the prices of US soybeann products higher, causing the price to go up in Japan, reducing sales of soybeans.

So it's contradiction. Since our economy is about consumerism and indebtedness, they want everyone to spend and go in more debt if necessary, which makes the dollar weak, increases imports and creates a trade imbalance against us. But then they argue we should be paying down our debt, clearing it if possible, and saving money which helps the banks, which puts more of the money into the credit and loan cycle.

They bailout the banks and financial institutions, but exclude the American people in the plan, the very people they blame for the economy and our financial mess of indebtedness and credit. Then they want us to spend and go more indebt to help the economy so they can complain that our debt and credit is the problem, overlooking the US government's debt of nearly $11 Trillion, making the interest a significant part of the government's annual spending.

We're the economy when it's good because we're spending and we're the economy when it's bad because we're not spending, but we're not the economy when it implodes and needs government help? What don't they understand when the pundits say, "It's the economy stupid.", they really mean, "We (American people) are the economy stupid."?

So the question to Congress is when do they plan to address that issue, our incomes are hurting, our credit is bad, the value of our house is falling, foreclosures are up, our retirement funds and our plans are fading, and on and on down the slippery slope into a recession and maybe a depression. But ya'll focus on the financial and banking companies with our money?

What don't you remember about being our representative? Or do you think the lobbyists are more important? But did you forget who elected you, and who can just as easily unelect you? Yes, us, the economy stupid.