Wolves at the Door

The numbers being thrown around by the Fed to bailout various entities is staggering. I'm not sure how many zeros are involved anymore; I simply can't keep up. Our current leader, Bush, tells us there will be more where that came from, while our future leader, Obama, is busily crafting another $500-$700 billion stimulus package which he plans to sign on Inauguration Day. While we are in the midst of a significant financial crisis, this country has been through it before, and has survived.

My concern is that Obama and his posse of Democrats in Congress see this as an opportunity. An opportunity to push through the biggest changes in our government since it's inception. They are licking their chops at the opportunity to drastically alter the landscape by using our fear and our panic. "Don't worry, we'll take care of it. We're really, really smart, and we know better than you. Don't you worry your pretty little heads about this." In times of deep stress, particularly when the situation is complicated, most people will hunker down and let their leaders do what they may. They put their faith in their leaders out of lack of confidence in themselves and their ability to effect change. To do that in the current environment would be a huge mistake, and create irrevocable damage to our country.

Step into the future for a minute. Hopefully, we've weathered the storm, a little bedraggled, but still here. What will our country look like in terms of it's economic principles? With the government owning stakes in banks, insurers, homeowner's mortgages, automakers, and God knows what else, along with a government run healthcare system, tighter government regulations, and a massive redistribution of income, what will we call ourselves? Certainly not capitalists. The principle of liberty, which our founders wrote in stone in our Constitution, will be thwarted, because without the individual ability to control our own destiny, we lose our freedom. We lose our freedom to pursue happiness through our own endeavors. Our nation will lose the very essence of what makes it great.