Bailing Out Consumerism

I've been notably silent about the current economic crisis, mostly because I have an elementary understanding of the intricate workings of the American economy. I thought about pursuing a minor in Business while in College, but couldn't stay awake in Business 101, so I dropped that plan real quick. Topics we pursued in my Political Science classes such as death penalty, civil rights, immigration, poverity, crime, the environment, and war were all much more interesting. In reality my comprehension of our financial systems and the economy is pretty limited to depositing my paycheck into my bank account and paying my bills, and there's something called a 401k that I very occasionally send money to. Yeah, sure I understand we live in a free market capitalistic society driven by supply and demand, goods and services, but the influences on the market is well above my pay grade nor am I remotely interested to be honest.

However, after following the news and reading articles on the $700 billion bailout, I decided that I am in favor of some sort of governmental buy-in after realizing that the fates of Wall Street and Main Street are inextricably linked. Despite the political rhetoric we are all hearing this has nothing to do with pitting wall street against main street. We cannot watch one collapse and expect the other to stand strong. Yes, I am just as pissed off as everyone else that taxpayer money will be used to save the same financial institutions who exercised poor judgment and made reckless decisions all in the name of the bottom line profit. But to do nothing is to watch ordinary, hard working Americans suffer. This financial crisis is not only about the stock market crashing, its about middle class workers watching their retirement accounts disappear, struggling small businesses unable to get loans to meet payroll or purchase equipment, recent retirees who are watching their life's savings disappear, young couples unable to buy a home, and middle-aged parents trying to send their kids to college, just to name a few.

What I don't think people understand is that the bailout does not simply turn over 700 billion dollars to wall street and the failed financial institutions to use as they please. Instead it will transfer the troubled assets, mostly mortgage related, from the financial institutions to the federal government, which the government can hold until the housing market and economy turn around, returning the $700 billion investment back to the taxpayers. And even if the housing market does not recover, taxpayers should be protected by the Senate version of the bailout, which requires the financial industry to reimburse taxpayers for any net losses from the program after five years.

So in my untrained, very economically challenged opinion, I'm for passing a bailout and moving on to addressing the root cause of this crisis. I think if you traced this problem far enough back you will find that we have become a culture addicted to instant gratification and a fixation on the material, which has driven us to become an over consumeristic society financed on a mountain of debt. We are told that living in a bigger and better house means we are more successful and more comfortable--bling bling. We are told owning a faster more expensive car translates to a higher status--vroom vroom. Our financial institutions fed into that culture and when people apply for a loan for twice as much house as they could afford, the bank says yes. Over a million people have found themselves unable to make those mortgage payments and the banks find themselves overextended. And as home prices plummet the banks are no longer able to cut their losses by selling the asset, resulting in the massive wave of losses that has caused the damage we have seen thus far. Whew...I'm out of breath, and I understand I just oversimplified a complex problem.

But, I think there is a better way to live than working 60 hours a week, in order to buy a bunch of crap in the hopes of achieving a false sense of success and gratification, when an authentic, more fulfilling happiness can be achieved at no cost through our environment, and our family and friends. Believe me I write all this with a self-reflecting attitude, realizing I struggle to overcome a consumerist addiction (see Blackberry, name-brand clothes, Ipod and HD-LCD Flat Screen TV). I'm also struggling to balance the realization that American consumerism has created millions of jobs and in my opinion responsible for the explosion of the American middle class.

That's the dilemma we face, and if we really believe there is a better way to live then Everything Must Change. But I remain focused on supporting policies and worldviews that bring about equality (both socially and economically), reconciliation, ending exploitation and ushering in peace. Like many young progressives I have a worldview rooted in caring for “the least of these.” I don’t measure our nation’s greatness or world power by the richest individuals and corporations, or by it's military might, or what God we serve, or whether we got a gold metal in synchronized swimming or gymnastic trampolining (all though that was pretty sweet), but rather by how it cares for its most vulnerable people. When it comes to this election, I will not be asking myself which candidate will do the most for me and my nuclear family? I will extend my concern to my extended family, which includes people with special needs and disabilities, people with chronic illnesses and without health care, gay people, poor people, oppressed minorities, people with histories of addiction and crime and mental illness. How will they be treated in a McCain administration? How will they be treated in an Obama administration? Which president will be most concerned about them?