The Evil Monsters of Wall Street, and other mythical tales...

I was working out at the gym this morning...on a really great machine that simulates running (which I've always wanted to do, but my joints don't agree with), and CNN was on...the newswoman I was watching was telling a story about the CEO's of 7 major companies that accepted "bail out" money, and how their salaries were going to be cut in half, essentially, by order of our government. She read emails from viewers about this...the rancor and the damnation...troubles me.

This country...this world...was built on men and women who achieved. Men and women who were tireless in their devotion to what they believed in, and to achievement itself. One of the rewards for achievement...is money. And the reward for failure...is loss. But in the wake of "these hard economic times," I wonder if we've lost sight of a few things. Money is not evil...it is a freer...it gives us the capability to do many things, travel, learn, give...and the people who wrote those damning emails...would like more of it, I'm sure. So it can't be money itself that they're so upset with, can it? Are they upset because the CEO's have more than they do? That they aren't suffering as the "average" American is? Should they be? I would garner that none of these people are "average." And I would also go so far as to say that they have suffered...in ways that the "average" American hasn't. They've given up their time, their leisure, their hearts and souls to their dreams. Dreams of achieving, enriching, accomplishing...because that's who they are.

I have a decent job. I earn enough to buy things that I want, and to take care of my puppy. I've chosen thus far to not have children, a wife, a mortgage, and I still pay taxes...every week, I pay taxes...taxes that go to fund programs like WIC...and for the food stamp program. Are these bailouts? Because I have yet to see anyone pay me back for this...let alone thank me. And the companies that we "bailed out?" They're paying us back...with interest...and they're thanking us...by forcing their TOP talent...to take less money than they are worth...and yes, they ARE worth the money. They are talented, and they keep this country running...we just don't have the good sense to know it and to thank them for it in the wake of a terrible recession that is hurting ALL of us. Because we blame THEM for the recession. I will be the first one to say that questionable business decisions do account for part of this recession. But the people we are damning...well...they aren't necessarily the ones who are to blame...and there are others that should be questioned in this scenario. A group of people that have thus far gotten off scot-free...and are receiving help...a bail-out of their own...who are they? The people that decided that they want what these CEO's have...more...and more than they could afford. The mortgage crisis is not the fault of the companies...it's the fault of the consumers...the ones who saw the beautiful house that they wanted and took whatever terms they could to get it. And without reading the fine print...without figuring out if they could AFFORD what they were buying...they went ahead and did it. And the industry crashed...because so many people could no longer afford their homes...because they didn't read the fine print. And who is holding THEM accountable as they walk away from their mortgages...their responsibilities? They're leaving in droves, and screaming when they can't get a "bailout." Really? I would much rather send my taxes to the "greedy," "money-hungry," "monster" CEO's, than the group of looters that now demand to be given help for doing nothing except screwing up their own lives. And I would do it, gladly.