How many TARPs?

I am tired of the TARP and I am frustrated to hear that many senators of this nation, including our own Gordon Smith (R), are trying to build a shanty town out of a once glorious nation. I strongly urge you to read about the bailouts that are being proposed and question how many 'TARPs' we can use to cover the nation before the rain starts dripping in.

Handing out money to big business is not the solution. Mistakes were made, and now debts are due. We all understand there are consequences for our action so why now are we looking for a way out? When it comes down to the individual or the corporation (which is treated as an individual by law) there should be no distinguishing who pays for their mistakes and who does not. If that means you lose a house due to poor decision, so be it. While it may be difficult to swallow on a personal level, I feel the same way on a broader scale.

When a car manufacturer produces inefficient sub-standard vehicles which inevitably become unpopular I do not feel like I an obligation to bail out said company. They never looked out for you me. There eyes were fixed on our wallets. Let them fail if the market no longer sustains them. Poor planning, lack of insight and disregard for fiscal discipline from the 'Big 3' is not my error.

Yes, they created jobs, but they are only a small piece of this economy. We have to look on a broader scale at the long term goals we have as a nation. There is no clear prospect for future prosperity in U.S. auto manufacturing. Instead betting on a proven loser (see Chrysler bailout 1979) we should put stock back in the individuals of this nation.

Now is the time for sound economic policy, which Bernanke and Paulson have failed to implement. I implore congress to consider a reduction in taxes. While it is costly, just as a bailout is in terms of increased U.S. debt, tax reduction is a proven tool to curb recessions. It is one of the few time proven tools.

Attached you will find more of my thoughts on this subject more contained more concisely in a letter to Gordon Smith. I urge you to contact your politicians as well. A cry from my single voice may seem futile, but there can be no change when everyone is silently dissenting.

Dear Senator Gordon Smith,

I disagree with your vote in favor of the Troubled Assets Relief Program. With a new bailout on the near horizon, I strongly urge you to oppose any bailout of the auto industry.

The auto industry has made significant lobbying efforts recently, which should not overshadow their poor long term viability and track record. There is no guarantee that a government handout will solve the struggling auto manufacturers’ problems. GM, Ford, and Chrysler are failing industries that need not be an additional financial burden on the citizens of this country. As we have seen, a bailout for Chrysler in the past was unable to ensure a successful future.

Market forces can, and will, work. The 'Big 3' auto manufacturers are not the top 3 any longer. There is a reason for this. For too long these companies have been patronized based on their location, in the U.S., while there products were inferior. I am not suggesting that automobile manufacturing in the U.S. will cease to exist; however, its presence may diminish until the proper leadership and discipline rekindles it's status. That task is not our responsibility.

Now is not the time to protect the unfit corporations riddled with complacency. It is time move forward and device relief efforts that will aid our economy from the ground up; not from the top down. Big business is inherently inefficient and many corporations have been caught with their pants down in recent months.

Taxpayers’ money should not be handed out to failing industries. Now is a time for decreased regulation and tax reduction. In the current economic climate, we know that cutting taxes is a sound course of action. This is a fundamental concept in economics. It has proven itself, over time, a viable tool to curb recessions. The TARP and proposed subsequent bailouts have no such track record.

Again, I urge a vote against any legislation that allocates taxpayers’ dollars to private industry, whether in the form of loans, grants, or handouts. No company or industry should be too big to fail. Without the reality of failure there is no reason to aspire to excellence.


Sincerely,

Jeremy Evans