This Economy Ship is Sinking Fast

Oh my! I thought yesterday's post would inspire you to speak your mind. Perhaps you are indulging the Old Lady Next Door into thinking that you actually enjoy hearing her jibber jabber.

Today let's talk about this economy crisis. I am wondering when all of these bailout talks will end.

The mortgages, the autos and now Citigroup. I just don't understand it and, quite frankly, my ears and eyes are tired of this news.

When I was a young girl, my family owned a grocery store. We were the only store in town for over 20 years. Everyone knew each other and everyone didn't just come to shop, they came to visit.

We spent our summers and days after school restocking shelves, working in the store and sneaking an orange or two from the produce bin. My daddy was proud to offer credit because he knew we were in a struggling economy and not allowing customers to run a tab would mean some of our neighbors couldn't eat supper that night.

People paid when they could. A little here and a little there. We weren't going to get rich from our country store but we were happy.

As the big grocery stores made their way into our city, we knew what was about to happen. Daddy couldn't compete with all of the brands they offered so on a sad day in October, he switched our store sign in the window from OPEN to CLOSED one last time.

We had neighbors coming to settle up their tabs years after the store went out of business. Daddy wouldn't accept their money. He just didn't feel right about taking their money after all those years.

Now, I don't think my daddy with only family for employees should have run up to Washington and asked for money so we could keep selling canned soup, self-rising flour and grape soda pop. I just can't help but wonder where all of these corporate bailouts at the expense of my wallet and yours will stop.

In my time, a failing company gracefully closed its doors when business was too bad to continue. It didn't expect both customers and non-customers to keep it afloat just so big shots could keep receiving high salaries and pensions.

I'm not completely set in my ways. I can understand the need for automakers to try and save jobs. I just don't understand how the big three in Detroit go begging all at once. Surely they saw this coming. Yet, I continue to see these national ads for the companies during my favorite prime time programs.

Why does the government need to tell people how they should run their business? How many mom and pop shops have gone out of business because there's no one there to help them? How many people lost their homes because they were given more credit than they could actually afford while corporate honchos padded their bank accounts? The Old Lady Next Door has too many questions and no one is bothering to give us any of the answers we deserve.

Don't get me started on Citigroup. I just saw several commercials for that company over the weekend. I have a hard time swallowing the fact that Citigroup is now in its second government bailout.

Dear friends, correct an old lady if I'm wrong but it appears the boat is sinking and you are I the only ones holding the pail.