Nins, You are soooo right on this. I'm also a Republican who will hold my nose and vote for a quasi-socialist because it is in the best interest of the American people. Capitolism is normally a good thing but when big business actually begins running things it is the American people who lose out. Like Obama says, "Business should have a seat at the table but they shouldn't own the seats."
Unfortunately, The Republican party has concluded that it cannot win a general election without selling its influence to those that can afford to pay for it. (Oil companies, Banks, Insurance and Drug Companies) McCain knew this and tried to promote campaign finance reform but the party revolted. (He doesn't speak about this anymore.) As a result we have become a nation "For, of and by the corporations". The kaos caused by our failure to address critical issues as well as the financial decine of individuals should be no surprise. The function of corporations is to maximize profits for investors, not to wisely govern a great nation in a way that promotes the best interests of it's people. A government by the people needs to be put back in charge. This can only be done when we enact laws that stop our legislators from betraying their constituents by selling influnce for money.
We need to vote for someone who actually
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The Bankruptcy Boom
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The financial woes seem to be increasingly widespread geographically. The problems were once concentrated in areas like California and Florida, which have been hit hardest by foreclosures and plummeting home values. But bankruptcy filings are now up across the country, with sharp rises in the past few months in states like New Jersey, Ohio, and Oregon—where the number of filings has nearly doubled since January, according to AACER data.
And the numbers are expected to continue rising. The amount of outstanding consumer credit grew by $15.3 billion in March—more than double the increase a month earlier—to a staggering $2.56 trillion. A record-high $957 billion of that is revolving debt, like credit cards and home equity lines of credit. Could it be as bad as the mortgage crisis? Probably not, say experts. Though the amount of debt seems astonishing, the Federal Reserve Board's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances, published in 2006, found less than half of families (about 46 percent) carry a credit card balance, and the average owed is around $5,100. Most Americans are still able to pay their bills on time, says Liz Pulliam Weston, personal finance columnist and author of "Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life." "I'm not one who thinks consumer debt could be the next subprime implosion," Weston says. Still, she cautions, "We've gotten people used to grabbing at the easiest fix … and it's very easy now to get into trouble."
Fletcher will attest to that. In the end she decided to go through a debt management program at ClearPoint, an NFCC member, instead of filing for bankruptcy. The agency was able to negotiate the interest rate down to about 9 percent on her debt, and in less than a year she had paid off more than $10,000 of the balance. Though the monthly payments were still high—she ended up carpooling with her husband, subbing regular coffee for her daily mocha and clipping coupons in order to save money—Fletcher says bankruptcy would have been worse. "This was tough," she says, "but I feel good that I'm handling it."
If economic conditions get much worse, there may be millions of others who can't.
© 2008
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