The government can’t be trusted

As I was standing in line at the store this week, I saw a lady buying coloring books for her kids. She said they are for the holidays when it’s too cold to go outside. This led me to think that life used to be so much easier when I was a child. My mode of transportation was my bike or my own two feet, and the only money I had to worry about was Monopoly money. Life has changed indeed. Now, as an adult, I must face the reality that America’s economy is in the dumps, and there isn’t much I can do about it but hold out.

We must all face this. The problem goes all the way to the top, and right down here to the streets of Reno. That which hurts our economy hurts all of us.

Would you buy a product that you knew worked poorly and had ripped off several of your friends? I hope the answer to this is no. No one wants a product for which they will not get their money’s worth. My next question is, why are we still talking about this auto manufacturer bailout?

As Christopher Coffey of Fox News put it, “We should place little faith in the ability of lawyers, policy wonks and career politicians to build a better car.”

In other words, just because these people are in the government does not mean they are going to be of any help in the business of making better cars. And that is what needs to happen for the automobile industry to turn around, isn’t it?

Throwing money at the auto industry is like throwing a rope out to a drowning person and not holding onto the other end. They will continue to drown. Money by itself will not keep the industry’s head above water. And yet, we keep talking about throwing our money at this failing business.

The only way to fix the industry is to make better cars, to build cars people want to buy. Otherwise nothing will stop consumers from buying foreign cars just as they have been. This whole situation reminds me of a Ronald Reagan quote, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” Elected members of government want to take more control, which will only result in more of a mess.

Why do these members’ constituents continually vote these people back into office then wonder why our government and our economy are in trouble? It seems that people have blinders on when it comes to Congress.

The auto manufacturer bailout is scary for many reasons. The main reason being that no one can guarantee that the money the government may give them will help pull them out of the hole and keep them out of it. Our government can take our money through taxes and waste it with careless spending, but the one thing they can’t do is make us buy a car we don’t want—or a house or clothes for that matter. Government can’t tell us how we have to spend the little we have left after they have taxed us to death. This is why they can’t promise that the millions or even billions they plan on spending won’t go to waste.

Businesses are closing down left and right. That is scary and sad, but that doesn’t mean the government can fix it. This is a cycle we have to break. Who knows how long that will take?

I just hope they don’t take more of the money from my pocket in the meantime. I have enough problems to deal with as a broke college student in Nevada—without worrying about other people’s cars and pocketbooks.