So, we post mainly about information, and we had a discussion today on Gmail Chat.  We thought that perhaps some might enjoy this interaction between the two of us:

C.O.: this is interesting

“The critics can be roughly divided into two camps. One group thinks money should be directly infused into banks, which should allow it to trickle down through the financial system to borrowers. A second group thinks the government should buy individual mortgages, thus helping ordinary Americans more directly, with the benefits trickling up to the banks.”

L.J.: that is tough

but, if I had to choose one, I would say Trickle Up

C.O.: so, here’s what i was thinking…who built these companies in the first place

i mean, they want to save them by giving them the money

but didn’t all of our money take them there

??

to the top that is

L.J.: yeah

where are you going with this?

feed me momma bird

C.O.:it seems like trickle up is the answer, right

but the right kind of trickle up, not this stimulus package stuff that doesn’t really mean anything

L.J.: right

C.O.: we’ve got to free up discretionary income

L.J.: yeah, I can agree with you there

It is just hard for me to jump on board with this bail out thing

C.O.: the question is how do you infuse the US with money so that happens

really?

L.J.: I just have a hard time bailing out any company that is misusing their funds.

I thought we are supposed to be a “true market economy”

First the Steel, then auto industry, then banks….then???

the gas companies?

are they going to be next?

Not like our government seems to be doing anything about the energy crunch

but, let’s just say someone finally smells the coffee and says, we need to make a change with the energy we use in this nation…

The gas companies are going to start to go under

obviously

they are paying their Top Execs billions like the bank and insurance industry

are they going to get bailed out as well?

C.O.: i think that’s why you see the companies spending small fractions of their profits on alternatives

that’s beside the point though

what really needs to be done is what is best for the people

can we keep functioning properly w/o a bailout

hard to say

def don’t agree with letting the failures keep their huge salaries tho

L.J.: I can agree with you on that one

no reason why someone should be making billions and the company they work for falls through the floor

L.J.: well, do you think this bail-out/recession will wake up the American Public and get them to change their beliefs on gasoline/oil?

C.O.: hard to say

recession means less money for stuff like…oil

that could drive the price down some

then we’d be on the same path as we’ve always been

L.J.: but, is cheaper gas really the solution?

I mean, at what point do we find something else?

C.O.: well, no, but isn’t that what business and policy favor

in my opinion: NOW

L.J.: Do you think that the cd companies were worried about people not changing over when they decided to go away from Tape Players?

I have never seen a company hold on to the American Public like Oil has

C.O.: it might be a little more cutthroat with this sector

yeah, the hold they’ve got over us is sickening

so what do we do

L.J. Americans forget where we came from

C.O.: i mean, if we really are the ones that control policy, what’s the best way to make some sort of change? Is it Pickens?

L.J.: Well, obviously Picken’s Plan is great, but other than getting a lot of publicity, is he getting anywhere?

it doesn’t seem so

C.O.: yeah, that’s the question

what kills me is that you could ask 100 people on the street and all of them would tell you that gas prices are too high

who is actually doing anything about it

L.J.: I think you you start a craze, similar to Pickens plan, but to the people

reassuring them that we can survive without oil

You know us typical Americans, we pay for reassurance

I just re-upped my vehicle warranty

I feel safe with it

people want to feel safe that if they buy something new, it will be “OK”

I think you need someone, someone like “us” who is ready for a change and willing to stick their neck out and put something up

C.O.: it still seems like a bit of a stretch

I could see a real uprising at 7 or 8 dollars a gallon

but if things are hovering where they are now, I don’t see how you get people to switch

the next thing companies are going to be telling us is that we are on the road to change, you know with the volt and other alt vehicles

L.J.: If anyone has watched the Pickens Plan video, they will see that we are sinking over 300 billion dollars into other countries every year for oil

C.O.: how long is the road?

L.J.: endless

just like the promise in the 70s…what was that quote you told me today?

C.O.: yeah, the money that is leaving this country is ridiculous

this is where the two really tie in, im talking about the bailout and pickens plan

700 billion for the bailout

700 billion for imported oil

L.J.: weird huh?

C.O.: so, if we were to get off of imports somehow, we’d basically be orchestrating a bailout every year

L.J.: weird how the two tie together

C.O.: how do you think the economy would respond to that

??

L.J.: instead of sinking further and further into debt, possibly we could pull us out

or at least start

C.O.: yeah, makes you think

L.J.: The economy would boom

well, at least theoretically

C.O.: maybe the bailout should be a real focus on getting out of this oil import mess

L.J.: knowing our politicians, we may find something else to blow our money on

haha

C.O.: then we could take the money and “bailout” year after year

yeah, that’s the problem

L.J.: Do you think Washington is sitting in the meetings saying…”this is how we could attack it from both sides”?

C.O.: oversight

it happens and it unhappens

heh, attack from both sides, right

L.J.: this all reminds me of the stories we heard about in History

C.O.: that’s why theyre focused on big biz

L.J.: like the Boston Tea Party

America stood up for what it believed

I think our founding fathers are rolling over in their grave…

C.O.: yeah, we need to Take a Stand

L.J.: but, that is another discussion all together

I think we need to Make a Difference

we = American People

L.J. C.O.