Fiscal Republicans?

$85 Billion to fix AIG?

$620 Billion for Iraq?

$720 Million a day for war in the middle East?

$20 Billion for the auto companies?

Who's going to pay all these bills? Red States, come on, pony up some cash from all those cheap cigarettes and barbecue you eat!

Why am I on the hook for this?

For all of the bailouts:

Bear Stearns

AIG

The auto companies (approximately $20 billion)

I have seen absolutely nothing in writing to indicate the impact of losing these venerable institutions. I haven't seen the hard questions get asked:

Will giving these people huge sums of taxpayer dollars help anything or just prolong the problem?

Why did the CEO's of these companies still get to walk away with millions?

Look, when I go out to eat, at the end of the meal a waiter or waitress brings me a bill and I read it before I pay. Shit, that's just common sense folks. I can't tell you all how many times I've received the wrong bill! The point is, even when I don't have the time to really think about my spending, I still spend at least a couple of minutes reconciling my tab after friggin dinner!

So why do I have to let all of these experts, you know, the people that fought regulation (and still say government sucks) go ahead and write checks from my children's piggy bank? Aren't these the people that didn't ask the hard questions when every financial institution was racking up debt with no way to pay?

No, no, no. I have some questions before we continue this bailout. I have a distinct feeling that this isn't a bailout, it's a corporate handout. I haven't seen one single piece of legitimate justification from the GAO (General Accounting Office) detailing what kind of multiplier effect these so called bailouts have or will have. We have seen no justification from anyone anywhere.

And by the way, the government let Lehman Brothers die a painful death this week and they still owe $613 billion (yes, with a b). Who's coming up with that money? What is the impact on the government budget of writing these huge checks? How do I know the money will be spent appropriately? Lest we forget we seem to be trusting the people that just drove their own car into a wall!

By the way, everyone is asking how this massive meltdown could happen. I think it isn't as simple as pointing at a weak executive branch or a flacid congress. But I think asking questions of our congressman is a start. Maybe they should be pushing a little less cash at the Middle East and spending a little more time here at home watching the cookie jar.

By the way Mr. Congressman, who's going to bail the poor shlubs like me out? See, I have this problem, it's called "personal responsibility". I am responsible for what I do: if I drive too fast, I get a ticket. If I spend too much, I run out of money. If I don't work, I don't have money. If I borrow money, I'm supposed to pay it back. Maybe it's time to stop dodging hard questions and take responsibility for your actions.

Marc