Potato-Potahto
The discussion about the mess on Wall Street, in the financial community at-large, and on Main Street all boils down to semantics, and I’m surprised I haven’t heard someone say it before now.
First the President calls for a “bailout”, and everyone is echoing the word. Then the members of Congress start getting angry calls and emails from their constituents, and suddenly the bailout becomes a “rescue”.
Semantics – the meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, sentence, etc. Is it a bailout, or is it a rescue? Is there any difference? Decide for yourself.
Bailout:
Dictionary.com – an instance of coming to the rescue, especially financially
American Heritage Dictionary – a rescue from financial difficulties
Rescue:
Dictionary.com – to free or deliver from confinement, violence, danger or evil
American Heritage Dictionary – to set free, as from danger or imprisonment
So if a bailout is basically a rescue, what’s the difference in the two plans? Probably not much.
As for rescue meaning to free or deliver from confinement or imprisonment, I bet we could find a few corporate bigwigs who ought to be cooling their jets in a confined area for putting us into this mess in the first place.
What were these people thinking? Or were they even thinking of anything at all – except how much money they were going to pocket?
Americans are tired of footing the bill for irresponsible decisions made by politicians, corporate executives and those in charge of the finances of this country. These people have no regard for the future outcome of the small business owner, much less the average citizen.
Yet, if Congress doesn’t do something – and I’m not sure what – the meltdown will continue. Financial experts disagree on whether there will be another Depression. And if there is, how long it will last.
Some say we must grease the wheels of commerce to get things moving again. Others say if we can just tough it out for a little while, things will improve on their own.
How long is a “little while”? Six months – OK. I think we can do that. A year? Yes, a little harder, but we’re tough. Two years? Five? The fact is, they don’t really know – anymore than you or I do.
And if we do bail them out (oh, excuse me, “rescue” them), how will we know they won’t go back to their greedy ways? This type of thing can be hidden for years, then blow up in our faces – much as this one did.
There is no excuse for what is happening to our economy right now, and the people responsible ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Instead, they’re probably trying to figure out how to save their own skins, and wondering where to find their next victims.
-Teresa-
