There are obviously thousands upon thousands (if not millions) of postings scattered across the internet decrying the passage of the economic bail-out. There are also, I would imagine, a fair number of articles supporting it. Here are the thoughts of another random, typical American that will unfortunately never make a difference in Washington.

Firstly, I’m obviously not an economist – heck I’m not even that good with my own money, but I think there are several glaring atrocities that make this plan doomed for failure and ripe for corruption. America was undoubtedly in need of economic stabilization, but more than that we need reform and to stand up and make examples of some people. Let’s take for example the current hot topic of AIG. While the money AIG received was not technically part of the $700 Billion bail-out (or rescue plan if you prefer that wording), they spent part of the millions they received to keep themselves afloat on a lavish retreat for executives. Meanwhile, 5 rural counties in Oklahoma were just denied $9 Million requested to assist in recovering and restoring everyday lives following recent flooding. This is unacceptable. You tell me what Americans would prefer – giving billions to companies that were mismanaged and squandered their wealth, or re-routing some of those funds to actually help Americans?

I was delighted to receive a response from one of my representatives (Mary Fallin) when I wrote in urging her to vote against the first draft of the bail-out. She responded that the majority of her constituents felt the same as I and would be voting NO on its passage. She did, and it failed. I was elated that there were politicians who, seemingly, wanted to stand up against giving companies limitless funds that lacked oversight and consequences.

This is the kind of reform and assistance that should have been discussed. Do you want government funds to stay above water? Fine, your executives that got you into this mess receive a 5% pay cut and your CEO receives nothing when they leave. You’re found to be scandalously using the money for things other than business-related expenses? You pay it back. Poor actions equal rough consequences and the bail-out should equal sacrifices on the company’s behalf, not the American public. So what happened a week later to change so many Senator’s minds into voting “YES”? Convincing arguments and number crunching? Did the everyday American’s take on this situation change? No, they filled the second bill with special projects and lots of pork. America at its finest.

How much of those billions meant to stabilize the economy is pork? Some estimates put it at as much as $100 Billion, one seventh of the overall amount. So let’s go ahead and give $2 million for wooden arrow manufacturers in Oregon, it’s not like the folks in Alfalfa, Grant, Kay, Major and Woods counties really needed any help. Of course, they could always move to Wall Street, rumor is they just received a large injection of capital.