The Internet has been abuzz in recent months about the 2008 bailout packages, and I wanted to weigh in with my own opinion. Personally, I feel that the government should have distributed the bailout money back to the American taxpayers. After all, it was our money to begin with, so we should get it back.

It shouldn’t be going to greedy financial institutions that are only making our situation worse by charging exorbitant fees and executive bonuses while running their company  into the ground with no consequence.   So, is the greediness of the banks keeping many average American families down, or is it holding back overall economic growth? I dare say both!

To add insult to injury, the government has used taxpayers’ money to bail out financial institutions. Basically, the government gave banks our money so that they could turn around and lend us credit at outrageous rates so that we end up paying two, sometimes three times as much as our homes and cars are worth. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?

American taxpayers could have also used a portion of their bailout package to invest in their futures and start (or add to) a savings account that will help shield them from future financial disasters. Some might argue that they should have already had a comfortable nest egg in place, but the fact of the matter is that many Americans are barely scraping by from month to month; putting food on the table and a roof over their families heads is top priority, leaving little left to put aside for a rainy day.

This is the sad truth of where our economy lies currently. Many Americans have been irresponsible with their money; that is true. They’ve bought houses they couldn’t afford, and in those situations, they may need to lose their homes to learn a valuable lesson. But the banks aren’t innocent in this situation; in their greediness, they’ve eagerly loaned money to homebuyers that obviously couldn’t afford the home they were after, and then when mass foreclosures come about, the banks are the ones receiving the bailouts. (To be fair, some instances of foreclosure occur after homeowners have lost their jobs or come under another financial difficulty not of their own fault or the banks, but the banks are still the ones coming out on top with the bailout packages, not the taxpayers.) In what reality does that make sense?

To learn more about the 2008 Government Bailouts, please visit WE Invest Online Website and read my article titled “The Stimulus Package isn’t Enough: What Should Have Been Done With the 2008 Government Bailouts.”

Tags: 2008 bailout packages, American population, Ron Wellman, Stimulus package