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Selling Out The American Dream

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 4, 2009

Considering my chosen profession, it should come as no surprise that I spend a lot of time reading newspapers. I might even spend a little too much time doing so. Lately, it's becoming more and more difficult for me to scan the headlines and the big stories of the day without feeling my blood pressure rise. As each day goes by, it seems like the America I was born into and grew to dearly love is slipping away.

What I'm referring to are the many things that are being done in the name of "economic stimulus." With trillions of dollars on the line (if both recovery acts and other measures are counted), we have managed to give rise to an era where failure to perform or even try all that hard to perform is rewarded - hard work is not.

America's auto makers stand on the brink of bankruptcy, so we write them hefty checks. Banks threaten to go under and we offer to float them. Homeowners with bad loans stand on the edge of foreclosure, so we offer to rewrite and modify those loans. Those who have struggled as hard or harder to not fall behind are finding that little help is available to them. Their payback for doing the right thing is more struggle. While it's true the most recent federal proposals do call for helping those who have managed to keep up, many by the skin of their teeth, the assistance offered doesn't go as far as the packages offered to many who have failed to keep up for a variety of reasons, both good and bad.

Now, as the stimulus dollars start flowing around the country, some state governors have tossed around the idea of turning down the money. For the audacity of wanting to tighten belts and avoid adding to the nation's debt, these governors get the privilege of having their authority usurped by the federal government which included a legislative override clause in the stimulus bill. As more power sucks into the vacuum that is Washington, I can't help but wonder what happened to the good old days when the American Dream was fueled by hard work, diligence and innovation. Today, it seems our country is driven by handouts, bailouts, threats and eerily familiar socialistic propaganda. We don't need a chicken in every pot and more government control. We need industry in every town and products that the world actually wants to buy. Good old fashion American ingenuity can win over the present crisis ... if only we and our government let it.

Sherri Lonon is the editor of In The Loop

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