Bankruptcy we needed

I've been reading the stories in the news today about the stock market, Citibank, AIG, GM and Chrysler. I'm not at all surprised to find that Citibank is trading at less than the cost of an ATM fee, AIG and Chrysler are barely above water and GM's auditors are saying that bankruptcy may be the only thing that can save them.

Is anyone surprised? I know I'm not. I've said all along that this would not work. I know that I and others have said that getting the government (which has yet to be able to get out of its own way) involved was only going to make the situation worse. So, here we are with the major recipients of bailout money on the verge of bankruptcy. A bankruptcy said that a great many of us said needed to happen some five months ago when we set out down this path.

However, we did achieve change. Things are decidedly changed. The difference between then and now? The difference is that now, instead of just having these businesses on the verge of bankruptcy, we and future generations are also on the hook for over a trillion dollars. The only question is, was that the change we needed?

Say it ain't so...

I've seen something that I thought wasn't supposed to happen not once, but twice in the news this week...
The first time was on my local ABC station here in Toledo. According to the story, there were concerns of flooding again in Findlay, Ohio, and so the sandbagging started. The problem was that the city quite simply didn't have the money to pay for sand or bags. Then the most amazing thing happened. It seems an evil business stepped up. According to 13abc, National Lime and Stone Company stepped forward and donated not only 2,500 bags, they gave 50 tons of sand to fill them.
Then, this morning on Good Morning America, they had this story, which came, out of all places, from California! A couple who was starting a restaurant ran out of money before they could finish building it and open. As a last resort, they put an ad in the paper asking for help finishing and opening their restaurant. They said that they couldn't pay - at least not right away. They said that they would pay whoever helped in the future - if the restaurant succeeded. Then the most amazing thing happened. People stepped up. They helped out, and the restaurant opened. In the interview, the couple said that they were amazed by the response that they got. The restaurant has only been open for a couple of weeks, but they said that they have a good response from the community so far.
So, what is it that amazes me about these two stories? It wasn't what was in the stories, but what wasn't - the government. If I didn't know better... if I didn't know that people can't possibly succeed at anything without Washington there to help them... I would swear that these were people who stepped up and managed to come up with a way to solve their problems without any help from Congress or the President. It's all just so confusing. Please say it ain't so.