The Gantt Report
By: Lucius Gantt
President Barack Obama has made an American economic rebound a priority in the early days of his term. He has infused the economy with borrowed dollars to stimulate both lending and spending. My view is, of course, an uneducated view but it appears much of the federal bailout money has gone to banks, insurance companies and stock brokers.
The President’s plan would work well in ordinary circumstances and with ordinary financial service companies but America’s individual and corporate financial leaders are different!
The President can stimulate the economy and bailout corporations with money problems but what will the President do to conquer the economic beast?
While Barack Obama seems to be trying to help this country and many American citizens, financial companies are doing what they’ve always done, stealing as much as the law will allow them to.
Someone tell me how credit card companies can arbitrarily change credit agreement terms whenever they desire but card holders can’t change anything? How can banks make mistakes and miscalculations that cost you dearly and only have to say “Oops, we’re sorry” but if you write a bad check you can be arrested and jailed?
If you don’t know, some financial companies are currently making record profits. The companies are charging more for fewer services. Everybody’s tax dollars are helping fund the stimulus and bailouts but only Americans with the best credit can get loans at the best interest rates.
If you owe for medical bills, you can’t get a good loan. If you owe student loans, you can’t get a good loan. If your business is hurt by non-payment or late payment by customers, you can’t get a good loan. If you don’t have a job, you can’t get a good loan. If you’re sick or disabled, female or Black or just live in the wrong neighborhood, you won’t be able to get those so-called low-interest loans.
All Americans have helped banks, insurance companies and stock firms and hedge funds but those companies have not gone out of their ways to help us. Right this very moment financial companies have recruited and hired lobbyists, lawyers, accountants and others to figure out ways how to further economically rape American taxpayers and citizens.
You can infuse the economic system with additional capitol if you can print money or sell bonds but how can you stop greed, selfishness, oppression, exploitation, gerrymandering, redlining, discrimination, bias and hatred?
Most rich Americans hate the poor. I’ve had millionaires tell me, “Get a signature loan like I did. Borrow from your rich parents and grandparents like I did. Or, get your rich friends and relatives to invest in your ideas like I did.”
They will never see or understand that many rich got rich by stealing from and abusing people that were less fortunate than they are. Remember slavery!
It is easy for a rich friend of mine to ask me to write something or to lobby a politician for his company but it’s hard for him to help me pay bills when I’m in a bind. If you want to be shunned or avoided, just ask a rich person to help you by giving you money like American taxpayers give to the wealthy.
