Hope &...

I know you are probably tired of hearing about how fucked the economy is, but even I can't shutup about it. From the "I-told-you-so" GM bankruptcy to the banks hording money, only to use said horded money (our money btw) to buy out other banks. Which is awesome, because if you banked with Washington Mutual, you are now a Chase Bank customer, and if you live in Washington then you get to see this even more awesome plastered on billboards everywhere you go;

"Let's start banking better, Washington."
-Chase

Wow! Fuck you too, Chase Bank. Let's start banking better? You assholes were part of the shit storm that put us in this current situation. It wasn't our fault that you allowed Americans to take loans they couldn't afford to pay back, it was yours. Let's start fucking banking better? Seriously? WaMu would still be around if you didn't have more powerful lobbyists fighting for that (our) sweet, sweet bailout money. Assholes.

I want to know who handles the advertising for Chase, because the hubris and irony of this current ad campaign is lost on no one I've talked to about it. Yet it completely escaped the quality control department of Chase's ad department, Chase's execs, and the poor guys who put these things up. Because taken at face value, this particular billboard message is condescending, but then you start to think about it, and you start to see the irony; a bank that was on the brink of failing and that accepted TARP funds is telling us to start banking better...with them.

So yeah, I'm pretty pissed about that, but you know what else I'm pissed about? I now own 60% of GM, and I'm still not getting a free car out of it. Not that I would ever want something like this. But seriously, I think every economist ever, was telling the goverment not give them bailout money and they did it anyway saying, this would more likely than not keep GM from going under. Seven months later, and they've filed for Chapter 11, which is what the government should have let them do instead of wasting 30 billion fucking dollars on this piece of shit company.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but do we not live in a capitalist society, where companies and businesses who suck and refuse to innovate die, and the one's who don't thrive. I realize the GM, isn't a computer or software company, but they do sell a product that lot's of American's seem to need. Unfortunatley for them they sell the crappiest product possible for an inflated price and haven't had an innovatice idea since Saturn, which they've been trying to kill from the begining. Hence, why all of the other American brand car companies didn't take bailout money, except for Chrysler, but they had the fortune of being bought out by a European manufacture, and will hopefully be turned around, because they are arguably the worst offenders of all in this mess. My sister thinks the PT Cruiser is what did them in, I'm inclined to believe her.

I don't claim to be ace at figuring this stuff out, but anybody can see giving 30 billion to a failing company and then buying the company a few months later for 60 billion or creating a billboard that basically say; "We control your money and your enconomy what are you going to do about it?" is a bad play. But you know what? At least I have a job, and President Obama has come through on at least one of his promises.

You see what I did there?