I am a 17 year old tax paying citizen of the Unites States of America, and I believe that government bailouts are ineffective band-aids that cover up an infected wound in America. I believe this because I have witnessed a frustrating reality during my first year of employment. Every day after I work at Tractor Supply Company, I hear Fox News broadcast that the economy of the United States is plunging deeper into a recession. Meanwhile, AIG insurance company, General Motors, and Chrysler are collapsing because their last few billion dollars were paid out in employee bonuses leaving them broke. Next, I hear that the Federal Government is going to bail these companies out. Ironically, these bailouts are funded by my hard earned tax dollars, and I am still working to earn more money to pay my bills. These bailouts are not only wrong and disastrous to my country, but they set a dangerous precedent that Americans are continuing to follow in their personal lives.
I believe that the founding fathers of this nation understood the key to success that Americans have forgotten. Their principles remind us that hard work brings prosperity and that you can not get something for nothing. On the contrary, there are some convincing arguments in favor of government bailouts. Bailouts do provide a quick money supply and seem to be the band-aid that will remedy the financial crisis. However, these arguments can not diminish the results caused by recent bailouts. Now, the precedent is set for more than just General Motors; Americans are being shown that they should continue borrowing money as they have been, regardless of whether or not they can afford. America’s economic wound is infected and needs surgery rather than a band-aid. As a young citizen, I do not want to be forever paying for or designating federal bailouts for men and women in this country who are not forced to face up to the consequences of their own actions.
I believe that there is only one cure for the deep economic problems my country is facing. Americans must stand up and be dedicated to the great task before them; we must be the guiding voice that our government needs. Bailouts are simply covering up the infected wound caused by our irresponsible financial decisions, and the only way that an infected wound can recover is if it receives proper treatment. This recovery will only come when Americans stop accepting loans and debt that they can not afford and become willing to take responsibility for their own actions. Abraham Lincoln’s words will never grow old, but I fear that they may become forgotten. Unless I remember that my government is of the people, by the people, and for the people, my government will surely perish from the earth!