Please Spend Your Money For America!

After September 11th, 2001, Government leaders from all quarters were moaning and begging for the good citizens to spend their money. "Go out and travel. Tourism is down. Retail is down. Please, spend your money." This was President Bush's main message after the September 11th attack. It remains the message every so often, as when the governor of California had a conference to beg citizens to travel around the state to keep the tourism industry going (never mind that the mass of tourists normally come from outside the state or even the nation).

Shouldn't they be asking the same thing of corporate America? In fact, corporate America has more to spend. Profits are downŠbut they still have profits. Instead of cinching it up, and taking one in the balls for America, the corporations are dishing it out, continuing to lay off people right and left, so that the few people that own stocks can continue to make a tidy profit, and those few remaining people running the companies can continue to pull down salaries that are at least three times that of the folks they are laying off.

Who is our government supporting with their pleas? Not us, certainly. They are asking us to empty our savings, to go into deeper debt, to continue our gross spending habits for the sake of the poor CEOs and corporations, who's profits are downŠthough still in the black.

Why not beg the companies to show some faith in America? Have the CEOs take pay cuts, so that they can keep on a few more employees. Have the corporation lower their profit expectations, so that they can afford to keep on that many more employees.

Who's interests does our government serve?