The news this week has been dominated almost completely with what is going on in the financial markets and with if and how the government is going to bail out Wall Street. It was striking how often President Bush, as he sounded the alarm, used the words “I” and “my administration” as though he had ownership for it. What was fascinating, however, was that he never took any ownership for his part in creating the mess. His administration has cut taxes for the rich, worshiped at the altar of corporate profits, and been utterly devoted to the miraculous cures that a free market would provide. President Bush and his administration have created a culture in which greed is a sacrament and the über-wealthy are the saints.

Almost every one of us can cite examples of corporations that made decisions that clearly were not good for the company in the long run, and certainly didn’t benefit the country, consumer or employee. Their leadership was designed to run up the stock price however artificially, and, when it peaked, a small group at the top jumped out using golden parachutes to float off to ravage another firm. Offshore 20,000 jobs, putting American mothers and fathers out of work, and you will be rewarded with higher stock prices and executives’ portfolios soaring in value. Just last week, Hewlett-Packard, which bought Dallas-based EDS, announced that the first thing it would do is lay off 24,600 employees. The equivalent of a small town now has to figure out how to feed their children and pay their mortgages. However, the stock price soared that day, and the CEO’s compensation package added millions.

Now they want to use our tax money to bail these folks out. The very people who allowed, even encouraged, this culture of greed and deception want to be given nearly a trillion dollars to ensure that their donors and patrons don’t lose their money. Unfortunately, it appears that, if we do not do this, the poor and middle class may be made to suffer most. So it may be the only choice we have. I pray to God that we will not give this administration another blank check like the one the spineless congress wrote to take us to war.

The figures they are throwing around are so great that it is impossible to comprehend. What might help is to go to the funeral home in Dallas. There you will find a ten-year-old boy crying his eyes out because he misses his father. His is gone because he didn’t have health insurance, and, after waiting for 19 hours at Parkland hospital, when they finally called his name he stood up, collapsed and died. Look that little boy in the eye and explain to him that we have $700 billion to rescue the greedy of Wall Street, so now we don’t have money to provide health insurance for the working poor.