Congress should reject Wall Street bailout

Anthony Rampolla, Las Vegas

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | 2:03 a.m.

I rarely agree with Brian Greenspun, but his Sunday column (“Voters must not forgive leaders who let crisis play out”) was right on the money.

We as a country should not bail out Wall Street. Our economy is based on a free market system; you put up your money and either increase your investment if all goes well or lose some, if not all, if things go badly. The recent bailout proposal is an attempt to socialize losses while all along we have allowed privatized profits.

We have witnessed extreme excess on the part of greedy speculators and investors; many have made plenty of money in the run-up to this situation. Let the chips fall where they may; when all is said and done some companies will fail and others will continue to prosper. This is what has made our country great — free enterprise. Well-run businesses have great leadership and direction; poorly run companies will eventually make changes to adapt to the current environment or go under.

We must show our disgust by letting our representatives know we will not support them in this election if they follow through with this plan to further burden taxpaying citizens. The plan, which is still being worked out, could cost $1 trillion or more.

I beg every reader to take the time to call or e-mail your representatives and express your displeasure.

Hopefully it will be a wake-up call for all of us. Our voices must be heard.