I am TIRED of bailouts!

I saw an re-run interview with our President the other day on the Jay Leno show. (I have no problem with our President appearing on a late night show, some do.) Anyway, he said (in so many words) "If a toaster blows up in your face, there is a law that will protect you, or cover you for that. BUT, if you lose your life savings to a hedge fund account, you lose!" That pissed me off. People bust their butts all their life to save so they can retire and live comfortably through their 'GOLDEN YEARS', and some rotten S.O.B. feels he's better, or above the law, and manipulates the market so he can retire with mega-millions of OUR life savings. Meanwhile, retirees have to go back to work so they can eat Bologna instead of Ham. That is strictly BS!
Nancy and I had dinner with a banker friend, and he told us, the U.S. has 1300 banks. Most countries have 3, and they do fine. So let the bank who are so screwed up, and want bail-outs, fold. Who cares? We don't need them. The sound banks will carry the rest of us just fine. Imagine, three banks for the whole country. Germany, Holland, and Great Britain...THREE BANKS in the entire country! He also discussed mortgages. The government gives $50K credit to first-time owners. Why not everyone? Sure would make the economy grow. There are a lot of second and third time buyers who could use the $50K incentive for their dream home. Especially if they have cash from a previous home to swing the loan. My hometown of Cave Creek is the highest foreclosure area in Maricopa county, which is the largest county in AZ. And, one of the highest in the US.
After a fabulous week on the market, folks are seeing a little relief, but there is still a long road to haul before we reach the level we were at 3 years ago. Don't give up hope, we WILL get there...and DON'T touch your savings yet!

Camping at Roosevelt Lake

It was Spring Break, temperatures were getting warmer, and we just had the itch to smell a campfire with friends and family.
Roosevelt Lake is east of Phoenix, and probably the largest in Arizona. Backwater from it's namesake dam, the desert oasis is great location for boating, fishing, camping, and Kayaking. About 20 of us arrived on Friday and stayed through Sunday, after hiking, 4-wheeling, Kayaking and just sitting around the campfire, making S'mores and chatting.