Who's Helping Who?

Most financial advisers in this country provide a single line of advice to consumers, avoid credit card debt. If you are in hock to the credit industry, get out as soon as you can and if you aren't, good for you and stay that way.

There is also a general agreement that the average household is holding somewhere around $8,500 in credit card debt. If it is true and with the advice that we should avoid that type of debt, one has to question the goal of the bailout packages that have been handed out to Citigroup and the like.

Does it really make sense to provide more money to lenders so that they in turn will help the American consumer go deeper in debt? After all, part of the reason we are in the mess we are in was because home buyers were encouraged to go into debt for more than they afford and the plan is to increase the debt load by getting banks to loan more money?

It makes more sense to take the bailout money and help the average household eliminate their debt, be in mortgage or credit card or what ever. If we are going to act in a socialist manner, let's at least help the person struggling to put food on the table or keep their car instead of the person that can't decide whether to fly to St. Moritz for Thanksgiving or take their yacht down to Key West.

Our president elect seems to think that trickle down economics is not the path we should be on, yet that is precisely the avenue we are taking.