That is why folks seek out bad risk loans and make the stupid (yes, I said stupid, again, don’t hate on me) decisions they make with credit cards. And that only one of the reasons why our country is facing the problems it is today.

The other reason, in my opinion? (and this is strictly my opinion) is that as a nation, people have forgotten that our nation was founded on Christian principles. We are too busy serving our own desires to want to serve God anymore.

2 Chronicles 7:14 states that “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Sorry for the diatribe…and for hijacking your comments section, but I’m praying that people will wake up before it’s too late. No one man (President) is going to be able to fix this mess – you’re right – WE have put ourselves in this situation.

/rant.

However, I do have a great idea for the bailout. Take the houses that have been foreclosed on and are sitting there empty. Sell them to people from New Orleans, Galveston, and other flooded areas in exchange for title to their flooded property and a modest mortgage. Then tear the flooded houses down and turn the area into a wildlife refuge. We would save billions of dollars in infrastructure costs by not having to rebuild all the flooded schools, roads, and other structures in the damaged areas that really aren’t fit for housing anyway.

Children today are shockingly entitled. A chief complaint on so many parenting websites is clutter. Instead of spending money on “storage solutions,” how about buying less toys? I recently read an article on how the economy affected back to school. I expected to read about school lunch programs being cut and things like that. Instead, it was interviews with parents about how their children won’t be getting a new backpack this year and how all the kids have to walk to one bus stop instead of being picked up at their doors. What?!? I have had a grand total of 4 backpacks in my life – 1 for elementary school, 1 for middle school, 1 for high school, and 1 for college. I was very careful with them and I patched or mended them if they ripped. And I never heard of children being picked up by the bus at their doors. With the childhood obesity epidemic, shouldn’t we be making sure they get all the exercise they can get?

We enforce the 10-toy rule. We only allow our 3-year-old daughter 10 toys at a time (books, art supplies, and sporting equipment don’t count and toys may have parts). If she gets a new toy, one of the old toys goes. We either donate it or store it for our next babies (we’re having twins in January). My daughter gets so much more out of her toys than her friends, who have countless toys. She also has an amazing capacity to amuse herself. Despite this, I get no support from my family and many of my momma friends. They all think I’m crazy and “mean,” but we’ll see what happens in the next 18 years.

We talk with our boys (0-6) all the time about money and how the things they want to do cost money and we only have so much money-thus we have to choose, toys every time we go to the store or save up for a family trip to Disney? Stop and buy ice cream cones or make it at home five times?

They’re learning. I don’t want one of my boys to be forclosed on because they didn’t understand.

I’m so glad you said it. I only wish that more than those of us in the choir would hear it!