How to I use my anger about bailout constructively?

[pixiewytch]

I have been plenty disgusted with the Bush administration for eight years and angered by many things. I gotta say though that this whole bailout of the banks is the last straw for me. I'm not just angry. I'm outraged. I am struggling with past due medical bills because my family is underinsured and now I have to pay taxes, not to go toward the quality of living for everyone, but to prop up the wealthy with their bad mistakes. I just don't have words anymore. I am so mad, disgusted, enraged, and so on....

To make matters worse, I just read an article about Bazaar about a woman who is a portfolio manager for a hedge fund, showing off her extensive selection of couture clothing and her lavish home. Is this where my tax dollars are going, when they could be better utilized to help pay my own medical bills? Am I simply paying for some woman to buy a new Chanel bag? I'm just absolutely bewildered about this.

So what can I do to channel my outrage constructively? Yeah, I'm voting for Obama although I'm not sure how much that is going to fix things at this point. I don't want to go on that downward spiral of hopelessness and despondency about society....wait, I think I was there already, but I want to contribute something other than my bitterness and cynicism about everything.

Any ideas?

[Mama2Rio]

oh and do you want to get even angrier!!! obama approved of the bail out as did mccain! i can't stand this two party system when it's really just one big scew of the american people party! i'm voting nader.. never will i vote for any one who doesn't represent me.

[Turquesa]

OP, how did your Senators and Reps vote? I wrote letters--hand-written thank-you's to my Senator and Reps, and a letter of disappointment to the Senator who favored it. They need to hear from us. They're called public servants for a reason.

[mamabeca]

I think there's always work to do, whether you pick politics or something to fight for that's more personal - children, animals, shelters, etc. If you have the time, find something locally that you can volunteer to make the world a better place (in spite of, if not w/the help of, your local politicals!). You can also do the campaign thing, getting the word to un-represented areas to get registered voters to go out and VOTE. My last idea is to set up appointments with your reps. It's really nice to meet them one to one (when they deem to make the appointment lol), and you get 15 mins of usually uninterrupted time. I have done this on more than one occasion, and pushed for upcoming vote issues that I thought were important. I get really angry too. I have a friend who is REALLY angry, so angry that she does nothing about it anymore. Her husband is involved in a local For Peace organization that meets monthly (she will clean her house for them when it's their turn to host the meeting), and he protests the medical establishment being a dr. who will accept non-payment from clients readily.

[IvyAfire]

I wish I knew.

[DahliaRW]

Ironically, it was my republican rep who voted no. He's in a tight raise for re-election, but I emailed him and told him that because he voted no I would definitely vote for him. So if you have reps that voted no, let them know you appreciate it. And let those who voted yes know you are upset.

It was a Dem majority congress that crafted and passed the bill. We all know what a lame duck president Bush is, I really doubt he was the mastermind behind it. More like the puppet in front of it.

[libertymom]

Oh lordy, don't vote for Obama!
Write in Ron Paul! :

Write letters to your local representatives and get involved locally. People were laid out on the white house steps when this thing was being passed with signs saying "bailout over my dead body" . Those people were angry!

[Annie44]

I was going to say voting for Obama will NOT help you on this one. He supported that 100% They both did and like everyone said the democratic congress came up with it. We did this in the 80's and look where we are now!!

[catemom]

Okay, as an independent progressive liberal I have to weigh in on this. First of all, I believe the original bailout plan was put together (quite sloppily) by Henry Paulson (who is I believe is a Bush appointee). The congress was very pressured to come up with something better in a really short period of time. For the record, I'm very very displeased with the bailout that ultimately passed. I sent numerous emails and made phone calls to my elected officials begging them not to pass the bailout until they had taken the time to carefully craft something that wasn't just handing taxpayers money over to irresponsible greedy people. Unfortunately, we have a couple of short-timers here who don't really want to be bothered with representing their constituents anymore (and I'm not sad to see them go).

Anyway, to answer the OP's question, I think that you should channel your indignant energy into being a vocal citizen. It doesn't matter who is elected president if we don't make sure our elected officials are truly representing us. Write letters, call your elected officials, start grassroots groups, hold peaceful protests, and let them know what their constituents want. If we are loud enough, they will be forced to listen and act accordingly.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I hear there may be a plan to bail out the auto industry soon, so stay informed!

[Freefromitall]

I also wrote to my Senators before the vote, and then again after the vote.

[studentmama]

We need to keep writing our reps. There has got to be an investigation. I think we also need to continue to write the media, letters to the editor, we need to keep this a topic of conversation. We need to know how we got here and what could we have done different or better. We need to know if regulations are going to be put in place, if credit default swaps are going to be regulated. We need to just keep talking/writing about it and keep learning as mucha swe can about it so we can understand it.

It is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS and we need to keep letting our public officials know this.

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by studentmama

It is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS and we need to keep letting our public officials know this.

Just tonight on NPR ("On Point") I heard that the Big 3 automakers traveled to D.C. to lobby for their own bail-out . . . . each in a personal private jet. I don't know if I feel disgusted or downright depressed.