TO A POINT: Why do we expect handouts from the Feds?

Why do we assume the government can solve all our problems?
Instead of exercising better business practices, America's auto dealers have turned to the federal government for a handout. Yes, times are tough. But perhaps they should have started offering alternatives to gas-guzzlers years ago. The technology has been around for decades; it just didn't go very far very fast because those in power didn't see the need for it. It was a lot easier to stick with what they knew and to bury their heads in the sand. But that attitude didn't get them very far, and now look. We taxpayers are going to end up bailing them out of the mess they made. That's no way to run a private business.
The attitude is catching on. "We want a bailout" was even the refrain heard at the Harris city truth-in-taxation hearing in early December. Some citizens there don't think the local government should pay its own bills, but should instead default on its loans and wait for the Feds to swoop in and fix things.
How far is this going to go?
We bailed out the financial industry because they were too greedy to make wise choices. Now it looks like on top of all that we're going to bail out citizens who also made bad financial decisions. Where does it end?
When do we demand that people be responsible for their own choices? When do those people who do make wise choices and go without sometimes get a break?
I'm going to say something that isn't necessarily popular. I don't want my tax dollars going to bail out private businesses or private citizens. I live with the choices I make, and I think everyone else should too.
Does that make me uncompassionate? Does that make me a miserly grinch?
I don't think so. I still donate to those less fortunate because I think people should look after people; I don't think that's a burden for government. I think that's what churches are for. I empathize with those in financial trouble, and hope I can help led them to resources that will pull them out and help them avoid such situations in the future. There are many agencies out there that offer financial counseling, such as Thrivent, to point people on the right path instead of rewarding bad decisions.
The simple truth is we put ourselves in this mess, and we need to work out of it. We need to stop spending what we don't have. We need to tear up our credit cards. We need to make sure money is in the bank before we spend it. We need to lower our expectations. At 25, there's no way a person can afford the payments on a $200,000 plus home. Our parents worked up to what they have now; why do we think we can get overnight what they took 25 years to achieve? It's okay to live in a crappy apartment until you can save up for a house. It's okay to buy furniture from a garage sale and dishes from a thrift shop. The added benefit is we're reducing and reusing, and our impact on the earth is a little softer.
The harsh truth is we need to stop being victims. Let's bring back that good 'ole fashion American virtue of picking ourselves up by our bootstraps and making something of ourselves. Stop asking for a handout, and put that hand to work.
I'd love to hear your money-saving tips. Go online to the Star's web site (http://www.isanti-chisagocountystar.com) and post them under the blog section. Let's help each other, and leave the government out of it.