Fingerpointing on the economy should be turned on ourselves.

Within minutes after the economic crisis began to set in, the leadership in our country didn’t start figuring out the cause or coming up with a comprehensive plan. They started up the PR machine to rapid-fire blame on anything that moved in the other party. As an aside they came up with a brilliant plan, throw a bunch of our money at the problem…which somehow involved tax breaks for wooden arrows and wool production for good measure. Since there’s no limit to what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit, there’s also no bottom to what can be screwed up when that’s all that matters.

We the people have been trying to figure out who to blame, looking at the evidence, looking at solutions, and nervously studying candidates, waiting on someone to save us. They won’t save us. We’ll only get out of this mess by turning the blame finger on ourselves, something that isn’t in the scope of our elected officials.

Our love of money has been the root of the problem. Whether it’s our elected officials love of power that leads to money, or our wanting things we cannot own. In the past, owning a house took months, maybe years, of savings, thrift, and planning for that downpayment. Today it takes a split second decision and a driver’s licensce (aside from the 3 million illegals that own homes). Credit no longer extends our buying power, credit it is our buying power.

And because the government was there behind every loan and account with a promise, no one cared. Their bailout plan proved that you can go completely bankrupt and still live the same the next day (AIG executives anyone?). For those too lazy to work, they too can own a home in return for a vote.

And the corrupt public officals that have set up this system? They’ll get re-elected next time. We’re not too angry to actually make a change, don’t worry. We have the capacity to change it all at the ballot box, but we rely too much on the people on that ballot to rock the boat. They help us from birth to death, in sickness and in health.

But wealth on paper that appeared in thin air, vanished into it more quickly than it came. Wall Street and government will fare just fine, they made out like bandits. The punishment that would detour them…jail or losing an election…won’t happen. We don’t know how to make things happen anymore as a people. We’re too divided.

The government that we begged so much to save us from hurricanes, terrorism, poverty, old age, sickness, and to protect us from our own bad decisions, now owns the entire financial system. The whims of an unelected treasury secretary now control our entire economy. Based on today’s international news, they may control our new world economy as well.

We the people were against this new financial system, against that bailout in mass. But we lost. And the people who did it are still in office, and will win new offices or keep their old one. That is why, we can complain all we want about Wall Street and Government, but the blame lies soley with us on Main Street, as does the solution. Government, as Reagan said, is the problem…and we keep begging for more of it because we forgot how to help ourselves anymore.