Dear Mr. President

Well it has been an interesting week to say the least. I had to take my four children shopping to get them ready to go back to school. As I walked around the mall, I became more and more frustrated (don't worry I did not take it out on the kids) about the bailout/stimulus packages that our former and current presidents passed. So I decided it was time to write to President Obama. I am hoping I get a reply. It would not be fair for me to do such a thing and not share it with the world. I tagged on some health care issues as well.

Dear Mr. President Obama,
First and foremost allow me to congratulate you on a historic victory. I know you have heard a few times by now, but it is a great feat and brought our country a little closer together, if only for a moment. I don't imagine you receive correspondence very often where the author does not ask for something in return. I question answered, a bill passed, a dinner at the White House. Fear not! I am no different. I would like to discuss the current economic status of America from the point of view of a middle class American. I think that is where I would fall in your economic scale. My wife and I have four children. I noticed you have two beautiful daughters yourself. You are a blessed man and I wish the best for them in their future endeavors. I am willing to bet, no fault of your own, that you did not take them school shopping this year. Well I did take mine to the mall this year, after all it has to be done. There are a couple things I noticed after going to a few stores. 1- there were no "Back to School" sales this year like there were in the years passed. When I look back I don't even remember seeing commercials for them either. 2- The prices for jeans, shirts, shoes, underwear, sock, that pretty pink tutu, and a Bozo button have not gotten cheaper in these tough economic times. If anything, they have gone up. One pair of jeans from Gap $52.00, watching your daughter get sad when you tell her you can't afford them, "worthless." That is how it felt with all my kids. Things I used to be able to go and buy, I can't anymore. Who in their right mind pays $52.00 for a pair of jeans anyway? Thank the Lord Old Navy had jeans on sale for kids priced at $10.00. And T-Shirts, no problem. It's almost fall. The stores are giving them away. But what am I supposed to do in the fall, when it gets too cold, and they need winter clothing? Well hopefully I will have a second job by then. Then it's off to Wal-Mart, who by the way is a monopoly in this county. Your a lawyer, so I am sure you know that monopolies are illegal in this country. See they set the price on everyday items, and the rest of the companies just have to fall in line to compete. Paper, pencils, folders, binders, pens, spitballs and straws, erasers, compass, protractor, calculator (because God forbid we teach kids how to do it by hand, like we used to learn) highlighters, and anything else the school mandates that a student must have to start school. Now I know why tissues are always on the list. Because when you get to the register and realize how much money you spent on stuff that will have to be replaced by Christmas break, you tend to weep. After it was all said and done, I had to choose which bills I could pay, and which one would have to wait till next payday. And then the wife's car started acting up. Well there are all kinds of great deals out there at the moment thanks to the C.A.R.S. Program. I will not knock this program it was a wonderful thing that has helped a lot of people out. But her car doesn't qualify, and because the economy slumped over the last year or 8, (or what I like to call the Bushy Years) our credit slightly slumped with it. Now imagine this, we the people own GM. Anything more than 51% is deemed an owner after all. But yet they will not give us financing. Nor will all the banks that we bailed out. My money, but I can't get any of it back. You have to have "near perfect credit" to get financed I am told. I don't know a person that qualifies. In the current status of the country, the only ones that do would most likely be at an Obama fundraiser. Oh by the way, my wife and I made $106,000 together last year. We paid our taxes, and love our country. And all we want to know is, where are the people's bailout? Why didn't anyone in the Democratic controlled Congress (And it has been that way for 5 years now) listen to the math and economic experts when they said, "give the money to the people, not the businesses!" and give us say $50,000 to $100,000 each? We could have paid off our homes, cars, credit cards, prostitutes. Bought new cars, new houses, new prostitutes! Taken a vacation, bought a lot of lotto tickets, anything we wanted! Especially taken care of our kids better, put away some so they can go to college, and most importantly, gotten bailed out of debt by the government that works for us. Remember that, you work for us, we do not work for you. Businesses got bailed out, just so they could take lavish trips, give out bonuses, and tell the people they should be thanking..."no!" I read in Time magazine that before the economy fell, we the consumer accounted for 70% of the Gross Domestic Product. But now we have become a non-factor due to the fact that all the companies we have bailed out, will not help out the people who gave them the money. And we didn't even have a say in if they got a bailout, or which companies would get the money. And the government never outlined how it will be paid back. So it's not a loan, it's a gift of sorts. No paying it forward this time I guess though. Please help the people that you represent, not the companies who pave the road with greed. On a final note I would like to say that your health care plan scares me. But that does not mean it is a bad thing. No matter if people support it or disagree with it, we the people are scared. Quit trying to rush it through, make sure it's right. And for the love of Pete, if it is supposed to be good enough for us, then we expect Congress, and yourself to use it too. After all, none of you are better than us in the end of it all. I would like better health care, but like what I have as well. My grandmother could use more help. So I hope you do pass a plan that will work for everyone, including yourself. Thank you for your time and good luck with your future plans. I wish you well Mr. President.

David Bourne
Aurora, IL.
AmericaReBourne.blogspot.com