Bail Out Plan
By Ana Kamila Quijano
The US government has recently injected $20 billion into Citigroup, a big banking group that was hard-hit by the recent economic crisis. This amount is part of the $700 billion rescue plan for the ailing US (and world) economy. I cannot help but think how efficient the government has been in rescuing so many of these financial giants. Last week, Citigroup announced the laying off of about 52,000 of its global workforce (retrieved from NPR.org). Although this number might be staggering, I would like to make some comparisons. I would like to compare the response of the US government to this economic crisis to its response to the humanitarian crisis that we have observed in 2005, namely Hurricane Katrina.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, there was no rescue plan already in place that enabled agencies to channel their efforts in making the best decisions in response to the crisis. An estimate of one million people were displaced and redistributed by Hurricane Katrina across the United States, making it the largest diaspora in the history of the United States (Ladd, Marszalek & Gill 2006). Yet, even before Citigroup announced its troubled state, there was already a $700 billion reserve ready to rescue financial giants.
No doubt that the bail out plan will help alleviate some negative effects of the economic crisis, such as the loss of thousands of jobs. However, I would like to highlight the clear influence of wealth and power over the resources of the Federal government. A lot of tax money is readily available for those in financial corporations. However, only a little is prepared for the ordinary citizens, whether their numbers far outweigh those in the financial industry.
With Obama’s new administration, there is great hope that the poor will slowly achieve the attention and support that they need from the government. It is our duty, as citizens of the United States and the world to make sure that this happens. Help for those in need can be achieved through several ways: 1. Be active in legislative processes. Learn about the issues affecting the poor and write to your legislators about your opinions, urging them to take action. 2. Donate to good causes and urge your friends to do the same 3. Volunteer and help the rebuilding efforts still going on in the greater New Orleans area. Here is a website that can give you more information about volunteering: http://www.longhaulvolunteers.org/
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