Three Hundred Million Angry Americans, a play.

Scene 1: The most tumultuous financial environment in the United States since the Great Depression. Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson, in the style of the cartoon character Bullwinkle, attempts to explain lame duck president George. W. Bush’s bailout plan for Wall St. In the style of master magician Harry Houdini, Congress performs a “Now you see the money, now you don’t.” The press becomes more demonstrative in their pursuit of lucid fact about the bailout.
Scene 2: The New York subway immediately before the Thanksgiving holidays. Newsflash! “A new terrorist act is likely to occur over the Thanksgiving holidays in the New York subway.”
Scene 3: No more media attention over the bailout.
Scene 4: Mumbai, India, halfway around the world. Terrorists allegedly from Pakistan storm the financial district of the city killing hundreds and destroying city architecture.
Scene 5: Absolutely no media attention over the bailout, because hundreds of Americans have died overseas demanding immediate media attention.
Scene 5: Three United States automaker CEO’s plead with Congress for a bailout.
Scene 6: Nancy Pelosi leads a coalition to reject Detroit’s bailout.
Scene 7: Flashback to the original bailout. The House of Representatives vehemently rejects a financial bailout of Wall Street in a vote in Congress.
Scene 8: Two days later, Congress overwhelmingly passes a financial bailout of Wall Street.

Denouement:

It seems America and her leaders agree Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors have dropped the ball. They, unlike huge Wall Street lenders, do not deserve to be bailed out financially by our federal government. Certainly we as Americans have done our part to keep Detroit on track by buying their gas guzzling status symbols. We as a nation did not have the self-discipline to wean ourselves off such beasts, nor did we have the wisdom to realize that sub-prime mortgages were a dupe by the financial industry. All of those ridiculous credit card offers that began showing up in our mailboxes in the late l990’s were just a fluke. Who would know our salaries could not keep up with tuition costs for our children, the rising cost of real estate, and inflation in general? We as Americans, with our failed American educations, just continued to nibble on the hooks of crooked corporate America. Now, a decade too late, Congress decides to make examples of these automakers. Why is that? Is it because the George W. Bush administration has done everything in their power behind closed doors to repeal any kind of regulation for corporate America opening the door for wrong-doing? Is this the first time in eight long years Congress has had a foot to stand on? Quack-a-tude has reached new proportions as America’s money has been commandeered and hidden by a lame duck president, before the balance of power is handed over to America’s first African-American president. Why does this feel like the l970’s? Could nothing be more seedy, more conniving, and more evil?