The so-called economic experts claimed that the federal bailout was necessary to restore order to the financial markets. Unfortunately, these experts were wrong and the stock market has dropped steadily ever since the bailout was announced.

Now, we are hearing demands for more bailouts. According to reports, at their meeting yesterday, incoming President Barack Obama urged President Bush to approve a bailout for the automobile industry. This bailout may exceed $50 billion and include an expensive rescue for the healthcare plans of the automakers. The automakers should not receive a bailout for the problem is that the Big 3 has not been making cars that the American public wants to buy. There are no calls for bailouts of Honda, Toyota or Nissan because the foreign automakers have been more successful in responding to the marketplace.

The CEO of General Motors wants to offer the government preferred stock and limit executive pay, but he is not willing to resign for his inept leadership of the giant company. General Motors lost $2.5 billion in the third quarter and more losses are expected. General Motors should face the consequences like every other business. The taxpayers cannot be expected to save every company in trouble.

When will the madness end? Already, we have seen the initial $700 billion bailout package grow. Taxpayers bailed out Bear Stearns and AIG and now we learn that AIG wants more money. Despite the fiscal calamity facing AIG, executives lavishly spent $343,000 at a posh Arizona resort. It is obscene and needs to stop. Unfortunately, AIG will receive more money without the approval of Congress or the American people.

All of these bailouts only add to the ever growing debt of this nation. The federal debt of this nation is now so large that the debt clock in New York City has run out of digits. Our debt now exceeds $10 trillion and is growing with amazing speed. Today, on my Ringside radio program (WGSO 990 AM, M-F, 7-11 a.m.); I talked to economic developer and expert analyst Ernie Reilly, who claimed that the problem with the economy is being made much worse by all of the bailouts. So, our leaders are not solving the crisis, but deepening the fiscal hole that we are facing.

The entities that are failing need to fail. Corrective action in the marketplace needs to occur; otherwise we are on the fast road to government control of the economy. Sadly, we are moving toward a socialist system in which citizens are wards of the state, the government controls the economy and our liberties are being relinquished rapidly. This is not the vision of our Founding Fathers, instead we are looking more and more like the Socialist states of Western Europe.