Editor,

Everybody is hearing on the news about how the banks are suffering and that the car companies are struggling. You see how these corporate bigwigs and bank CEOs are in Washington looking for financial bail-outs. Anybody notice how this all began when the gas prices went through the roof? That forced a lot of Americans to put more of their hard-earned cash in their gas tanks instead of on their mortgages or buying new cars. Hey which is more important gas in the car to go to work or buying a new car? You can let the mortgage go because you can always pay rent as long as you have a job.

Then, there comes the cut back on general spending because more money was tied up in buying fuel for the family car. Department stores start going under. Well, then people start losing their jobs because of the lack of business and that leaves even less people to spend money. Seems to be that everything hinges on whether we the common people of America has the money to spend at these businesses and banks and mortgages so, where is our piece of the bail-out pie? Those of us that had to choose between gas and job over spending and supporting the housing industry and car industry should have been first on the bail-out list. Yet we give bail-outs to CEOs that use the money to make payments on corporate jets, company limos, and country club fees.

Wake up Washington!

Kevin Vance

Rock Hill, S.C.