"Going Laura Ingalls."

Today, on Fox News (yes, I watch Evil Fox News. Hahahahaha. Or maybe, MUHahahahaa) they were talking about "what bailout is next?"

And someone raised the idea of a bailout of credit card debt.

No. Wrong. Fail. Bad. Do Not Want.

How much more could the Bush administration, in its waning days, and the Congress, piss off the American people? Because seriously - I didn't like the bank bailout, I won't like an automaker bailout, but I can kind of see the arguments for them.

But bailing people out because they bought things they could not afford?

And yes, I realize: some people put medical and other "emergency" expenses on credit cards. I know someone who has done it because, "No one would give me a loan in time for this." And I sympathize with that situation. But by and large, I suspect the excessive credit card debt lots of people have is simple bad planning, and simple greed (gotta have that new purse NOW).

So what I "hear" with "credit card bailout" is: "AH HA HA HA HA! You CHUMPS who scrimped and saved to buy stuff! You fools who paid off your cards in full each month! You IDIOTS who believed it's better not to be in debt, even if it means not having things you want....You will eat it now! You will eat a big fat helping of Bad Debt Pie, because we want YOU to bail out the people who tanned their fannies on the beach in the Bahamas when you stayed home because you didn't think you could "afford" a fancy vacation. You will pay for the new boat of some guy who'd never even think to invite you out for a ride! You'll pay for the clothes of the woman who sneers at you because you wear a wardrobe that's not up-to-the-minute. And you'll LIKE it!"

So, as I passed through various stages of rage, I thought: what can I do to protest this?

My first thought was to cut up all my credit cards (if this came to pass), write a very strongly worded and to-the-point letter explaining why I was now opting out of the consumer credit system in this country, and send the shredded cards plus letter to each of the originating agencies.

Only problem with that? If there's a real emergency, like I'm traveling to meetings and get stranded somewhere, I'd be screwed. I'd probably wind up sleeping in my car without a credit card to pay for a hotel room.

So instead, I came up with another plan.

You know how some people have threatened to protest the (supposed) massive Obama tax increase by "going John Galt" - by quitting their job and trying to take part in a barter economy as much as possible?

Well, I could never "go John Galt" because I love my job and a lot of its value to me is far beyond what's deposited in my bank account the end of each month.

But I can "go Laura Ingalls." You remember the Little House books? How the family in there lived by making do as much as possible? By taking rare trips to the general store for the necessities? How they were pretty self-sufficient and rarely (as far as I remember) bought anything on credit? (In fact, I've read that Laura Ingalls Wilder actually grew up to be somewhat of a proponent of Randian philosophy, so perhaps there's a link to 'going John Galt.')

Anyway. If I am required to bail out people who spent unwisely with my tax dollars - especially people who had lots of "fun" with money they didn't have, where I constrained myself to having "fun" within the boundaries of my budget, I will "go Laura Ingalls."

I will stop buying. Oh, of course, I will still have to buy groceries - I live in town, so I can't get myself a milch cow and some chickens, and I'm far to busy with my paid job to raise enough beans and corn to feed myself over the winter. But I will stop buying clothing, shoes (other than to replace those that wear out), books (I already have something like 8500, so I should be good there), fabric and yarn (again, I have what is sometimes referred to as SABLE - stash acquired beyond life expectancy, so again, I should be good there). Everything beyond food, medicine, cleaning supplies, and toiletries - gone. As little spending as possible. And the savings chunked into the safest but highest-interest account I can find.

I won't go shopping - no more trips to Boutiqueville, as much as that may pain me.

In other words: I will pull out as much as possible from the consumer system in this country. (I do reserve the right to support a few small businesspeople with the occasional purchase. And I will still buy gifts for the people I love; I can't quite not do that).

I also won't eat out. Instead, I'll prepare food at home, which is cheaper and probably more healthful.

And I realize no one will care about my little protest. Or they'll think I'm a total crank and lunatic. But that doesn't matter. I am so disgusted by the idea that the money I am trying to put aside for my retirement - money I am trying to save up against, say, the day I need to put new windows in my house - money I might give to my church or the Salvation Army or Heifer Project or Smile Train - money that I MIGHT want to use for something FUN for myself - that some of that is going to go to pay down the debt of people who spent irresponsibly, who, as I said, had "fun" beyond their budget, while I, like a chump, budgeted carefully and avoided debt like my dad taught me to.

So if Congress tells me to bend over and take this new "bailout," I'm gonna opt out. I'll find as many cheap or free sources of entertainment as I can. I might even buy clothes (when I need to replace clothes) at resale shops instead of giving my money to the department stores, who, with their advertising, indirectly affected the culture of excessive and unwise spending. I might even figure out how to barter for stuff I want - like offer to knit mittens for someone who spins yarn in return for enough yarn for a pair for me.

This is my "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it any more" moment.

(I should probably copy this to a letter and send it to all my Congresscritters.)