Editorial: Uncertainty ahead

The $787 billion stimulus package was passed, and President Barack Obama has a $75 billion plan to prevent home foreclosures. Some people are talking about bank nationalization. Critics argue that Obama is leading us down the path of socialism. Supporters say he is in the process of saving our country. There are economists who agree with his actions and economists who oppose them.

Unemployment in this country could rise to 9 percent this year, and nobody really knows what to do about the economic crisis in the United States. Only time will tell if President Obama is doing the right thing.

One can go back and forth on the actions being taken to save our shrinking economy. But the money being thrown around by our government is evidence of our country's desperation. Clearly, we are at a loss.

For years we have soared on the enthusiasm of an economy that appeared to be made of concrete and fundamentally unbreakable, a housing market that could not fail, a way of life that would not falter. But that enthusiasm has given way to a reality, one that cannot be easily dealt with.

We have to face the fact that our government — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — has no real idea of how to get us out of this mess. Some people hold onto ideology, some think "outside the box," but none know how to deal with a situation that they have never been through before. That is the nature of the new — it cannot be handled the same as the old.

So, we wait and watch. We are all in this together, like a crowd of people lumped into a box and left without light. We will feel our way along the walls looking for the crack of the door that signifies a way out. We are led by a new president and his political party, both claiming that they bring the light. Hopefully, we shall see.

Stafford County Sun editorials represent the opinion of the managing editor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on his page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily the Stafford County Sun.