Wyoming County, NY is a rural county approximately halfway between Buffalo, NY, and Rochester, NY.

We have 600 square miles of land in Wyoming County with an estimated population of 43,000 people-our average per capita personal income is less than 23,000 dollars. In Wyoming County itself-we have an estimated 6400 paid employees. This means  the people that work within the county-there are many self employed individuals as well, and this number does not reflect our educational employees. It also does not reflect our agricultural market as that is the main source of income in Wyoming County. In fact our YTD employment growth is -1.1%.

Of the 63 counties in the state of New York-we are number 58-for employment growth. Wyoming County supports 31 small rural communities.

There are approximately 16,00 owned homes here-34 of which are being foreclosed upon as I write this.

Wyoming County has always been a bit more repressed that our surrounding counties. Since the economy as a whole has become very sluggish-we are suffering terribly. Though our median household income has remained flat-our prices like every one else's in NY as well as the country have risen at an unprecedented rate.

My own family of six also survives on approximately 25,000 dollars per year. My spouse has a Bachelors Degree in Business Managment. As there is little to no businesses to mangage in Wyoming County he works locally as a stock person.

If gasoline was affordable-perhaps he could work in Rochester or Buffalo-each about an hour from where we  live. It is not-not affordable enough to travel 90 miles round trip each day. Our mortgage did not lower in accordance to our struggling economy. Our electric rates have risen, our taxes have risen as well, we will not be able to afford to fill our fuel tank this winter-as we were not last year.

I have been unemployed for a year myself-that is not to indicate that I have not been searchig.

I have written to our governor,our congress, our senate, even at least one presidential candidate to ask them to give western NY a bit of research.

Today our present President is asking for us to "allow" a 700 billion dollar bailout to help restablish credit to the American people. We have no credit. This country is living paycheck to paycheck as it stands. We are trying to hold onto our homes, keep our utilities, feed our children. We are as "credited" as possible. If this bill is passed-as I am confident it will be-Wall Street is a very powerful entity in this country-aren't we simply putting off the inevitable?

Sooner or later that credit will come due as well. This package is not offering to address our present situation-it is asking that we lay it on our next president to work through.

I feel that if that kind of money is being passed through the government-perhaps it should be used to create and keep employment-incentives to keep manufacturers from leaving our country; educational opportunities for today's unskilled, and unemployed. Better medical benefit availability for the working poor. It could be used to research and enact "green" policies, thus creating more jobs.

Bush says that the passing of this bill will prevent economic damage to your community. Does he mean-more economic damage that an employment growth rate of -1.1% ? Or less than 2% of each counties' homes will be foreclosed on? Does it mean in a community where the average individual income does not exceeed 23,00 dollars will not have to pay increased land taxes, school taxes, county, and village taxes? Our taxes alone are approximately 10% or better of our annual gross salary. Our mortgage is about forty percent of our monthly gross, our grocery bill is another 25% or better....I have not even touched upon utility cost. What possible extended credit could I begin to afford to pay off? When would I be able to begin?

I think we need a major economic policy overhaul-that does not include extending more unaffordable credit to the citizens or to Wall Street. Where is the insurance that this could even begin to be paid back? And, when? Are my kids going to be paying it back?

What is going on across this country that we could even begin to contemplate an extension of credit to a badly finacially challenged group of people.

Doesn't Bush, and like minded individuals claim that extending credit to people who could not prove that they would be able to pay it off-is what began our present mortgage crisis?