Will those creditors suffer a fate that is as devastating to their own lives if they don't get as much money as they want?

I am uncertain. Do you know what banks are in question? Do you know how many American's 401K's, IRA's, or other savings or retirement accounts are invested in those banks? I honestly don't know the specifics to any of those questions, any more than you know the specifics as to how many retirees will end up on the street due to a Chrysler bankruptcy.

I would remind you that its not a question of what the creditors want, but rather what they are owed. The banks who lent millions of dollars to Chrysler have just as valid a claim to their money as the retirees who deferred payment in anticipation of a viable pension plan do to theirs. As I have repeatedly said, we are facing a situation where both claims can't be honored, so we are going to have to come up with a solution that nobody likes but everyone can live with. The bankruptcy court was specifically established to come up with those kinds of solutions, and there is no legitimate reason to avoid it. The desperate attempts that people are making to avoid bankruptcy are nothing more than desperate attempts to avoid acknowledging the truth about the situation.

If so, you would see that, though they listened, nodded in agreement, and blamed goverment for our problems, the Republican administrations of the 80s and 90s didn't actually do anything that he would have recommended, and that the one President who did come somewhat close to following his recommendations - Bill Clinton - presided over an uprecedented economic boom.

....and that is to jettison both their religious right wing and their law and order wing and adopt the fully consistent platform of small government presented last year by Ron Paul. If they do this, they may find new life as a party, and win over a lot of new supporters - many of them young, creative, and tech savvy. If they don't they will probably die the slow death that Joan is predicting. But I wouldn't count on them taking that latter path into oblivion.

Gary Johnson - Ron Paul supporter, proponent of drug legalization, and former governor of New Mexico - is said to be considering a run for the GOP nomination in 2012. Keep an eye on him. He just may save his party.

There are lots of mid-level jobs, not quite as scary as a professional position but a bit more accomplished than fast food. A temp agency is an easy way to get into one of those. Once you've got one of those mid-level jobs under your belt, interviewing elsewhere for a better one will probably get easier.

I got my first post-college job through Apple One. It was pushing papers at a State Farm Insurance processing center, and paid $8.00 an hour (minimum wage at the time was $4.20). Up until that point, the only place I had worked was at Pizza Hut, and the prospect of having actual authority and responsibility was quite intimidating to me.

Once you've got a job, try looking on Craigslist for some sort of a group or social activity that looks fun or interesting. If I may make my own suggestion here, try looking for an adult dodgeball group. My own experience in that regard has been quite rewarding.

Whatever else you do, please do look into getting a counselor or therapist, and don't listen to the bullies who have posted here. As another Salonite once said on another thread, you have probably been telling yourself everything that they say about you for years now. Its probably on an endless loop in your head, and your first step toward happiness will be to shut it off. Seeing a counselor and taking some practical steps toward employment and self-sufficiency is how you are going to do that.

You have taken what letter writer has said, added some wild, elaborate, and completely unfounded speculation of your own based on a few offhanded comments in the letter itself, and created a horrible imaginary person that nobody would like. You then proceed to tear apart this imaginary persona you have created. This isn't the first time I have seen you do this, so I am guessing that it is a pattern with you.

There is a word for this style of argumentation. Its called creating a strawman, and it is indicative of poor critical thought and a lack of an actual legitimate argument on the part of the person who employs it.