Laugh line of the day
From Bush’s address to the nation tonight, urging taxpayers to fork over a trillion dollars to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to distribute to whichever failing banks he chooses, at home or abroad, in order to rescue them from their bottomless pit of toxic debt:
“I’m a strong believer in free enterprise.”
***
Full text:
ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION
State Floor
9:01 P.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT: Good evening. This is an extraordinary period for America’s economy. Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt anxiety about their finances and their future. I understand their worry and their frustration. We’ve seen triple-digit swings in the stock market. Major financial institutions have teetered on the edge of collapse, and some have failed. As uncertainty has grown, many banks have restricted lending. Credit markets have frozen. And families and businesses have found it harder to borrow money.
We’re in the midst of a serious financial crisis, and the federal government is responding with decisive action. We’ve boosted confidence in money market mutual funds, and acted to prevent major investors from intentionally driving down stocks for their own personal gain.
Most importantly, my administration is working with Congress to address the root cause behind much of the instability in our markets. Financial assets related to home mortgages have lost value during the housing decline. And the banks holding these assets have restricted credit. As a result, our entire economy is in danger. So I’ve proposed that the federal government reduce the risk posed by these troubled assets, and supply urgently-needed money so banks and other financial institutions can avoid collapse and resume lending.
This rescue effort is not aimed at preserving any individual company or industry — it is aimed at preserving America’s overall economy. It will help American consumers and businesses get credit to meet their daily needs and create jobs. And it will help send a signal to markets around the world that America’s financial system is back on track.
I know many Americans have questions tonight: How did we reach this point in our economy? How will the solution I’ve proposed work? And what does this mean for your financial future? These are good questions, and they deserve clear answers.
First, how did our economy reach this point?
Well, most economists agree that the problems we are witnessing today developed over a long period of time. For more than a decade, a massive amount of money flowed into the United States from investors abroad, because our country is an attractive and secure place to do business. This large influx of money to U.S. banks and financial institutions — along with low interest rates — made it easier for Americans to get credit. These developments allowed more families to borrow money for cars and homes and college tuition — some for the first time. They allowed more entrepreneurs to get loans to start new businesses and create jobs.
Unfortunately, there were also some serious negative consequences, particularly in the housing market. Easy credit — combined with the faulty assumption that home values would continue to rise — led to excesses and bad decisions. Many mortgage lenders approved loans for borrowers without carefully examining their ability to pay. Many borrowers took out loans larger than they could afford, assuming that they could sell or refinance their homes at a higher price later on.
Optimism about housing values also led to a boom in home construction. Eventually the number of new houses exceeded the number of people willing to buy them. And with supply exceeding demand, housing prices fell. And this created a problem: Borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages who had been planning to sell or refinance their homes at a higher price were stuck with homes worth less than expected — along with mortgage payments they could not afford. As a result, many mortgage holders began to default.
These widespread defaults had effects far beyond the housing market. See, in today’s mortgage industry, home loans are often packaged together, and converted into financial products called “mortgage-backed securities.” These securities were sold to investors around the world. Many investors assumed these securities were trustworthy, and asked few questions about their actual value. Two of the leading purchasers of mortgage-backed securities were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Because these companies were chartered by Congress, many believed they were guaranteed by the federal government. This allowed them to borrow enormous sums of money, fuel the market for questionable investments, and put our financial system at risk.
The decline in the housing market set off a domino effect across our economy. When home values declined, borrowers defaulted on their mortgages, and investors holding mortgage-backed securities began to incur serious losses. Before long, these securities became so unreliable that they were not being bought or sold. Investment banks such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers found themselves saddled with large amounts of assets they could not sell. They ran out of the money needed to meet their immediate obligations. And they faced imminent collapse. Other banks found themselves in severe financial trouble. These banks began holding on to their money, and lending dried up, and the gears of the American financial system began grinding to a halt.
With the situation becoming more precarious by the day, I faced a choice: To step in with dramatic government action, or to stand back and allow the irresponsible actions of some to undermine the financial security of all.
I’m a strong believer in free enterprise. So my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention. I believe companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to go out of business. Under normal circumstances, I would have followed this course. But these are not normal circumstances. The market is not functioning properly. There’s been a widespread loss of confidence. And major sectors of America’s financial system are at risk of shutting down.
The government’s top economic experts warn that without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic, and a distressing scenario would unfold:
More banks could fail, including some in your community. The stock market would drop even more, which would reduce the value of your retirement account. The value of your home could plummet. Foreclosures would rise dramatically. And if you own a business or a farm, you would find it harder and more expensive to get credit. More businesses would close their doors, and millions of Americans could lose their jobs. Even if you have good credit history, it would be more difficult for you to get the loans you need to buy a car or send your children to college. And ultimately, our country could experience a long and painful recession.
Fellow citizens: We must not let this happen. I appreciate the work of leaders from both parties in both houses of Congress to address this problem — and to make improvements to the proposal my administration sent to them. There is a spirit of cooperation between Democrats and Republicans, and between Congress and this administration. In that spirit, I’ve invited Senators McCain and Obama to join congressional leaders of both parties at the White House tomorrow to help speed our discussions toward a bipartisan bill.
I know that an economic rescue package will present a tough vote for many members of Congress. It is difficult to pass a bill that commits so much of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money. I also understand the frustration of responsible Americans who pay their mortgages on time, file their tax returns every April 15th, and are reluctant to pay the cost of excesses on Wall Street. But given the situation we are facing, not passing a bill now would cost these Americans much more later.
Many Americans are asking: How would a rescue plan work?
After much discussion, there is now widespread agreement on the principles such a plan would include. It would remove the risk posed by the troubled assets — including mortgage-backed securities — now clogging the financial system. This would free banks to resume the flow of credit to American families and businesses. Any rescue plan should also be designed to ensure that taxpayers are protected. It should welcome the participation of financial institutions large and small. It should make certain that failed executives do not receive a windfall from your tax dollars. It should establish a bipartisan board to oversee the plan’s implementation. And it should be enacted as soon as possible.
In close consultation with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and SEC Chairman Chris Cox, I announced a plan on Friday. First, the plan is big enough to solve a serious problem. Under our proposal, the federal government would put up to $700 billion taxpayer dollars on the line to purchase troubled assets that are clogging the financial system. In the short term, this will free up banks to resume the flow of credit to American families and businesses. And this will help our economy grow.
Second, as markets have lost confidence in mortgage-backed securities, their prices have dropped sharply. Yet the value of many of these assets will likely be higher than their current price, because the vast majority of Americans will ultimately pay off their mortgages. The government is the one institution with the patience and resources to buy these assets at their current low prices and hold them until markets return to normal. And when that happens, money will flow back to the Treasury as these assets are sold. And we expect that much, if not all, of the tax dollars we invest will be paid back.
A final question is: What does this mean for your economic future?
The primary steps — purpose of the steps I have outlined tonight is to safeguard the financial security of American workers and families and small businesses. The federal government also continues to enforce laws and regulations protecting your money. The Treasury Department recently offered government insurance for money market mutual funds. And through the FDIC, every savings account, checking account, and certificate of deposit is insured by the federal government for up to $100,000. The FDIC has been in existence for 75 years, and no one has ever lost a penny on an insured deposit — and this will not change.
Once this crisis is resolved, there will be time to update our financial regulatory structures. Our 21st century global economy remains regulated largely by outdated 20th century laws. Recently, we’ve seen how one company can grow so large that its failure jeopardizes the entire financial system.
Earlier this year, Secretary Paulson proposed a blueprint that would modernize our financial regulations. For example, the Federal Reserve would be authorized to take a closer look at the operations of companies across the financial spectrum and ensure that their practices do not threaten overall financial stability. There are other good ideas, and members of Congress should consider them. As they do, they must ensure that efforts to regulate Wall Street do not end up hampering our economy’s ability to grow.
In the long run, Americans have good reason to be confident in our economic strength. Despite corrections in the marketplace and instances of abuse, democratic capitalism is the best system ever devised. It has unleashed the talents and the productivity, and entrepreneurial spirit of our citizens. It has made this country the best place in the world to invest and do business. And it gives our economy the flexibility and resilience to absorb shocks, adjust, and bounce back.
Our economy is facing a moment of great challenge. But we’ve overcome tough challenges before — and we will overcome this one. I know that Americans sometimes get discouraged by the tone in Washington, and the seemingly endless partisan struggles. Yet history has shown that in times of real trial, elected officials rise to the occasion. And together, we will show the world once again what kind of country America is — a nation that tackles problems head on, where leaders come together to meet great tests, and where people of every background can work hard, develop their talents, and realize their dreams.
Thank you for listening. May God bless you.
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Why is this such a crisis? The US Money Supply (M2) was around $7.7 Trillion in September. $700 billion represents 9% of M2 or one out of 11 dollars.
Of course, not all that money will disappear in an instant. And even if they could the government couldn’t dump $700 billion into the markets overnight. So lets say they plan to dump $350 billion into the markets in 6 months. That is only 5.5% of the money supply.
Is somebody going to tell me that the US economy will go into a GREAT DEPRESSION over 5.5% of M2?
What are they talking about! This makes no sense. 90% of stocks were hit in 1929. Now we are worried about 5.5% of the M2? This is NUTS. They are either lying to us or they are scamming us. There are no other options!
This bailout is ridiculous.
Here are the type of people (Muslim terrorists most likely) the government wants to bail out:
http://www.nbc4.com/news/17550162/detail.html?dl=headlineclick
The government is taking over major institutions? What could go wrong?
Not one UH or UM…
I’ll be back later with something more interesting.
Wow. If that isn’t glossing it over… Thanks for dumbing it down for the electorate, Mr. President. Now that the Sesame Street version is complete, let’s have an adult talk about what REALLY happened.
BTW, nice summons of BHO to the White House. Let’s see him show leadership (read: “squirm”) on how to get out of that…
Stop with the lies about believing in free enterprise; Congressional members monkeyed with the mortgage industry to allow millions of sorry people to obtain mortgages they had no realistic ability to keep up with and now you want to leave us holding the bag; Now that’s the truth we all know it to be; Congress had better not poke the pooch on this one.
I hear Bert and Ernie are petrified. But, Statler and Waldorf seem to be taking the whole think in stride.
This is a scam. The government could afford to do NOTHING over the past 16 years as we dug the hole. NOW we have to do something TODAY!
No, I am NOT buying it!
Off topic but laughlicious:
Obama salute derived from Hitler
The total US mortgage debt is about $15 trillion. The total US derivative market (securities created out of primarily mortgage debt) is about $180 Trillion.
In 2003, total mortgage originations in the US approached $4 trillion (we never had a $1 trillion mortgage market prior to the year 2000). Mortgage debt is counted in our GDP. That $4 trillion in mortgage debt created in 2003 was almost 70% of our 2003 GDP. We don’t produce much in the way of tangible goods here, but we lead the world in debt production!
Unfortunately, the money supply is a straw man in the current situation. If the bond markets (secured debt) collapse, the institutions and retirement plans holding that debt as assets will become insolvent. The secured debt is funded by deposits in banks, insurance premiums and mutual funds. If that debt evaporates, so do the deposits. Banks will become the responsibility of the FDIC, retirement plans will become the responsibility of the PBGC, and insolvent funds will become the recepients of the SIPC. Insurers will be unable to pay claims, and will be taken over by the states where the insurers are domiciled, and the states will be saddled with a good share of the claim responsibility.
If something is not done to avert this, the federal and state governments will eat the losses on the back end.
With liquidity dried up, the dollar will drop like a rock, inflation will skyrocket, jobs will be eliminated at a record pace, and home values will be pennies on the dollar.
I don’t disagree with Michelle very often, but I do disagree with her on this matter. Something needs to happen, and what that something looks like is what we need to be addressing. The American taxpayer does not need to pay for a bailout, but we need to structure any rescue package as a secured obligation of the actors in this little play. People need to be held accountable and prosecuted for their roles in this fiasco, and thaat includes members of Congress who dreadfully failed the American people. And our vaunted leadership in both houses needs to IMMEDIATELY fire and replace every single member of the banking and finance committees, not only to avoid having the same people who created this atrocity from overseeing the solution, but to keep them out of the loop and avoid the appearance of impropriety to the American people.
Yes, this entire bailout is a scam. I was furious listening to Glenn Beck claim he has insider info that the economy will fail if we don’t bail out the fraudsters. He says it will be an airplane going down and we can only take bare necessities of the plane, like on Lost. Beck is a moron. Telling everyone he has invested into $895-ounce gold, etc and that he wants us to “prepare” our families by not puchasing expensive items like LCD tv’s. What a douche bag. He’s now the 3 millionth most listened to RINO on the radio. No bailout for illegal aliens, Democrat extortionists and RINO investors. The economy will be fine. I buy property and have been competing against many many others in bids for foreclosed homes and land. Capitalism is working itself out just fine, thank you.
George Soros and his ilk pulled the levers they control to create this “crisis” at this particular moment. Yes, the problem started in the Carter adminstration (Communist) was made worse during the Clinton adminstration (Communist), has continued to grow and is a very real problem, but the “freeze” in the credit markets at this particular time is a planned event. It’s a Hegelian Dialectic to make people panic and do something they would not otherwise do: turn the Secretary of the Treasury into “KING” of our entire economy:
Tell me, how is that any different from this?
There is no way that Socialist plan is the best answer. President Bush is foolishly trusting Paulson, believing that this plan is the only answer to the problem and that inaction will result in another Great Depression.
Newt Gingrich has the right plan for how to “workout” the problem, not “bailout” the problem.
When bad behavior creates a problem, you DON’T REWARD THE BAD BEHAVIOR!
You punish the bad behavior and encourage the right behavior.
The Democrats are the ones who consistenty had the bad behavior, and Paulson’s plan would reward them! With Paulson in the drivers’ seat with $1 Trillion, he gets to manipulate the market by rewarding Democrat-run companies (like Goldman Sachs) and not rewarding Republican-run companies. The aftershocks of this move would be enormous and long-lasting.
Yes there is a big problem to address. But you don’t let the people who created the problem (Dodd, Obama, etc.) be in charge of railroading through “the solution”.
Newt led the “Drill Here, Drill Now” movement, and WON!
Newt has the right answers yet again, and Republicans on Capitol Hill should be following Newt’s lead, not Secretary Paulson’s lead (even when it is echoed by President Bush).
Jim, #9. Thanks for the info, but how does 700 billion fix a $180 Trillion dollar problem? What am I missing?
Of course none of the 4 letter organizations you mentioned will be able to cover even a small percentage of the funds they “insure.” And this episode will only prove that none of the insurance agencies can actually meet their financial obligations in a crisis like this.
I am glad to see you don’t feel the taxpayer needs to be left with the bill but so far that is all people have talked about. And the bill has grown larger and larger over the past two or three days.
Government created it and government is likely to do whatever they can to mask and paper over the problem for as long as they can. And they is no guarantee this 700 or 1000 billion dollar exercise will fix the problem.
This will never happen outside of the electorate’s (unlikely) willingness to vote them out of office. Now, given the relatively sunny picture the President painted tonight, we’ll have to play the hand we’re dealt. An unpopular Congress always is the fault of another district.
As far as the appearance impropriety, it’s a little late to worry about that. You see, Congress has never cared about such appearances.
Prison to everyone who has been a part of this! NO exceptions.
Alan Colmes should curl up crawl in a hole and …well …croak.
He’s embarrassing himself terribly in front of Jack Welsh right now.
A Genius and a Fool.
Yeah, I am starting to think the Queen of Hearts was right. “Off with their heads!” And we need not be too discriminating with whose head goes first. There are lots of necks worthy of a close trim.
If this passes, America has jumped the shark.
It’s not a trillion. It’s only “$700 billion.” Now why would Michelle say something so frivolous.
…
……
Oh. Right.
Karl Marx must be turning over in his grave.
I had an interesting email. Divide the $700 billion and give to each legal American 18 yrs and over. Of course, Uncle Sam will receive his share from taxes. The rest can be spent on paying off loans, homes, buying cars, etc.
I like it.
Per usual, the government’s estimates are about as accurate as a Joe Biden speech.
The price always starts out a little low, doesn’t it?
No, TXGator. I suspect they are right on the money, within 5000% or so….
As they say, “Good enough for government work.”
I don’t see anything here to laugh about.
We’ll know if Hank Paulson doesn’t have a clue what he is talking about if and only if the pinky on his left hand bends in some bizarre direction.
Kill the bailout. I’m ready for a “reset.” Let the chips fall where they may.
Here is what I would like to do;
Put Chris Dodd (D)and Barney Frank (D) each in a separate jail cell.
Tell them to start telling the entire truth.
Tell them if they lie ONCE, they do twenty years in prison.
The first one completely telling the whole story does half the time the other does in jail.
If both tell the truth in just one morning-4 hours, tomorrow, we’ll talk about home detention instead of prison.
Yeah, right. If this bailout is approved then you’re no longer a strong believer in “free enterprise.” This is socialized failure at its worst. This isn’t Venezuela or even Europe.
Stop the insanity already.
Red Pill…
Bush looked into Paulson’s eyes and saw only good intentions..
how can you say that
/kidding..
The market cannot function at all if the government decides that loans must be made when the bankers know that they loans cannot be paid back!
It is government interference in the markets that IS the problem. Stop interfering in the markets and the problem goes away.
blockquote>On September 24th, 2008 at 11:04 pm, WarEagle82 said:
Jim, #9. Thanks for the info, but how does 700 billion fix a $180 Trillion dollar problem? <
Right now, the entire market is frozen – the bad as well as the good. Most of that $180 trillion is pure vapor (legal “bets” on wheter loans in a mortgage pool will pay off faster than projected or slower than projected). I would not expect that crap to be eligible for any relief. But the good loans and bad loans are all stuck – there is no market for them anymore.
What should be done is to have the government “make the market” by creating an outlet for the stalled loans to get the credit flowing again. Think of it like an enema – an elephant enema.
The loans will be bought by the US at a deep discount. Now, most of these loans will pay, and those that do not pay will still have value through the foreclosure process. As long as the government does not screw around with the foreclosure process, and as long as the discount amount is sufficient to carry foreclosure costs, market declines in real estate and the expenses of administration, there should be no loss.
All this money is intended to do – all it can do, is to jump start the motor again. Once everything is back in motion, we will hopefully have revamped regulations to prevent this from happening again. And I think tossing a few members in Congress in federal prison together with some private sector fraudsters will help to restore the confidence in the markets.
I don’t think putting Barney Frank in jail would be perceived by him as “punishment”. More like a club med experience for him.
Wait a second- weren’t Bush and McCain telling us just last week that the fundamentals of our economy are strong?
What happened in the last few days that we must now dole out a trillion bucks to save our sound economy?
Something smells.
Why didn’t we bailout the Nasdaq during the dotcom shakedown in 2000? All those dotcom workers out of jobs. How on earth did we ever survive ?
#20:
Guess you’ve never heard of inflation. Do you know how many jobs would be lost if the $700 billion were divied up that way? Say good bye to anyone in a low wage job. No more burger flippers, no more janitors, no more construction workers, etc. Yours is a good plan to really grind the country to a complete stop.
Neither do I.
Jim #29. Thanks again. I think I understand what you are saying but you seem to believe that the government can and will create and enforce reasonable policies.
Why, after the last 16 years of irrational government policies in the mortgage market, do you believe that the government will starting acting reasonably now?
Why do you consider this a reasonable and probable outcome? It seems more an exercise in wishful thinking.
Give money to the same Wall Street brass who got us into current mess.
Problem is solved as soon as they stop whinning.
As for us, the poor and middle class Americans, just say that this bitter medicine is for our own good. Who cares if we are screwed?
Great leadership we have put together in Washington!
Bush also lied in his statement about the Fed getting us a good deal on the “toxic” securities. What Bernanke said was that they will price the assets they buy for the taxpayers at “hold until maturity” prices. DUH, I think that means selling junk to U.S. taxpayers at premium prices that no one in their right mind would pay. AND if they can somehow PREDICT what these will be worth “at maturity”, why could they not PREDICT this crisis.
TRUST NONE OF THEM!
Very well said. It is that big of a problem.
As for this part:
In order to pay for this ‘bailout’ and produce liquid funds in short order , we will be printing more money which will cause ‘the dollar to drop like a rock and inflation will
skyrocketgrow’.It just won’t be as bad or as fast.
There are no guarantees either way.
We should be promised that any and all who helped escalate this mess will be prosecuted, yes congress too.
Lastly- TERM LIMITS might be the best way to ensure this might not happen again.
I still think this should be left alone and let it play out the way it should. This “End of the World” scenario they are using to terrify people into buying into this bailout just doesn’t sit right with me at all.
Jim M. said:
I agree with FIRING the members of Congress who were responsible for creating this mess. They should also be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
Yes, something must be done, but not the Democratic Socialist Communist plan of Trojan Horse Henry Paulson.
Newt Gingrich has the right solution.
In my opinion, it appears that…Paulson’s plan won’t fix anything, it will only give “Supreme Executive Power” to a domestic enemy of our Constitution. And he will allow the economy to tank either way…this bailout would just speed up the process! Paulson has no interest in saving our economy. His real goal is to destroy it.
It is essential to see the big picture here: There are real people who are actively trying to bring the USA to its knees. George Soros. Harry Reid. Barack Obama. Joe Biden. Schumer. Clinton. Pelosi. HENRY PAULSON.
The survival of our Republic could very well hinge on whether we take Newt Gingrich’s Capitalist solution or Henry Paulson’s Socialist/Communist solution.
Watch this video and understand Obama’s “inspiration”.
Islamic Jihadists, Nation of Islam, “Black Liberation Theology” churches, and the Communist Party are all tightly coupled.
I believe Paulson is part of the Communist Party and part of that plan of complete destruction of everything that America stands for.
Can we get Newt on board with Term Limits?
If they’re good enough for the President, then they’re good enough for everyone else.
Those who have had 5-6 in the Senate, or 8-10 in the House ABSOLUTELY MUST GO, and anyone else in DC – your clock ticks…(fingers crossed)
I say let the market take care of it. End government ‘regulation’ that put us in this mess in the first place. If it hurts then it hurts. I am tired of this country rewarding stupidity and failure. The fact that I am asked to foot the bill for the unbridled greed that caused this just makes me extra super double pissed off.
I second your idea and raise you very hard labor prison terms for certain members of Congress who ALLOWED this debacle to happen. Yes, that means you Barnie Frank and Chris Dodd.
I’m armed. We have food reserves. Let the market go down. I’ll use my “tools” to shoot deer / coyote / rabbit / whatever to feed my family until things level off.
Anything to keep from becoming a Socialist Nightmare.
Oh, and, INVESTIGATE DODD, RAINES, and every other jerk involved with Fannie Mae/Freddy Mac!!
Dave Ramsey’s got a plan. What do you all think?
I’m sick of this crap. Who wrote the speech?!
This should have been two sentences:
“When the government backs loans, people do stupid things. Now we’re going to do something even dumber.” – W.
On Term Limits, I’m curious what you all think about a Constitutional amendment that would put a 12 year limit on all three branches:
* President limited to three 4-year terms (instead of 2)
* Senators limited to two 6-year terms
* Representatives limited to six 2-year terms
* Justices limited to 12 years on the Supreme Court
I’ve been sitting here for the past hour or so trying to get my head wrapped around this mess. It is way above my feeble mind but I do know a couple of things. First this bailout is going to happen no matter what we say or do…the government is going to spend money that they don’t have to try to fix a mess they created. Secondly…socialism wins…plain and simple. This is going to be a huge turning point in the lives of Americans. I am very thankful that my family became Dave Ramsey listeners a couple of years ago and have almost all of our debt paid off. I would hate to be facing the future with a butt-load of debt in front of me. Oh well…that is my two cents on this subject.
What a pantload!
There is nothing — repeat NOTHING — that members of Congress enjoy more than spending other people’s money.
The only thing that will make this a “tough” vote for any of them is figuring out how to maximize the political value for themselves personally, be it in a re-election campaign or a move to cushy multi-million dollar job as a lobbyist. After all, it would be a damn shame if they settled on something that only added a half mil to their personal fortune if doing something else could add 5 million.
The crapweasels in Congress are the ones who got us into this mess and now they are going to be solving this crisis?
Momma told me I was born at night, but, man, it wasn’t last night. File this speech by GWB where it rightfully belongs — under c-r-a-p.
Why didn’t Bush mention the Community Redevelopment Act and Democrat Clinton/Janet Reno strong-arm tactics to coerce banks into making high risk mortgage loans to illegal immigrants and other borrowers who weren’t required to provide proof of income that are at the root of this whole fiasco?
In 2005 McCain warned that this house of cards was due to fail.
Low-life scum democrat crooks like Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Franklin Raines, James Johnson, amd most notably Barack Hussien Obama made out like bandits with big buck contributions from Fannie Mae. These dirt bags need to be held accountable, charged, prosecuted, and sentenced for their crimes against the people of the United States.
Before you DARE ask me as a taxpayer to bail out ANY smart a$$ Wall Street MBA gambler playing fast and loose with my hard earned money, first you need to IMPEACH CHRISTOPHER DODD and BARNEY FRANK!
Once I see swindler frauds like Raines and Johnson behind bars, maybe you’ll get some sympathy from me, but until then …..
Not just “No” on a Wall Street bail out……
I’m saying ….. HELL NO!!!!
While it might be better than $700 B, it still looks like a regressive band-aid. I’ve always thought that accounting “practices” could be manipulated in addition to government-sanctioned, legalized gambling on Wall Street. Don’t they say the “house” always wins? Apparently not in mortgage-backed securities.
Speaking of, have they added casino losses to the bailout yet?
I wrote my senators and congressman today to tell them to vote…
NO!!!
Stossel had a great column today…along with several others…wondering just why we should do anything like what is being rammed down our collective throats.
As Dr. Sowell has asked, why are we turning to arsonists to fight our fires?
Me, I figure if any of those mortgages are worth anything, the market would tell us that in a manner that is rational, costs the tax-payers nothing, and results in the information that only markets can so wonderfully transmit…as opposed to the BS-laden messages we get out of the Beltway.
I think it makes sense. Especially when you listen to the economist guy that he had on his show last night. There is always another way out of a mess and this is probably a good one….to bad it won’t be considered.
Valiant said:
George Soros.
I don’t like this bailout one bit, but something keeps nagging me. What is the other side of the coin here. I don’t think Bush is pushing for this because he wants some socialist policy added on to his legacy (whatever that might be). What is the consequences of not doing anything. How dire will it be?
Congress would consider it if we mailed enough used tea bags to their offices with a little note saying, “You vote for this, you’re gone.”
I’m on board with that, except for the three 4-year terms for President. I think eight years might already be too many.
What do nationalizing industries and starting the nation down the road to Socialism have to do with free enterprise?
Bailout? Forget about it!
Jail for the fraud-meisters.
If some hard times are created we’ll deal with it and be stronger for it.
This is America and we aren’t Socilists!! Federal government stay out of the damn way!
On September 25th, 2008 at 12:18 am, baxtrice said:
Correct, but President Bush trusts Henry Paulson, and is believing every word Paulson says. The trouble is, Paulson is a Trojan horse.
Worst case? Great Depression version 2.0
But here’s the thing…with Paulson’s plan you get Great Depression version 2.0 anyway…he has no interest in really fixing the problem, he is only interested in getting us there even faster! You put Socialists in control of $1 Trillion and let them create unfair competition by rewarding Democratic Socialist-controlled companies. The Capitalist-controlled companies won’t be able to compete against competitors who have an unfair advantage.
This is not a binary choice between doing nothing and accepting Paulson’s plan. There are other ways to address the issue. Ways that won’t put us on a bullet train to Socialism/Communism.
Barack Hussein Obama, being (in my opinion) a Democratic Socialist Communist, knew this gameplan was comming. Did you notice how his speeches even months ago talked about the “sacrifices” we’d have to make?
Did you notice how today his signage no longer says, “Change We Can Believe In”, but rather now says “Change We Need”. That’s no accident. The current economic “crisis” was timed to help Obama’s campaign. The MSM has been saying, “The Economy is Issue #1″ long before this came to light. They were preparing people and programming them with propaganda.
It won’t, unless they address the issues that got us here to begin with, which no one seems to be talking about. All this plan will do is free up credit to allow banks to start all over again making bad loans to people who can’t afford them. And, in 10 years(or less) we’ll be right back here again.
Congressional Term limits…
I think they should be held to a 24 year limit as a member of Congress.. to be mixed and matched up as they see fit… whether it’s 3 terms in the House and 3 terms in the Senate.. for a total of 24 years…
and if they are only 4 years into their Senate seat and the 24 limit is due, special election or appointment depending on the state..
In 40 days we can all FIRE the current House Members and 1/3 of the Senate–including Barney Frank–by simply voting against any incumbent. Want to send a message to Washington?? It is as simple as that. Unfortunately, the majority of voters think their guy is doing OK it is the other 500+ who are screwing us. Truth us,each and every one is in the pocket of somebody and will not do anything to jeopardize their funding for a trivial $700 billion taxpayer dollars.
Damn good question!!!
The FBI is starting an investigation of the debacle–any bets on how long it will take for them to lay blame?? 6mos, 2 years, or ….?
We
Are
So
Screwed
Send_Me, the gist of your solution is well right on the money on post #45….I’ve already know how company balance sheets can go up or down if they merely chose to go FIFO or LIFO (in accounting), so frankly its plausable.
The bottom line is that this bailout at this particular time really smells.
No Bailout!
This situation is graver than the Media is reporting. From The Anchoress:
Folks, we have to stop the bickering and get serious about this. I’ve also been hearing the uneasiness in banks and other financial institutions.
We need to pull together as Americans and squarely deal with this problem, and that means stop wasting energy on partisan attacks and get to work.
And that means the press, too.
If Barney Frank doesn’t know his boyfriend is running a brothel in their house, what’s he doing overseeing our money? There are a lot of people who need to face both civil and criminal charges. Every last one of them can sell their giant houses and rent a FEMA trailor from us until they pay the $700 billion back, one license plate at a time if need be.
I am a daily reader of this blog and find myself very much in agreement with many of the topics discussed here. I am no Democrat, in fact I hope to locally volunteer to do whatever I can do to ensure neither the Democratic candidate for President nor the Democratic candidate who seeks the House seat now held by retiring Republican ever assumes office.
Having I hope, established my ‘Bona Fides’ I would like to say how much I am very dismayed by the threads concerning the current financial crisis.
During my father’s lifetime, he rose to become a board member and a vice president of the pension system for the state employees of the state I grew up in. And it was from him in the capacity that he served, that I came to understand how interconnected many aspects or our economy are.
I learned that the state pension system make large investments into the stock market (this was pre 401k BTW) and that other pension systems, be they for teacher’s ,employees of private corporations or what have you, do so as well. This is done to ensure the pensions are funded for their members, when it comes time for the fund to be drawn upon (if one thinks that only employee contributions directly fund a pension system, think again).
From this, is does not take a rocket scientist I think to realize how far the current finical crisis could impact the greater economy as a whole. A simple analogy that comes to my mind is one used to explain the explosive power of nuclear fission. There is a flat surface on which there are a large number of armed mousetraps. One mousetrap is set of, which in turn sets off its neighbors which in turn sets off others until all rapidly spring. The point here being that unless action is taken to limit the number of mousetraps going off, the tripping of one will cause other seemingly unconnected ‘mousetraps’ to be sprung as well.
So I firmly believe it is with the current situation, that it is simply not a matter of letting a few financial institutions or segments within an industry fail either out of the negligence or incompetence, of those who lead them, but to take action because what affects one segment will affect others and could adversely affect us all, A point or a degree of understanding I see very much lacking in the threads in this issue.
Some 70 years ago, another Republican President did not respond as vigorously to a financial crisis (not of his making either) and this provided the opportunity for the Democratic Party resurrect itself and to reign for 16 years, leaving a legacy and an imprint on politics and government that we deal with even today.
As I have said often to my son, criticizing is easy, coming up with a constructive alternative is not. Like it is with these threads. Rather than shrilly proclaim the betrayal of a ‘free market’ , I think it is more responsible to discuss what went wrong and what steps can be taken to ensure it does not go wrong again.
My God, at this rate we won’t need terrorists and smuggled-in nukes from Iran to put us away! We’re undermining confidence in our nation all by ourselves. There MUST be a non-bailout solution to this. This is a Repub/Conservation killing issue for Nov. People in distress or even jittery about their welfare always turn to Dems first for help — and there’re TOO damn many out here!
James Greenidge
Queens New York
A Fred Thompson man forced to vote McCain because I KNOW what Obama’s folks want to do to our wallets and traditions.
Apparently his belief in “free enterprise” is like his belief in “heaven”; its something that you get to after you die because we sure as hell aren’t living in it now.
Come January 20, 2009 a mere 117 days from now Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson will be out of a job. What happens then? Those confirmation hearings are going to be must see TV
This bailout plan as written is a suicide pact for the economy. It is the ultimate incumbent protection act. Designed solely to get us past the election.
Woah, nice work!
Would you mind if I borrowed your words (credited, of course), to email to a few friends?
…throwing out the illegals.
I was confused last night watching talk TV. A guy named “Barney” was talking, but he sounded exactly like “Fred” (Flintstone).
I think that guy should be relieved of his committee duties forthwith.
Well, it’s official. Bush is an idiot. Congress, OTOH, are dangerously stupid. And you can’t fix stupid. (Thanx, Ron!)
The Dems want to try to through this clown in jail after the election, if they get the majorities that they want…. I’m beginning to not give a damn!
That speech last night was pure, unadulterated b.s.!!!
Perhaps Robert Mugabe should also be brought to Washington. He can introduce his wise economic ideas as well as counsel the presidential candidates on how to finallize an election! /s
Let me summarize Jim M in post #9.
The whole financial system is a house of cards. None of it is real. Therefore something needs to be done. Please send money.
If you can’t tell – I don’t completely buy it. There are real assets here, there is real innovation here, there is real value here. With that said though, there are also real problems. A government that operates in debt, a population that operates in debt. Spending for “pleasures” now with money we don’t have and the rest of the world has been funding it. Unfortunately, the “average” American (or nearly average) thinks all this stuff is “owed” them and and far be it from them to not require credit to fund their lifestyle.
.. from the one who also parrots this: http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/11/13_Laden.html
Jim Angle on Fox had an interesting and related story yesterday. The real reason credit is so tight is the accounting standards that are now in place which force a minimal valuation on the assets being held. Those could be changed with the stroke of a pen by the Securities and Exchange Commission without any legislation, and the United States government would NOT have to take over anybody’s equity position. Nobody’s thinking about the implications of taking over the bad debt. Would we just suck it up and write it all off? I hope not, because there are properties in there that have real value. But who will convert it to real money? Who’s going to be the debt collector, the IRS (an arm of the Treasury)? Newt Gingrich was on Hannity &
CommunistCombs last night and including this in a solution he’d like to see. And no, we don’t need to bail out consumers who speculated on the housing market, or made unwise decisions. Yes, we should prosecute predadtory lending practices. Yes, we should hunt for any sign of fraud in any of the transactions that led to this mess and prosecute to the fullest. And yes, we should underscore even more forcefully, Sen. McCain, that the Democrats past pressure to loosen lending standards are the core problem.I guess W is missing the “FREE” part of free enterprise. Free to make money, free to lose money. That’s the whole idea of capitalism. The market has to be free to flow money where it is needed the most. When GVMT (a Ronald Reagan four letter word) gets involved, then bad things happen. First it told the banks who to lend money to for house purchases and when that caused bad things to happen, now the GVMT wants to bail them out. Why should we believe this will have a good result? Let the bad banks FAIL! There will be turmoil, but then the strongest will survive. Capitalism is the ultimate proof of Darwinism.
I could have read this whole speech, but my sock drawer is a mess, and I already had my enema this week.
President Bush said if we don’t enact this package, we face a long and hard recession. I’m more fearful that if we do enact this package, we’ll face the recession. Government does not have a positive history of fixing financial difficulties. In fact, the history indicates that government has generally made the difficulties much worse than if the market had just run it’s course. And please don’t tell me “this time will be different because…”
Well the problem is, it wasn’t “free enterprise” when the government forced banks to give mortgages to people who they knew could not pay these loans.
ex-expat #70 said:
Quite true. That’s why I just raised the first of I hope many alternative solutions that fix the problem (do nothing is not an option), but do it in a less socialistic manner. I really think there’s something to reforming these accounting practices. Apparently the Savings and Loan crisis was worse from a credit perspective (and that’s really what we’re worried about), but the accounting standards were not getting in the way of a less draconian solution.
In this case free = Tax Payer Funded :/
I couldn’t watch the whole speech. I was making dinner and had the urge to throw it out the window.
No money. No more government intervention.
For the first time in my life, allow me to type:
BUSH LIED
Money did NOT flow into the USA because “it is an attractive and secure place to do business.”
That’s a lie. It’s a bald-faced and easily disproven lie.
If you want to do business in the USA, then you have to use our currency. Except for a few places on the border, selling pizza, you need US dollars to transact business in the USA. Thus, before you do business you’d need to *buy* dollars.
And the cost of dollars would go up.
Anyone seen a strong dollar recently? No? How about last year? Five years ago? How about 10 years ago? No?
One of the reasons that people would buy US Dollars was if the US interest rate was high enough to give a safe and secure return. When is the last time the Fed put the prime even at 5.5%?
No, LIAR, credit has been easy because the Fed Chairmen that YOU appointed have kept their foot essentially smashed on the accelerator, flooding the economy with money. Worse, it is the LIAR’S policy that this money be given to people so that they can buy their first home, or plasma TV, or whatever their heart desires.
Bubba started it, but Bush is on the record as supporting it.
What a filthy liar.
Exactly.
I’m starting to see this issue like I see immigration.
You want a dime from me?
Secure the borders first!
Or in this case that means…
Make it illegal to write a mortgage to someone who can’t document sufficient income, or has bad/mediocre credit. Make it illegal to ask a borrower their race. I don’t care what their race is. If they can’t demonstrate they can pay… NO MORTGAGE!
Then -MAYBE- we’ll talk.
Red Pill said:
As I recall, the signage in Animal Farm changed regularly as well.
Against against against.
What do you want the President and Congress to DO?
If the credit markets stop functioning, YOUR business, YOUR job, YOUR 401(k) will be affected, big time.
Unless you can come up with a plan of your own that mitigates the damages and charts a course toward recovery, you’re no different from Obama.
You’re just declaring yourself PRESENT.
Being ANGRY abd raising tiny and impotent Fists of Fury heavenwards is NOT a solution.
Yes, we all dream of hanging Frank, Raines, Dodd etc upside down and having a piñata party — but that’s not gonna happen.
So…what’s your “plan”.
Only in America could a government cause the ruin of institutions and then take them over to save them!
Let’s not just let illegal invaders stay in the country…let’s force banks to make home loans for them. Yea, that’s the ticket!
Thus joining a long list of items (border security among them) that Bush says he believes in but is unwilling to defend. Once again we see that Liberals and Losers get the action (and you can buy a lot of action with 700 billion) while everybody else gets the rhetoric. If a man came home at night and said “Yes, I just spent 700 billion bucks on my mistress but honey, I really love you,” do you think the wife would be persuaded?
My plan is to change the rules for mortgages back to the way they were. No more pity loans.
My plan is to suspend foreign aid.. most of it and use that cash to provide the credit markets with funds.
My plan is to kill the mark to market rule for 2 years so these “toxic” instruments aren’t so toxic.
My plan is to reduce the Cap Gains tax as low as needed to stimulate the financial markets.
My plan is to keep the bush tax cuts forever and cut taxes more.
My plan is to DRASTICALLY cut spending and therefore pay for the tax cuts and help reduce deficit.
My plan is to drill for more oil and gas here and stop sending out money to Chavez, Mexico, Russia and everyone else that hates us and is laughing their a$$es of right now.
That’s for starters.