WWTBAM Bored

They say a good compromise leaves everyone equally unhappy. I'd say that's happening with the bailout bill.

Bob Juch wrote:They say a good compromise leaves everyone equally unhappy. I'd say that's happening with the bailout bill.

I'd say everyone was a bit too unhappy with this one.

Sounds like Pelosi unintentionally killed the bill. How a hack like her ever got to be Speaker of the House is beyond me...

Several Republican aides said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had torpedoed any spirit of bipartisanship that surrounded the bill with her scathing speech near the close of the debate that blamed Bush's policies for the economic turmoil.

Without mentioning her by name, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., No. 3 Republican, said: "The partisan tone at the end of the debate today I think did impact the votes on our side."

danielh41 wrote:Sounds like Pelosi unintentionally killed the bill. How a hack like her ever got to be Speaker of the House is beyond me...

Several Republican aides said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had torpedoed any spirit of bipartisanship that surrounded the bill with her scathing speech near the close of the debate that blamed Bush's policies for the economic turmoil.

Without mentioning her by name, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., No. 3 Republican, said: "The partisan tone at the end of the debate today I think did impact the votes on our side."

I'm glad it was killed. More power to her!

From the E-mailbox, Part I:

I have a PhD in Economics and Finance from M.I.T.'s Sloan School of management. I studied with Paul Samuelson and Franco Modigliani -- both Nobel Laureates. I don't normally like to admit to this credential, but at this time, at this crucial time it allows me to see more clearly what is really going on.

I don't think that the current Bailout bill will really solve the problem. There is too much in it for Wall Street -- the perpetrators of the calamity -- and not enough in it for us taxpayers and mortgage holders. (I've included Michael Moore's more strident message below.)

Any bailout needs to first look at the cause of the problem -- the excessive cheap credit offered by the Federal Reserve which created a real estate bidding war that forced real estate prices to almost double their long-term trend-line value.

The impact on our economy of a depressed real estate market is further exacerbated by the record number of foreclosures and vacant housing. Until the banking industry is FORCED to adjust the balances and terms of endangered mortgage holders mortgages, we will not be dealing with this major drag on our economy.

I also believe that there need to be punitive elements to a successful bill. Those who wrote egregious subprime mortgages -- the individual brokers and their supervisors who approved them -- should be prosecuted and have their bonuses confiscated. Until the greedy perpetrators are punished, we won't really change the way Wall Street does business.

In my mind it is more important to get the RIGHT bill passed -- regardless of how long that may take -- than to hastily pass a bill that was constructed in secret with the help of the perpetrators of the problem.

Please call your representative and your senators and ask them to vote NO on the current version of the Bailout bill. (click here to find their phone numbers). Suggest that it needs to REQUIRE that banks negotiate new terms with troubled mortgage holders. It should NOT ALLOW a foreclosure until or unless a Bankruptcy court is unable to complete such a negotiation.

You could also Call or e-mail Senator Obama if you feel so inclined.

From the E-mailbox, Part II:

From: Michael Moore <maillist>

Friends,

Let me cut to the chase. The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door.

No matter what they say, no matter how many scare words they use, they are up to their old tricks of creating fear and confusion in order to make and keep themselves and the upper one percent filthy rich. Just read the first four paragraphs of the lead story in last Monday's New York Times and you can see what the real deal is:


"Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it.

"Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages.

"At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees.

"Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury's proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions."
Unbelievable. Wall Street and its backers created this mess and now they are going to clean up like bandits. Even Rudy Giuliani is lobbying for his firm to be hired (and paid) to "consult" in the bailout.

The problem is, nobody truly knows what this "collapse" is all about. Even Treasury Secretary Paulson admitted he doesn't know the exact amount that is needed (he just picked the $700 billion number out of his head!). The head of the congressional budget office said he can't figure it out nor can he explain it to anyone.

And yet, they are screeching about how the end is near! Panic! Recession! The Great Depression! Y2K! Bird flu! Killer bees! We must pass the bailout bill today!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Falling for whom? NOTHING in this "bailout" package will lower the price of the gas you have to put in your car to get to work. NOTHING in this bill will protect you from losing your home. NOTHING in this bill will give you health insurance.

Health insurance? Mike, why are you bringing this up? What's this got to do with the Wall Street collapse?

It has everything to do with it. This so-called "collapse" was triggered by the massive defaulting and foreclosures going on with people's home mortgages. Do you know why so many Americans are losing their homes? To hear the Republicans describe it, it's because too many working class idiots were given mortgages that they really couldn't afford. Here's the truth: The number one cause of people declaring bankruptcy is because of medical bills. Let me state this simply: If we had had universal health coverage, this mortgage "crisis" may never have happened.

This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars!

I have to stop writing this and you have to stop reading it. They are staging a financial coup this morning in our country. They are hoping Congress will act fast before they stop to think, before we have a chance to stop them ourselves. So stop reading this and do something -- NOW! Here's what you can do immediately:

1. Call or e-mail Senator Obama. Tell him he does not need to be sitting there trying to help prop up Bush and Cheney and the mess they've made. Tell him we know he has the smarts to slow this thing down and figure out what's the best route to take. Tell him the rich have to pay for whatever help is offered. Use the leverage we have now to insist on a moratorium on home foreclosures, to insist on a move to universal health coverage, and tell him that we the people need to be in charge of the economic decisions that affect our lives, not the barons of Wall Street.

2. Take to the streets. Participate in one of the hundreds of quickly-called demonstrations that are taking place all over the country (especially those near Wall Street and DC).

3. Call your Representative in Congress and your Senators. (click here to find their phone numbers). Tell them what you told Senator Obama.

When you screw up in life, there is hell to pay. Each and every one of you reading this knows that basic lesson and has paid the consequences of your actions at some point. In this great democracy, we cannot let there be one set of rules for the vast majority of hard-working citizens, and another set of rules for the elite, who, when they screw up, are handed one more gift on a silver platter. No more! Not again!

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Having read further the details of this bailout bill, you need to know you are being lied to. They talk about how they will prevent golden parachutes. It says NOTHING about what these executives and fat cats will make in SALARY. According to Rep. Brad Sherman of California, these top managers will continue to receive million-dollar-a-month paychecks under this new bill. There is no direct ownership given to the American people for the money being handed over. Foreign banks and investors will be allowed to receive billion-dollar handouts. A large chunk of this $700 billion is going to be given directly to Chinese and Middle Eastern banks. There is NO guarantee of ever seeing that money again.

P.P.S. From talking to people I know in DC, they say the reason so many Dems are behind this is because Wall Street this weekend put a gun to their heads and said either turn over the $700 billion or the first thing we'll start blowing up are the pension funds and 401(k)s of your middle class constituents. The Dems are scared they may make good on their threat. But this is not the time to back down or act like the typical Democrat we have witnessed for the last eight years. The Dems handed a stolen election over to Bush. The Dems gave Bush the votes he needed to invade a sovereign country. Once they took over Congress in 2007, they refused to pull the plug on the war. And now they have been cowered into being accomplices in the crime of the century. You have to call them now and say "NO!" If we let them do this, just imagine how hard it will be to get anything good done when President Obama is in the White House. THESE DEMOCRATS ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS THE BACKBONE WE GIVE THEM. CALL CONGRESS NOW.

danielh41 wrote:Sounds like Pelosi unintentionally killed the bill. How a hack like her ever got to be Speaker of the House is beyond me...

Several Republican aides said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had torpedoed any spirit of bipartisanship that surrounded the bill with her scathing speech near the close of the debate that blamed Bush's policies for the economic turmoil.

Without mentioning her by name, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., No. 3 Republican, said: "The partisan tone at the end of the debate today I think did impact the votes on our side."

Pelosi's speech didn't do anything but give the Republicans who wanted to vote against the bill an excuse to do so.

Here's an article that makes a lot of sense (even though it is on CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/29/ ... pstoryview

danielh41 wrote:Here's an article that makes a lot of sense (even though it is on CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/29/ ... pstoryview

Goodness, there are a lot of comments in the comment secion of that article. One of the comments made the suggestion that people shouldn't talk about things that they don't know. I guess I'm just happy that people are finally talking about all of this, rather than acting like it doesn't exist.

It was a not so good bill. It needed work. Why rush? Why not put the best piece of legislation we can to help this crisis?

It called for immediately lowering bank reserves on deposited accounts to 0% from 10% without increasing the $$ amount the FDIC would insure. The FDIC currently protects individual accounts up to $100,000. If this had been put into effect beginning this morning (which was when it was slated to happen) people with more than $100k in banks would begin withdrawing and putting money into TBills/other secured places causing further cash crunches in banks. When banks don't have cash, banks don't lend money and further problems ensue.

There are a couple other things wrong with the bill as written but this is one item I think everyone can understand is an item that needs to be fixed.

Citi said today the the Wachovia buyout is good even if the bill does not pass in any form. Our stock is now up over 20% for the day.