Let's not be too hasty to give an unelected Bush appointee and former CEO of Goldman Sachs complete control of 700 billion plus. Let's take the time to examine the proposal and take the time to seek educated opinions on it's validity. I thought that the free market was supposed to be left alone to succeed or fail on it's own merit. If the mortgage borrower loses his home because he bit off more than he could chew, shouldn't the lending institution who made the loan have to face the same consequence?
If this bail out passes Henry Paulson is granted unsupervised management of 700 billion of tax payer dollars and will answer to no one. According to the bail out proposal before congress : In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for--
(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and
(2) protecting the taxpayer.
Interesting that financial markets are the number one priority and not the tax payer. Also note that the money will be going to help bail out foreign interests as well. While the American who's house was foreclosed on is left swinging in the wind.
Notice some of the power and disregard for rules of law it' allows :
Necessary Actions.--The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:
(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;
Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.--The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.
Pushing through this legislation while Congress is still in shock over the bankruptcies is a financial version of "The Shock Doctrine". What is not being brought to the forefront is the fact that the Paulson was appointed over 2 years ago, was well aware of the mortgage crisis due to lousy lending practices and borrowers inability to know what they could afford. If he had so much knowledge why didn't he take action or notify somebody who could. As recent as March of this year, Secretary Paulson urged the lending institutions to continue making loans in order to bolster their assets. He even stated McCain's mantra, " The fundamentals of our economy are strong", knowing full well that the institutions were running in the red. No red flags no preemptive measures to ward off this crisis. Why was this situation allowed to metastasize into an inoperable financial tumor? If in fact the institutions are on the verge of collapse and not just experiencing a lull in cash flow. Something is afoot and it looks like the government wants control of our financial institutions. The government is going to buy these trillion dollars worth of mortgages with pennies on the dollar. Here's a thought . . . let the home owner buy their own mortgages back "pennies on the dollar" and let them pay off their own loans. I can not believe there isn't more outrage being expressed by the tax payer? We're going to save the financial asses of they very people who foreclosed on our homes and effectively threw us out on the street? Remember this wasn't a national emergency until those with millions and millions vested MBS's and derivatives began losing their money.
Fiscal conservatives where the hell is your voice??!! Government control of private corporations, are you kidding me?! The wording in this "bail out" includes: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”
Secretary Paulson will be free from oversight or even legal review? No accountability whatsoever? He'll have cart blanche' to buy and sell securities as he sees fit. A two year 700 billion dollar credit card that you and I are responsible for. Call me cynical but, aren't these the same guys that got us into this mess? Now they're acting like all those credit repair con man that charge you a huge fee to get the collection agencies off your back. When in reality they work for the collection agency.
Jefferson wrote: “[The] Bank of the United States… is one of the most deadly hostility existing, against the principles and form of our Constitution… An institution like this, penetrating by its branches every part of the Union, acting by command and in phalanx, may, in a critical moment, upset the government. I deem no government safe which is under the vassalage of any self-constituted authorities, or any other authority than that of the nation, or its regular functionaries.” ~Letter to Albert Gallatin, 1803
Barney Frank is currently trying to make sure that those who got us into this mess aren't rewarded by the bail out with millions in severance pay and golden parachutes. It's too little too late. That was the least the Dems could do. They should grow a pair and demand that the perpetrators of this scam be brought up on charges! This is a true threat to the United States. They should be charged with treason! Call this what it is: reverse distribution of wealth, socialism, class warfare, and the largest bank robbery in the history of the world!!!
Addendum: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been granted Bank status instead of their original investment bank status, by the Treasury and The Federal Reserve. Implication: Banks are FDIC insured, investment banks are not. They want a cut of the take so they're getting in on this "sweet deal"! This has been planned for a long time and congress is going to pass this thing! Whoever wins the election in November will not have a penny left for infrastructure, education, health care, or anything.
DaG Out
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
You've been doing a lot of home work. I agree with your position. The rush to push the bail out through is a classic "Shock Doctrine" tactic. (credit to Naomi Klein) People like me and those who have stock investments, who stand to lose their nest egg and life savings are all too anxious for the government to prop up the market, regardless of how much it costs them and their progeny in terms of relinquishing the transfer of power and wealth to the privileged in the long run.
Senator Bernie Sanders said it best when he said: " giant businesses like Bank of America should be broken up so no company in the future could bring the American economy down with it. Said Sanders, “This country can no longer afford companies that are ‘too big to fail.’ If a company is so large that its failure would cause systemic harm to our economy, if it is too big to fail, then it is too big to exist.”
Once the bail out is passed, and it will pass, the government will be one of those companies that is "too big to fail"! It took a stock market crash and a depression to revamp this country and put sensible regulation in place. That may well be what will be needed to restore it. A new look at the anti trust laws, up dated to take into consideration international corporations, is in order.
DaG Senior
Post a Comment