®An American Cyber-Column
Bailout! by (my buddy) Rich Galen
Friday September 26, 2008
Let me say at the outset, that we are in a financial pickle and we have to do this Wall Street bail out deal - like it or not, which I most assuredly do not. Having established that … here's the column:
Nothing … nothing focuses the mind of a Member of the U.S. House or Senate like a looming adjournment date. The 110th Congress wants to get the you-know-what out of town by not later than Saturday, so they will happily spend TRILLIONS of your dollars to pay their own way home.
To review the bidding (for those who slept through 11th grade Social Studies when Mr. Marandi talked about Article I, Sections 2 & 3 of the U.S. Constitution) all 435 Members of the House who are (A) still alive, (B) not in jail, and (C) want to come back, are up for re-election as are one-third of the United States Senate who meet the same tests.
The election this year will be on November 4 which means we are within six weeks of the big day and the Members want to go home and remind their constituents why they should ignore the entreaties and lies of their challengers and send the incumbents back to their safe havens in the House and Senate office buildings.
Thus, the race to authorize the spending of $700 BILLION (which is on top of the $137 KAJILLION already spent on bailing out the crooks who were running those other big investment houses as well as Fannie and Freddie.)
This is why I could never be a Congressman or a Senator: I would insist that someone on my staff go through the list of homeowners in THE HAMPTONS out on Long Island.
Anyone who (A) owns property in THE HAMPTONS and (B) works for one of the companies which is going to get rescued by the money you will have withheld from today's paycheck would have to sign the deed to their property in THE HAMPTONS over to the U.S. Government so that you and I could bid on a weekend next summer.
That is not going to happen, of course because we are being sold on the fact that only highly-skilled, highly-trained experts can run these investment operations, so we have to allow them their multi-million dollar salaries and/or bonuses.
As far as I'm concerned Moe, Larry and Curly couldn't have done any worse than these Wall Street jerks with their slicked back hair, tailor-made shirts and suits, custom-fit shoes, gold cufflinks, and Hermes ties.
And that's just the women.
Where was I?
So, when McCain announced he was suspending his campaign and might not participate in the debate tonight, my cell phone went off like the signal that the meat loaf was ready on the buffet at the all-you-can-eat early bird restaurant in Pompano Beach, Florida.
I really believe this to be true: There are two Senators who, when they walk into a room to discuss an important issue, their colleagues will stop talking and listen. They might not agree, but they will listen.
Those two Senators are Ted Kennedy (who, because of his illness will not be involved in this) and John McCain.
The Democrats - who control the House and the Senate - raced to come to some semblance of a deal within hours of McCain saying he was coming back to help structure it - proves my point. Sen. Obama needed his guys to rally toward a deal BEFORE McCain's staff could show up singing the Mighty Mouse Song: "Here I come to save the day…!"
So, McCain DID have an effect on the process, if only to speed it up so he couldn't take credit.
As this is being written, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is on Capitol Hill with the geniuses who work there to try to save our bacon. Paulson came from Wall Street. He was chairman of Goldman Sachs which just hit up Warren Buffet for a $5 BILLION infusion or transfusion or whatever.
Paulson's official Department of the Treasury bio says he was "Staff Assistant to the President from 1972 to 1973." However, our friends at Wikipedia.com point out that he was "assistant to John Ehrlichman from 1972 to 1973."
I'm not making any comparisons between Paulson and Ehrlichman. I'm just saying …
This whole thing might fall apart and we could descend into a 1930's-level depression. My mom, who lived through it, has often said "I don't know why they call it the Great Depression. I never thought here was anything 'Great' about it."
Wise words from my mom.
22 comments:
I beg to differ. Lovers of liberty would rather see the whole house of cards crumble than see themselves and their children sold into bondage.
Once America steps down this path, the road to serfdom has gone from cobblestone path to eight lane interstate.
I know, Farmer. I'm with you. Sometimes, I think it would be better to go back down to nothing and build up again, but I'm pretty sure our children wouldn't have it in them.
I hope you're wrong....I'm seeing even conservative economics saying we HAVE to do some kind of bail out........others say it's not money lost to the gov't, it's loans......
??
I'm with Farmer John on this one. It's impossible to viol;ate first principles and maintain one's integrity.
On the other hand consider this scenario: You wake up one morning and find yourself naked in the middle of a field or forest. There are no churches, no schools, no banks, no stores, no restaurants, no neatly packaged portions of meat and vegetables anywhere in sight. You are hungry and thirsty. Wild animals are gathering to gaze curiously at you from a still-safe distance.
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
~ FreeThinke
Democrats are ecstatic that the countries economy is in the shape that it is in. It make them look good.
Your buddy Rich is a pretty smart guy.
For some more brilliant insight go to Newt.org. He outlines FREE MARKET fixes to a government induced problem. The lefties keep screaming that there was a "lack of oversight of Wall Street and the markets." WRONG! There was a lack of oversight of Fanny and Freddy because the Dems shot down legislation to do just that.
Click on Newt's interview with Sean Hannity, it's 12 minutes long and worth your time. For the true meat of the interview click to the 10th minute and listen hard.
A fix is possible, but it doesn't need to be a govenment leviathan.
Morgan
That's sad and true Bob. It kinda makes you wonder if they didn't do some of this on purpose. We already know that they'll do ANYTHING to get power. Two or three years ago McCain co-sponsored legislation to reign in Fanny and Freddy and make them more accountable, but the Dems shot it down. They've been using it as a cash cow for years.
Morgan
z, I've got a really bad feeling about this bail out. Did you know that they're calculating how much each American taxpayer is going to 'owe' when it's all over? People are saying it's going to destroy the free market and the dollar is going to dive. I know things are desperate, but I believe that the way out is to work hard, pull back from some of our unnecessary expenditures such as the aid sent to entities like the Palestinians and work to get it back on top. This bail out is, as fj says, the road to serfdom. Well-said FJ. I see the destruction of the middle class here and the whole population reduced to paupers under a seemingly all-powerful monster state.
That Obummer is ahead ten points in the latest polls, BECAUSE of the shenanigans on Wall Street, and that something like 65% of America fervently believes at this point that Obummer will be "better" for the economy than McCain tells this old cynic that America DESERVES to go down the tubes, because she has lost her mind.
I do NOT respect the Republican Party anymore, BECAUSE of the way they FAILED to LEAD when they HAD the CHANCE. Face it, the performance of elected Republicans from the White House right on down has been PATHETIC.
Why do you suppose we all fell INSTANTLY in love with The Divine Sarah?
Because she appears FRESH and UNCONTAMINATED by the District of Columbia's continuous Carnival of Contempt for the American people and The World's Fair of Waste Fraud and Abuse they stage every day as they blithely thumb their noses at us.
SEVEN-HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS is the tip of an iceberg, believe me. Whenever the government quotes a figure, you must KNOW that it will wind up costing at least FIVES TIMES that much -- probably more. (Think of Teddy's Big Dig Boondoggle that paralyzed Boston for what was it -- a decade? -- it's TYPICAL.)
Giving the same lousy crowd of crooks and nannies even MORE money to squander on their unenlightened self-interest AIN'T gonna HELP.
Doing the same thing over and over again expecting to get a different result IS the classic definition of INSANITY.
Americans by and large a fat, dumb and happy. Isn't it about time they became lean, fit, knowledgeable and ACTIVE on their own behalf?
IF the Spirit of '76 were alive and well today, there would be a SECOND American Revolution.
Remember the FIRST one? The Founders --- ALL of whom were doing VERY WELL under the reign of George III --- risked losing EVERYTHING they had including their LIVES to be FREE.
What THEY would think of US today should make us all shrivel with SHAME.
PLEASE don't FALL for this "bailout" boondoggle. It's just ANOTHER Socialist Scam --- like Global Warming.
"THEY" want to TERRIFY you into giving them ABSOLUTE CONTROL of YOUR life. DON'T BUY IT, even if it means you have to start over from scratch.
Trust GOD (the embodiment and perfect expression of Truth, Love, Principle and Intelligence), do NOT trust Man.
~ FreeThinke
Economic growth must continue and this will not happen if banks can't
loan money to other banks. It is far better to grow ourselves out of this problem, than letting our economy and the world's come to a screeching halt.
I'm in a state right now which I kind of hate. The only way out is to go to mass.
My feeling is that Americans are being manipulated and sold out by a group of far right nuts led by a mentally ill (the melanoma is in the brain) John McCain.
I hope many get what they deserve for their ignorance. Lose their health insurance, further steep depreciation in home equity and 401 K funds, lack of affordable college funds, can't get a car loan ... the whole thing with some inflation thrown in.
I want them on the curb with their families begging for scraps. I want them looking like something out of a Dorothea Lange photo because that is the only way they will learn.
A pox on the far right. But it's coming home folks, it's coming home.
I think you're right, Cube.
The Left should have never instigated the stupid loans they started in Clinton's time; It was a whole PHILOSOPHY of such obvious liberal lunacy that NEVER works but it got him votes and now those voters are homeless.
It should be a cautionary tale for voting against Obama. Imagine what a mess all of us will be when he applies this type of GIVING across the BOARD?
NO country can survive the leftist idiotic dream that the poor and lower middle class SHOULD have homes so we have to make it easy to fund them. What a disaster. And there are dopes who blame the Right.
Plus, I'm thinking it's time to stop blaming and start doing something.
TERM LIMITS, please. And PLEASE, wouldn't it be nice if SOME of their terms limited TODAY!? Reid's done nothing but call people names, VERY helpful, huh?
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
Fight like Hell. And then teach my kids how to fight.
duhkkky you are being sarcastic aren't you?
The younger generation would rally if it came to that. They'd probably get a lot out of having to do something for a change and they'd learn fast. But what CAN they do? I like the idea of starting over, myself, but practically speaking how do we do that? I guess I just don't really understand this situation. What if my bank collapses? Whst do I do?
BLAME BLAME BLAME BLAME!
SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME!
It is NOT entirely the fault of either Democrats OR Republicans.
Indulging in partisanshit is really really STOOPID at a time like this.
I look towards Washington every day now, and all I can say is, "BAH HUMBUG!"
~ FT
No elmer, I'm not.
It's a very dark side of me and when it comes out I need the Church. It's a fact.
Of course it's a dark side to go to THAT church. The mass is blasphemy. Really no different than going to a satanic service.
See what I mean elmer. Look above.
You've got that and you've got part of a population that thinks Sarah Palin is qualified to be president of the United States.
Hard to maintain a spirit of charity. Real hard. Let 'em starve.
CJ; I'm leaving your comment because of Ducky's reference to it.
But, please, whatever you might think about my choice in this matter, I prefer none of us makes remarks against Catholics here at geeeeZ. thank you.
He was chairman of Goldman Sachs which just hit up Warren Buffet for a $5 BILLION infusion or transfusion or whatever.
------------------------
Let me get this straight. This Bobo thinks that WARREN BUFFET plunked down cash without thinking it was a profitable investment?
WARREN BUFFET was coerced?
Where do you dig these guys up?
Ducky, there's enough blame to go around. If you think deregulation is the cause of this, you haven't done your homework.
It was government interference in the lending industry which began this boondoggle. That industry was pressured by the likes of Clinton, and Barney Franks to give high risk loans to people who couldn't afford them. This does not comprise a free market. Government was in it up to it's neck.
Oversight? By whom, the Banking committee? Chris Dodd who got sweetheart loans from F Mae & F Mac? Obama who got 1/2 million in campaign contributions from them?
The same Chris Dodd who designated 20% of the bailout funds in the current bill, to ACORN, the same group which has turned in thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications.
The same group which was born out of, you guessed it, "community organizing", and with whom Obama is tied today, and was once a lawyer for.
Sure Ducky, your guys are just concerned with the welfare of the country. It's all the conservatives fault. What a dreamer you are.
There are billions of dollars in earmarks in this bailout as well, and we poor slobs are being taken for a ride, by the very folks who put us on this fast train to hell in the first place.
After all, it's business as usual, even during a crisis. Even now.
Pris
Government demanding banks give ( now THAT's certainly a word) to people who can't afford something, will most likely not pay it back is asking for trouble.
You can't inject those failed left wing policies into the financial world and then expect everything to just hum along.
And making comments about people's diseases is really tastless and immature.
Shame on all the rascals in DC and their crumb snatching buddies.
Most of them have been in bed with all these companies for so long it makes a brothel look clean and wholesome.
Bunch of braying jack asses , cockroaches and hyenas .
ANd yes I wish for term limits.
Career politicans ...there's our first clue .
But I tell you this, we have to do something and all of us are going to get hurt one way or the other.
So let's get for real and get something together that serves the purpose but take out all that extra pork chops and ribs sitting in these plans.
20% to ACORN?? Wow, wonder where that came from. 5.1 million for a project connected to Joe Biden, wonder where that came from.
And by the way, the Dems hold the majority in the house and senate, so what is the problem?
Why don't they pass this piece of crap? Oh, they want Republicans to drink the kool aid with them.
I want my country to go on.
John McCain has his priorities straight.
Reckon that someone did not like him showing up and calling their bluff, did they?
WVDOTTR
Post a Comment