Economists To Nancy Pelosi: Don't Rush Wall Street Bailout
By Logan Murphy Wednesday Sep 24, 2008 7:00am
As Barney Frank announces that he's pulled together a deal that will get the votes needed to pass through Congress, economists from some of the top schools in the country ask, "What's the hurry?":
To the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate:
As economists, we want to express to Congress our great concern for the plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Paulson to deal with the financial crisis. We are well aware of the difficulty of the current financial situation and we agree with the need for bold action to ensure that the financial system continues to function. We see three fatal pitfalls in the currently proposed plan:
1) Its fairness. The plan is a subsidy to investors at taxpayers' expense. Investors who took risks to earn profits must also bear the losses. Not every business failure carries systemic risk. The government can ensure a well-functioning financial industry, able to make new loans to creditworthy borrowers, without bailing out particular investors and institutions whose choices proved unwise.
2) Its ambiguity. Neither the mission of the new agency nor its oversight are clear. If taxpayers are to buy illiquid and opaque assets from troubled sellers, the terms, occasions, and methods of such purchases must be crystal clear ahead of time and carefully monitored afterwards.
3) Its long-term effects. If the plan is enacted, its effects will be with us for a generation. For all their recent troubles, America's dynamic and innovative private capital markets have brought the nation unparalleled prosperity. Fundamentally weakening those markets in order to calm short-run disruptions is desperately short-sighted.
For these reasons we ask Congress not to rush, to hold appropriate hearings, and to carefully consider the right course of action, and to wisely determine the future of the financial industry and the U.S. economy for years to come.
As the Wall Street meltdown causes John McCain to throw in the towel and George Bush attempts to pull off the biggest heist in history, it's becoming clear that pushing any bailout legislation too far, too fast, could be a total disaster for our country. The Democrats need to listen to people who really know economics, keep a tight leash on Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke, say no to Disaster Capitalism and take the time to get this right the first time.
The list of economists who signed the letter is below the fold.
Signed (updated 9/24/2008 10:30AM CT)
Acemoglu Daron (Massachussets Institute of Technology)
Adler Michael (Columbia University)
Admati Anat R. (Stanford University)
Alvarez Fernando (University of Chicago)
Andersen Torben (Northwestern University)
Barankay Iwan (University of Pennsylvania)
Barry Brian (University of Chicago)
Beim David (Columbia University)
Berk Jonathan (Stanford University)
Bisin Alberto (New York University)
Bittlingmayer George (University of Kansas)
Boldrin Michele (Washington University)
Brooks Taggert J. (University of Wisconsin)
Brynjolfsson Erik (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Buera Francisco J.(UCLA)
Carroll Christopher (Johns Hopkins University)
Cassar Gavin (University of Pennsylvania)
Chaney Thomas (University of Chicago)
Chari Varadarajan V. (University of Minnesota)
Chauvin Keith W. (University of Kansas)
Chintagunta Pradeep K. (University of Chicago)
Christiano Lawrence J. (Northwestern University)
Cochrane John (University of Chicago)
Coleman John (Duke University)
Constantinides George M. (University of Chicago)
Crain Robert (UC Berkeley)
Culp Christopher (University of Chicago)
De Marzo Peter (Stanford University)
Dubé Jean-Pierre H. (University of Chicago)
Edlin Aaron (UC Berkeley)
Eichenbaum Martin (Northwestern University)
Ely Jeffrey (Northwestern University)
Eraslan Hülya K. K.(Johns Hopkins University)
Faulhaber Gerald (University of Pennsylvania)
Feldmann Sven (University of Melbourne)
Fernandez-Villaverde Jesus (University of Pennsylvania)
Fox Jeremy T. (University of Chicago)
Frank Murray Z.(University of Minnesota)
Fuchs William (University of Chicago)
Fudenberg Drew (Harvard University)
Gabaix Xavier (New York University)
Gao Paul (Notre Dame University)
Garicano Luis (University of Chicago)
Gerakos Joseph J. (University of Chicago)
Gibbs Michael (University of Chicago)
Goettler Ron (University of Chicago)
Goldin Claudia (Harvard University)
Gordon Robert J. (Northwestern University)
Guadalupe Maria (Columbia University)
Hagerty Kathleen (Northwestern University)
Hamada Robert S. (University of Chicago)
Hansen Lars (University of Chicago)
Harris Milton (University of Chicago)
Hart Oliver (Harvard University)
Hazlett Thomas W. (George Mason University)
Heaton John (University of Chicago)
Heckman James (University of Chicago - Nobel Laureate)
Henderson David R. (Hoover Institution)
Henisz, Witold (University of Pennsylvania)
Hertzberg Andrew (Columbia University)
Hite Gailen (Columbia University)
Hitsch Günter J. (University of Chicago)
Hodrick Robert J. (Columbia University)
Hopenhayn Hugo (UCLA)
Hurst Erik (University of Chicago)
Imrohoroglu Ayse (University of Southern California)
Israel Ronen (London Business School)
Jaffee Dwight M. (UC Berkeley)
Jagannathan Ravi (Northwestern University)
Jenter Dirk (Stanford University)
Jones Charles M. (Columbia Business School)
Kaboski Joseph P. (Ohio State University)
Kaplan Ethan (Stockholm University)
Karolyi, Andrew (Ohio State University)
Kashyap Anil (University of Chicago)
Keim Donald B (University of Pennsylvania)
Ketkar Suhas L (Vanderbilt University)
Kiesling Lynne (Northwestern University)
Klenow Pete (Stanford University)
Koch Paul (University of Kansas)
Kocherlakota Narayana (University of Minnesota)
Koijen Ralph S.J. (University of Chicago)
Kondo Jiro (Northwestern University)
Korteweg Arthur (Stanford University)
Kortum Samuel (University of Chicago)
Krueger Dirk (University of Pennsylvania)
Ledesma Patricia (Northwestern University)
Lee Lung-fei (Ohio State University)
Leuz Christian (University of Chicago)
Levine David I.(UC Berkeley)
Levine David K.(Washington University)
Linnainmaa Juhani (University of Chicago)
Lucas Robert (University of Chicago - Nobel Laureate)
Luttmer Erzo G.J. (University of Minnesota)
Manski Charles F. (Northwestern University)
Martin Ian (Stanford University)
Mayer Christopher (Columbia University)
Mazzeo Michael (Northwestern University)
McDonald Robert (Northwestern University)
Meadow Scott F. (University of Chicago)
Mehra Rajnish (UC Santa Barbara)
Mian Atif (University of Chicago)
Middlebrook Art (University of Chicago)
Miguel Edward (UC Berkeley)
Miravete Eugenio J. (University of Texas at Austin)
Miron Jeffrey (Harvard University)
Moretti Enrico (UC Berkeley)
Moriguchi Chiaki (Northwestern University)
Moro Andrea (Vanderbilt University)
Morse Adair (University of Chicago)
Mortensen Dale T. (Northwestern University)
Mortimer Julie Holland (Harvard University)
Muralidharan Karthik (UC San Diego)
Nevo Aviv (Northwestern University)
Ohanian Lee (UCLA)
Pagliari Joseph (University of Chicago)
Papanikolaou Dimitris (Northwestern University)
Paul Evans (Ohio State University)
Peltzman Sam (University of Chicago)
Perri Fabrizio (University of Minnesota)
Phelan Christopher (University of Minnesota)
Piazzesi Monika (Stanford University)
Piskorski Tomasz (Columbia University)
Rampini Adriano (Duke University)
Reagan Patricia (Ohio State University)
Reich Michael (UC Berkeley)
Reuben Ernesto (Northwestern University)
Roberts Michael (University of Pennsylvania)
Rogers Michele (Northwestern University)
Rotella Elyce (Indiana University)
Ruud Paul (Vassar College)
Safford Sean (University of Chicago)
Sandbu Martin E. (University of Pennsylvania)
Sapienza Paola (Northwestern University)
Savor Pavel (University of Pennsylvania)
Scharfstein David (Harvard University)
Seim Katja (University of Pennsylvania)
Shang-Jin Wei (Columbia University)
Shimer Robert (University of Chicago)
Shore Stephen H. (Johns Hopkins University)
Siegel Ron (Northwestern University)
Smith David C. (University of Virginia)
Smith Vernon L.(Chapman University- Nobel Laureate)
Sorensen Morten (Columbia University)
Spiegel Matthew (Yale University)
Stevenson Betsey (University of Pennsylvania)
Stokey Nancy (University of Chicago)
Strahan Philip (Boston College)
Strebulaev Ilya (Stanford University)
Sufi Amir (University of Chicago)
Tabarrok Alex (George Mason University)
Taylor Alan M. (UC Davis)
Thompson Tim (Northwestern University)
Tschoegl Adrian E. (University of Pennsylvania)
Uhlig Harald (University of Chicago)
Ulrich, Maxim (Columbia University)
Van Buskirk Andrew (University of Chicago)
Veronesi Pietro (University of Chicago)
Vissing-Jorgensen Annette (Northwestern University)
Wacziarg Romain (UCLA)
Weill Pierre-Olivier (UCLA)
Williamson Samuel H. (Miami University)
Witte Mark (Northwestern University)
Wolfers Justin (University of Pennsylvania)
Woutersen Tiemen (Johns Hopkins University)
Zingales Luigi (University of Chicago)
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One heartbeat is there to save the day
The economy is fundamentally sound.
The economy is fundamentally sound.
The economy is fundamentally sound.
The economy is fundamentally sound.
The economy is fundamentally sound.
The economy is fundamentally sound.
The economy is fundamentally sound.
The economy is fundamentally sound.
DOOM! DOOM! DOOM! Give me $700 Billion or the economy will sink into a major recession and you'll spend the next decade eating cat food!
So!!!!!!
signed:
Dick C.
What exactly is the reason for the rush? Why can funding be allocated on a day-by-day or week-by-week basis while a rational plan is constructed? Oh, right, because AIG and Freddie Mac have weapons of mass destruction, and if we don't attack now yadda yadda yadda...
What I wouldn't give to see Bush and Cheney in orange prison garb. And Paulson too, for good measure.
not quite, the biggest heist in history was the Iraq war, the only purpose was to pillage the assets of the entire middle east, the assets of the American middle class including her infrastructure
this latest bit is a drop in the bucket, what has been stolen from us already
payment for the Iraq heist to be payed by our armed forces, our children, our grandchildren and those who become victims of the enemies this president caused to this nation
this latest heist is chump change compared to that already stolen
I'd start worryiing about BLACKWATER and civil unrest. Halliburton has built the camps. It's been declared a "National Emergency" (sorta).
Finally, some sense in the US.
Why would Pelosi listen, though... It's a one party system, after all.
Notice that the Chimpy imperial dictate last night was effectively a black mail demand,
'give my pals and lobbyists in Wall Str the money or your kids dont go to college and we will make you poor'
Its pure naked Republicanism in its worst form, revealing them to be the crooks, liars, thieves and parasites.
No bailout without proper regulation and sanctions against the crooks that led us to this dark place.
CNN pundits were keen to stress to the public "keep on paying your mortgage, debts"
What would happen if we all say 'screw you' and stopped paying CC bills and the mortgage, year zero and a reset !!!!!
There would be an awful lot of unemployed suits looking for menial jobs.
Send this to your representatives in Congress along with a severed horse head.
I really like this take on how to handle it.
I'm no economist but it sounds like a good approach to me.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20080925/cm_huffpost/129042;_ylt=Aozcxy...
me to me @ 5:
Part of the problem with the US economy is the massive military machine, we live in an imperial war economy.
nearly 800 US military installations worldwide, over 50% of the the worlds military spending,
and prob a ten fold over spend on defence compared to an average country.
since 1941 'War is our business' has become the mantra of Washington and the MIC.
How do they give up that revenue income and all the profits and lobby fees, campaign donations.
A financial crunch is the historical way things like this ends.
Pfff. How can anyone take that letter seriously when it isn't signed by even one economist from Regent University.
Pelosi is complicit and up to her ass in conflict of interests. Ditto her cronies like Hoyer. They need to be impeached. If Pelosi gave a flying fuck about this country, she would resign. Ditto her cronies.
We will have none of your common sense or "facts"!
Only the lifetime healthcare, 6 figure salary receiving members of Congress know what is best for the citizens.
Now get back to consumption and reproduction. Your complacency and ignorance is of the utmost importance!
Doulbe good yes, today is Thursday and the citizens of Oceania must comply.
Why does this remind me of Bush's urgent pleas to Congress for the authority to invade Iraq?
My advice for Democrats?
If you sup with the Devil, bring a long spoon.
Remember bush hurried the invasion of Iraq too. Why? He was afraid the American people would catch on to his scheme of frightening them into an unnecessary war based on lies. Not since then has he put such urgency into what he wanted. What's he hiding this time? What's he afraid we are about to find out? Is the truth about to emerge and it's not going to be beneficial to his plan?
That is one long impressive list of economists. When you have that many professional voices speaking, someone should listen.
Here's your legacy, W.
If Nancy P. won't even read Dennis K's articles of impeachment, I don't hold out much hope that she will listen to these experts.
Paul @ 13:
Conflict of interests? I daresay they know their own interests very well. Much better than the American people.
It says a lot when so many from Milton Friedman's old school oppose this plan.
Why doesn't the government funnel the money through institutions that DIDN'T rely on mortgage-backed speculation? Divide the $700 billion between Warren Buffett and the like at nominal interest. To make it more palatable, profits from the assets could be tax-exempt as long as the interest paid to the government is fair.
Private companies take all the risk. The government does not reward speculators, whose more competent competitors have just been given a boost to pick their sorry carcasses clean. And the govt gets a steady stream of interest payments to help offset what we're paying out to foreign debtors.
I would also let the Bush tax cuts expire for the top 1% and call it the Golden Parachute tax and pray that McCain publically opposes it.
Number 2 on that list is in my mind, the most important. We have heard about the dire consequences if the bailout isn't enacted but what about the ramifications for the United States if it is enacted. There are always consequences for any action and I for one would like to know what those are before this plan is put into place. A drastically devalued dollar is but one consequence that I know of. Congress needs to come clean on what this plan may actually do. Because if they don't, things could get a lot worse.
Hopefully the American people are finally fed up with 'do what we say or else' mentality. The repugs know nothing but how to instill fear in the people. Frankly, I have been afraid ever since Bush was elected TWICE and now I am more fearful, if possible, thinking about possiblity of a Palin/Mcain presidency. It would be more of the same.
(Hmmmm. No "Black Duncan (Atrios U.)?)
Here's the plan:
1. No bailouts without conditions and reciprocity in the form of stock warrants.
2. No more lobbying for any company that is bailed out.
3. No golden parachutes and get out of jail free cards for guilty executives.
4. No bailouts without public hearings.
5. Reduce the moral hazard in U.S. mortgage markets by introducing covered bonds for the majority of mortgage products as they do in Western Europe. That gives institutions that finance mortgages an incentive to be prudent, because they cannot just unload them and wipe their hands clean of the liability, but are instead on the hook if the homeowner defaults.
6. Maintain neighborhood stability and housing security by passing a law with a sunset clause allowing below median-value homeowners facing foreclosure the right to rent-to-own their homes at fair market value rates.
7. Avoid future housing bubbles by removing implicit government guarantees for new mortgages that exceed thresholds of greater than 15-20 times the annual fair market rent value of the home.
8. Make the Federal Reserve a Cabinet Position, so it is accountable to Congress, as well as making sure all Federal Reserve Bank presidents are appointed by the President and answerable to congress.
9. Reduce conflicts of interest by taking away power for auditor and rating agency selection from companies and placing it in the hands of the SEC to be administered on random assignment.
10. Implement a securities speculation tax, starting with derivatives to deter casino-style capitalism.
Whose 'plan' is this?
Wait for it...
Ralph Nader's...
When that much money is at stake, to be had, the crooks won't let a little thing like the law stop them.
The Dems in Congress are spineless for the most part, and those who have a spine, tend to be Republican-wanna-bes.
I will give Vegas odds to anyone that this bail out will go ahead by hook or by crook.
Most likely crook.
The only question is whether the dems will fold because they're weak, or fold because they are corrupt.
John @ 24:
You guys are really cheery this morning. :)
gbear @ 12:
Or Pepperdine. How could they possibly have anything to say?
The Obama campaign has a form you can sign if you want to support this statement:
http://my.barackobama.com/ourplan
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/amandascott/gGgsPF
follow along here;
1)bush last nite had the same look he had while reading my pet goat upside down
2) mccain declares this enough of an “emergency” to “suspend his campaign”
3) the media is starting to fall behind this claim
4) paulson "claims" these agreements can be revisited with the next administration but we "must act fast on this"
5) directive 51
need I say more for you to don your tin foil bullet proof vests?
If we funnel the $700 billion through competent financial institutions that stayed away from mortgage-backed speculation, THEY can figure out the terms and timeline for how to spend it.
This does two things:
1. They won't be as vulnerable to buying crap, because they stayed away from it in the first place.
2. This does not require the approval of the institutions seeking a "palatable" bailout. Competent institutions can use the new largesse for all kinds of leverage, including hostile takeovers if it is worthwhile.
In a recent CNBC interview, Warren Buffett wished he could get billions at Treasury rates to keep purchasing assets. Let's give it to him!
Heist, swindle, flim flam, skullduggery, trick, deception, fraud…
Your name is…
Republicrat
This is Bush and Cheney's last big chance to drain our treasury. They have been stealing from the American people for 8 years and now this is their last opportunity to make sure that the US Treasury is completely empty. It's off to Paraguay in 2009.
I would also point out that the list has a whole lot of university of stanford/university of Chicago guys, who are market fundementalists, and would allow the market to work to the point that the system falls appart. I am dubious on the paulson plan, and I agree that the gamblers need to fail, but because stock markets are as irrational as they are, something should be done quickly, just not something that big and secretive.
Thank you for posting the petition so it gets more recognition. I've been linking ii to several threads the past couple of days. I guess we bloggers are a minority in this country who are not anti-intellectual, but these are the very people who should be consulted and who should solve the crisis, not the politicians and the financial institutions who have caused the problem in the first place. But I know John McBush and Hillary Clinton back in the primaries did not have much faith in economists, people whose education and lives have been dedicated to this discipline. One can only hope that the compromise which will come out of the Democrats will be just a stop-gap measure, and that the crisis will be dealt with in a thoroughly reasoned manner under President Obama.
Helping the financial markets will not make them ease lending criteria when house prices are going down-- it is only rational for them to require more security, and hence higher deposits and likely higher fees in that situation. In any case, the problem is systemic, there is no panacea here. There are many things that could help, absolutely, but this plan would shift a ton of bad debt from one sector of the economy to another, and the debt would still crowd out corporate debt and require higher taxes in the future as well as placing stress on the currency.
The only real solution is a re-examination of the entire basis of the financial system and how it functions as a part of monetary policy. In the short term, the most important group would be the people who are defaulting and for whom affordability has tanked. As long as consumer spending breaks down and individuals cannot afford to stay in homes, much less buy them, the banks' balance sheets will continue to deteriorate, bail out or no.
We're France.
Vichy France.
With Hitler dead and the nation raped, it was all wine and baguettes. Wasn't it?
OMIGOD, what's the hurry? Reservations have been made, campaign events scheduled, vacations waiting, "time with the family"...these guys want OUT OF DC...and they are more than willing to slop something together that looks bipartisan and meaningful (which the MSM will then dissect and tell the SHEEPLE what they should think about it) so they can slink outta town! 15 minutes later it's all forgotten, the world will NOT have imploded and we'll be on to deciding if there are holes in Scarah's head that let the facts fall out!!!!! Feel like you're being PLAYED much?
AN OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR BARACK OBAMA
could you please level with the american people on why you support forking over even one penny to count paulson and the international fascist banking cartel that seems to have DELIBERATELY ORCHESTRATED this crisis?
could you please explain why you believe we should quickly pass bailout legislation, when we now know the FBI is investigating these companies for fraud?
why do you, senator, believe it is in the best interest of the american people, to NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS?
Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid have not shown much in the way of profiles in courage,well formed positions taken nor any appetite to engage the RePugnants fully with steeled politics.
What are the odds of these two accidentals--these two who seem not to have any concept of how powerful they could be if they used the power they have--getting this right?
Not high.
As with the 2002-early 2003 ramp up to the very wrong and very badly thought out American Attack/Invasion/Occupation of Iraq the getting in is easy. Real easy. It is trying to get back out where doing the hard things comes into play.
This "Wall Street Meltdown" is about too many rich people getting too greedy and too stupid. Let them find the way out of it.
Over leveraging,sloppy due diligence and a real silly idea of how this musical chairs routine would work out are all on Wall St. to now solve. If they can good If not then guess what? Some will fall hard. Some will fall harder still. That is the lesson though is it not?
Waiting until Spring of 2009 to gain a better overview of this Wall St. self imposed implosion does seem best course to take.
Trying to do a "bums rush" over it is a classic Bush/Cheney WH tactic. And the record of the Bush/Cheney WH is rife with outright lies,half truths or non truths and much polished BS.
Why follow this nearly out of power bunch of charlatans again now?
Wait. Until Spring 2009. It is only seven months away. Whatever is going to happen seven more months of overview will likely matter in good ways.
Slow down.Wait.
"We are going to be in places people can't even imagine" ..CIA director Porter Goss 2005. Can one imagine the US Treasury?
There is a lot of complexity to this issue. I don't sense conspiracy here, but it is true that the dominant economic ideology has failed to represent the reality of market function, has failed to anticipate the inevitable results, and I would say at this point that it was clearly inevitable, and that they seem unable to give a useful solution. Most of the politicians appear to simply be ignorant. None of that amounts to intent, but where there is a duty of care, it can amount to a responsibility which they have failed to uphold. Perhaps it is time to ask more of politicians, and of ourselves.
woody, tokin librul @ 23:
I see some Nader points, points put out by socially concerned groups and Democratic points. It's not all Nader. Nader has a good mind when it comes to going against the international and fat-cat grains but he is slow to understand that concerted action is better than splintered, yelling-in-the-wind hyperbole that surfaces each election cycle!
Dear Teacher,
I regret to inform you that I cannot attend school tomorrow because I have to stay home and clean my room. It has nothing to do with the math test that is scheduled. Honest. The room is a mess and as I told my mom, I am being a maverick by taking the time to clean it up.
I do mavericky stuff like this all the time.
Thank you and good luck to the other students,
John McCain
Bush and Chaney were asked why do you rob taxpayers? They answered because thats where the money is.
Harummppph
(I didn't get a harummppph from that man!!!)
Who should we listen to
The experts
Or mcgramps?
As usual, the message machines on Capitol Hill are 'full'....the emails are 'crammed'....so I have had no way to ask any of these characters why:
NO ONE is pointing out that WH spokesperson Fratto has actually gone on record on rollcall.com with:
(....)"........the plan was not slapped together and had been drawn up as a contingency over previous months and weeks by administration officials.(.....)"
which sounds like to me they were sitting back and waiting for something to happen....in October. The only 'surprise' about this was it hit now....not later.
Kinda like they KNEW the warning signs were there....and let it happen anyway....sound familiar?
gee, i wish (bill Clinton) since I started the whole thing, that every body can balame Bush and Cheney for my sex acts tooAlbatross @ 4:
the case AGAINST a federal bailout
by steve chapman, a moderate conservative editor of the chicago tribune
my own comment: if obama supports the bailout/heist, he DESERVES to see the mccain campaign do an opportunistic about-face in rejecting the bail-out. which very well might happen.
I think very few of us understand all the ins and outs of this. I do know that we are all skeptical based on the way the bush administration has functioned the last eight years. We have been lied to so many times that we have no reason to trust them now. That is certainly understandable.
Paulson is asking us to give him seven hundred billion more dollars as a fiduciary loan. He's saying just trust me. Trust for anyone in this administration is very difficult for all of us today.
I have no single doubt Pelosi will approve Bush Co's Coup de Grace
She should be put into a capsule and shot into deep space where her actions and decisions can't injure millions up[on millions of people.
me to me @ 28:
any time someone tells you we must "act quickly" in passing a 700 billion dollar heist, along with dictatorial powers for one unelected official, it is a RED FLAG.
when chris dodd tells his democratic congressional colleagues they must "act quickly" and "get on the same page", it is a RED FLAG. he now should be considered a suspect as well.
democrats to keep your eye on (along with the ENTIRE republican party):
CHRIS DODD
BARNEY FRANK
STENY HOYER
DIANNE FEINSTEIN
NANCY PELOSI
CHUCK SCHUMER
is barney frank being blackmailed?
Why are we proposing to buy the mortgages, then pay millions upon millions of dollars to the very people that created this mess to manage them? If indeed we are going to buy them, why doesn't the government rewrite the terms to make them affordable? Who cares if we bail out Wall Street if Main Street still collapses? There will still be a glut of homes on the market because of foreclosures, values will be driven down, the loans will be worthless because the security behind them has insufficient value. Rewrite the loans so they can be paid, people can stay in their homes, the housing market will stabilize, people will pay their bills, and the credit market will right itself.
Old man and his pig @ 39:
that dipshit porter goss was probably talking about the wonderful world of cyber-space, if he could only figure out how to turn on his computer.
thank god that idiot is gone, general hayden really is much better for the job.
Astro @ 26:
Yeah, and I bet none o' them eeeeevil number cruncher guy's got the "Monica Goodling Sacred Seal of Approval" either.
54 lost_nacf_gop
Funny you should mention Pepperdine. That's where Ken Starr teaches now. It's financed by Richard Mellon Scaife. The same guy who financed the persecution of Bubba since his Arkansas days.
pissed off patricia @ 48:
Is this "plan" not still configured as "trust" but with no legislative or judicial review of "the Secretary's" decisions? With this bunch of criminal dopes, I think not.
The rush is based around the fact that the Chinese, Saudis, etc. are threatening to dump the dollar if we don't bail out their risky investments.
In other words, it's a holdup and we have been colonized.
There ARE consequences for crying wolf so many times.
Cheney and Chimpy are the sorriest two crooks I have ever seen. Can you imagine these scum bringing down the greatest
country in the world? Arrest these whores (no offense to real sex workers) and flush them like the turds they are.
let's see how fast pelosi sidles up to the trough to drink the bush koolaid, I know that she prefers straight from the spigot so to speak. what a mistake (not even on the table) she was. that must never be forgotten, lest this crook who wreaked havoc on our country is allowed to skate. Your fault nancy for not even trying.
Is it just me or did anyone else notice how one of the first things Chimpy did was blame Clinton.... One of the opening lines was and I paraphrase "this started over a decade ago". Ok, so if that is remotely true, why didnt you do anything in the last 8 years to change it?
All that's missing are the lines:
- This really happened to the son of a co-worker!
- PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! IT MAY SAVE A LIFE!
This is nothing but the terrorism scare with a fresh serving of bullshit.
Gotta act now. Can't hamstring the Grand Poobah with accountability or too many demands. Congress has to do what I want. Americans will suffer and die.
Where were all these "Wise-Men" when things were going belly up? But don't worry. Mighty John McMouse is here to save the day. Tune in Saturday morning with all the other cartoon shows.
Anonymous @ 27:
Yep, did it yesterday.
What is the hurry on this? Why does a decision have to be made by Friday? I would certainly prefer that Congressman and Senators take their time before deciding on a $700 BILLION bail out.
This whole episode makes no sense; and McCain's response is even more bizarre. Palin doesn't have a clue; really...........you get her off the script and she's lost. McCain has got to be regretting that decision.
And in a related story...... Bush lies to the nation in speech last night.
Bush explained vaguely how certain people did things that got us into trouble. He also forcefully claimed that things were so bad that he felt the need to step in with "his team" and help fix the problem (F**K it up even more).
Would this be the same team of brain stems that allowed all of this to happen in the first place?
In the speech,
I didn't hear anything about putting back the regulations that would keep this from happening again.
I didn't hear anything about accountability and punishment for the people that caused this.
All I heard was Bush threatening dire consequences if we did not do this NOW!
Sound Familiar?
Fear mongering.... Classic republicant strategey.
"If you do't do as we say something bad will happen
Something else missing was an explanation of the "pig in a poke" we taxpayers are buying. For example bush never told us that the $700 billion taxpayer bailout will be conducted in a manner unchallengeable by courts and ungovernable by Congress (our sworn representatives). All decision-making power will be consolidated into the Executive Branch (Bush) - who, lest we forget has a miserable track record on everything he touches. The bailout will run up the budget deficit by a significant amount, with no guarantee of ever recouping any of the outlay, and no fundamental means of affording taxpayers any accountability.
In other words it's all a secret!
Sound familiar?
Why isn't the media reporting this? Does Nasty Pelousy know she may be turning $700 Billion of our tax money over to these criminals with the only oversight being GWB?
WTF?
Wake up America......Call your reps.....This bill is unacceptable in it's present form.
65 TakeOurCountryBack
Isn't pig-in-a-poke sexist?
Those economists make me proud to be an American. Seeing their names reminds me of another greater document, the Declaration of Independence.
Pelosi and Reid should heed their warning. They are allowing this administration to once again hold them hostage and force them into a rash, and I fear, disastrous decision.
Scrooge @ 20:
Absolutely right. Work with the people that know instead of those that glow (i.e. are financially radioactive). McMouse wants to be in on the solution. Pure politics maybe, but more likely he was given marching orders by his liege lords to look out for their interests.
"America’s dynamic and innovative private capital markets have brought the nation unparalleled prosperity..." Please elucidate in view of rising unemployment, decaying infrastructure, national debt, global warming, trade imbalances, poor educational standards due to lack of funding, personal debt, and on and on. All of these variables are directly linked to less money for these national standards that the economist ignore in their generalities. The measure is not how many billionaires have been created by disreputable tax policies benefiting the chosen few.
ysbaddaden Says:
65 TakeOurCountryBack
Isn’t pig-in-a-poke sexist?
Only if it has lipstick on it!
by friday evening the bailout will be a done deal, the congess has been working hard against us er sorry for us and need to get on with thier vacations, obama and mccain are going to the whitehouse today and bush is going to allow them to set in his chair in the oval office to make thier mouths water for the power it represents, they will hardly notice the electric vibrateing dildo that is protrudeing from the center of that chair, it is good to be an american , i hope they both can find the switch that turns on the dildo,
LISTEN TO THEM NANCY! Move slowly and deliberately apply the brakes to the NeoCon BullShit Express.
Go slowly through this mine field they admitted they have known for months while they drafted the rescue plan of a whole 3 pages! That's two months per page so take two months per paragraph to de-mine the lies and deceit in the Repuke plans!
swampfox @ 71:
I'm thinking that Obama and McCain will have 'control' chips implanted in them so that the neo-cons still call the shots regardless of who wins!
JHR @ 73:
It must have happened.........Obama is on CNN right now saying how important this bailout is to America