Bailout or Bust!!

Okay, before I start, a few disclaimers.  I do not even balance my checkbook and economics was my worst course in college.  I do not understand all the business-speak that is going on but as one man told me once, "You are not stupid, Marilyn." So, a few observations about what is happening.  Do I know what is happening? No! But I do know a fear-monger when I see it and he/she is out there.  Do all the words coming out of the media and Bush right now sound familiar?  Didn't we hear this "hurry up or else" kind of language over invading Iraq?  We know how that one turned out?  Also, does anyone else besides me have a problem  believing Sec. Paulson who says we must give him 700 billion dollars with no strings attached (his proposal to Congress was 2-3 pages long and the present bill is over one hundred pages)?  This is the same man who ran Goldman-Sachs until 2005 when he left Sachs and became the Treasury Secretary.  And, oh yes,  his former company went into the toilet. Isn't there a conflict of interest when the man from Wall Street wants the government to bail out Wall Street? 

But, let's look at the two candidates.  One will inherit this mess.  Does anyone have a clue where either one of them stands? McCain suspends his campaign to  work out a resolution and that didn't work.  Obama, who wants to bring everyone together and suggests he can do that certainly didn't even get his own Democrats on board, did he? Yet, they both support the bailout!!?  Really!! Obama says his support is "tepid".  What does that mean?  Is he hedging his bets again so if it proves the wrong decision, he can say he really wasn't for it? And McCain---where is the fiscal conservative?  Shouldn't he be saying things like....this is socialism and a free market survives by its own checks and balances? Isn't this the market simply correcting itself for its past indulgences?  But McCain isn't and quite frankly, he looks frightened.  Neither candidate is giving me confidence.

And what about party politics?  The Democrats support this....right?  Soooo what is the problem?  The Democrats are the majority in Congress and have the votes to do this by themselves but they want Republicans in on this.  Why?  Is it to share the blame if it fails? Since when does the majority party blame the minority for the failure of legislation to pass?

Think about this.  Twelve out of thirty Democrats on Barney Franks' own Banking Committee voted against the bailout!!! Pelosi let this bill go to a vote and it failed.  What does that say?? Traditional wisdom is that no leader allows a bill to a vote they cannot win but she did! Why?  Well, either she is a poor leader and should be replaced (that is another issue) or....she is playing politics and wants this to run up to the election to benefit Democrats.  Remember that a short few weeks ago she said she would not deal with these financial issues until after the election and then she was forced to by the President.  My guess is Pelosi is not stupid and knows exactly what she is doing.  How about those absurdly partisan words by her just before the vote?  If any Republican was hesitating, she pushed the "blame the Republican" button and lost twelve Republican votes. The bill failed.  The Democrats could pass this without any Republicans IF they wanted it so I think they don't.

Who caused this?  Well, it is easy to answer.... the Republicans! After all, Clinton left a surplus to Bush who sank us into a trillion dollar deficit!!  But that is too easy and if you look closer I think you will see the Democrats are not without sin here.  2004 is an important year because Democrats took over Congress and there were hearings then about financial institution practices. McCain and others wanted more regulations for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae while the Democrats wanted them left alone because they were giving loans to lower income families for homes and businesses and according to people like Representatives Barney Frank and Maxine Waters, were solvent with no problems that needed fixing. That was in 2004 and while people were telling Congress there were serious problems of fraud and criminal activity in those financial institutions,  a Democratic congress turned a deal ear.  Maybe that is why now they want Republicans in on this bailout bill.

I am also just learning about a group called ACORN which stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform.  It has been reported that in this bailout bill, there was funding for ACORN until the Republicans took it out.  There are allegations that this group has engaged in corrupt, even criminal practices. Obama is tied to this group as an original organizer.  I think you will be hearing more about ACORN in the next few days.  Google it for some interesting articles in the daily newspapers. (I promise to get better at linking items to this blog) 

I am right now listening to Obama blaming Wall Street for the problem and encouraging bi-partisan support for the bailout bill. If he truly believes in the bill why is he not leading his party?  Why can't he get his own to pass this?  Why do they need Republican support?  If Obama cannot bring his own party on board, why do we think he can reach across the aisle to accomplish health care reform?  Of course, with this financial crisis, health care reform is probably dead anyway.  

Why do I keep wondering what Hillary is thinking?