Originally posted on my other blog on 093008.
Times are hard. Banks are failing. People are loosing their homes. Wall Street is preparing to get virtually a blank check from Treasury Secretary Paulson. All to the tune of 700 Billion dollars.
That’s $700,000,000,000.00! (A Seven followed by NINE zeros.)
To put that into perspective, and show you what every member of your household has at stake:
- $2,333.33 per Person (US Population: 300 Million)
- $3,500 per person over 18 (200 Million)
In my case (I have 5 daughters, myself and my wife) my stake is $16,333.33. That’s nearly 1/3 our combined incomes.
If I were to run a company (or even my own finances) as badly as these executives have allowed their companies to run and practice bad habits I would be bankrupt. I did not get myself in over my head. Had I of done so I would not have a home, as has happened to far to many. I would not get a bailout from the government nor a nice “bonus” from anyone. Why are we allowing OUR money to be spent rewarding the people who failed? Is that what our nation has become(1) ?
I say pay the guy who makes the money what he’s worth. If he looses you money then he looses his money as well. We are not a country that was build on the principal of “Everyone’s a Winner!”. We were built on the principal that if you work hard you will succeed. Not get a handout from the government when you screw up.
I have one thing to say, so I will sum it up here. Then you can read the quotes from various news papers and blogs below.
I am here to save the economy, not the executives. I will not allow my US Representative and Congressman to vote to bailout Wall Street as long as it includes ANY MONEY for the executives of the banks, lenders and other companies that will be accepting ANY of this “Bailout” money. Should my Representatives and Congressmen vote for a for a plan that allows this, I will vote them out.
Lets be perfectly honest here. In the end my dissent does not matter. Aside from a few who are already committed NOT TO VOTE FOR the bill, its going to pass. Fat Cat Executives are going to still get their money while Billy on Main Street is struggling.
Firms that receive an infusion of government cash of $300 million or more will be required to limit compensation for senior executives, with especially severe limits on “golden parachutes” at failing firms. For most firms, compensation limits will be enacted primarily through the tax code by reducing tax deductions for firms that pay their top five executives more than $500,000 a year(2) .
CNN Money reports that -
Curbs will be placed on the compensation of executives at companies that sell mortgage assets to Treasury. Among them, the bill would limit golden parachutes to executives at companies that participate; they will not be able to deduct the salary they pay to executives above $500,000.(3)
Conde Nast Portfolio reports -
Yet in the plan as it stands midday Sunday, the politicians managed to win key points that limit executive compensation and can claws back bonuses paid based on promised gains that later turn out to be false or inaccurate. Congress also gets oversight into how the money is spent and a promise that taxpayers will get stakes in the companies rescued so some reimbursement could be possible.(4)
LIMIT? What? I say NO! If they get ANY CASH they are answerable to the American people. As such that do not deserve EVEN ONE PENNY in compensation.
Why allow these executives to benefit from their failure? They screwed up. They are the ones who approved PREDATORY or HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE lending practices. They are the ones who setup a system so they could get rich while not caring that their money comes from bad loans and mortgages that ballooned and took down their borrowers.
However, one leading conservative, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), issued what amounted to a call to arms to fight the bailout.
“The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy. … Before you vote, ask yourself why you came here and vote with courage and integrity to those principals. If you came here because you believe in limited government and the freedom of the American marketplace, vote in accordance with those convictions,” Pence wrote to House Republicans today(5) .
I say No!
The plan still faces fierce opposition from House Republicans and Democrats angry at what they say is a taxpayer bailout of Wall Street “fat cats.” As the House opened for an unusual Sunday session, lawmakers from both parties rose, one after another, for one-minute speeches denouncing the agreement — and signaling a continuing struggle as policy-makers and their staff work out the final details.
“This morning we should be very much alarmed,” said Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), addressing himself directly to taxpayers. “Obviously, Washington is not listening to your wishes. Those who used to work for Goldman Sachs will support this deal. . . . Those who have blocked reform in the past will support this deal. I will not support this deal.”
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) railed against the agreement and the Wall Street financiers who would be helped. “These criminals have so much political power they can shut down the normal legislative process,” she said.
Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) rose to compare the administration’s urgings to rush a bailout plan to the pressure exerted on Congress to act after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
“This is the same politics of fear we’re hearing from the financial fat cats on Wall Street,” Poe said. “Backroom deals trouble me because they usually turn out to be bad deals for America.”
The conservative Texan was followed and echoed by the staunchly liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who said, “The $700 billion bailout is driven by fear, not fact.”(6)
Over at Feministe -
Well, I should be clear – corporate welfare is a-ok, as this entire bailout package demonstrates. But welfare for individuals and families who are just trying to survive? Nah, that kind of welfare doesn’t fly, nor does the affordable housing that might help rescue them from this collapsing housing market. So Wall Street screws working-class Americans with the sub-prime mortgage fiasco, which then backfires and contributes to Wall Street getting screwed, and then Wall Street are the only ones who can really count on being bailed out? Sounds like a big ol’ FAIL to me(7) .
According to a quote in the New York Times -
Mr. Obama, in a statement, said: “When taxpayers are asked to take such an extraordinary step because of the irresponsibility of a relative few, it is not a cause for celebration. But this step is necessary.”(8)
“This is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with,” Mr. McCain said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” “The option of doing nothing is simply not an option.”(9)
More Reading and worth pondering -
- Discussion Draft Of The Bailout Bill
- Our Future – Top 5 Reasons to Vote Against Paulson’s $700 Billion Bailout
- Deadline Pundit – Bailout Giveaway
- Michelle Malkin – All aboard the bailout bandwagon? Hell, no!
- Hot Air – Myth vs Fact on bailout compromise
Just. Say. No.
Start Footnotes
- As it turns out yes. Its is. Our society is so against seeing anyone fail that we have colleges that just have pass of fail. Everyone gets a team trophy, even if you suck and we celebrate graduation from Elementary school. [↩]
- See Full Article here. Washington Post. [↩]
- See Full Article here. CNN Money. [↩]
- See Full Article here. Portfolio. [↩]
- See Full Article here. Washington Post.[↩]
- Read Full Article here. LA Times. [↩]
- See Full Post here. Feministe. [↩]
- See Full Article here. New York Times. [↩]
- See Full Article here. New York Times. [↩]
End Footnotes.
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