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I think we MT's need a bonus and a bailout!

Posted By: Dontcha think? on 2008-11-13
In Reply to: Wall street bonuses expected - to come this season despite bailout

nm


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And it is a CONTINUOUS bonus to the taxpayer's pay, ....sm
Trickle-down economics did not work in all those Republican years, so I guess it might be time to think outside the sandbox,guys? Perhaps a new President with new ideas, since the old ones got us in this predicament in the first place? Why aren't the hard-core Pubs more angry that their government and leaders got us here and kept us here, while feeding the rich more tax cuts, and while taking off all the banking regulations and looking the other way???? Crony-ism at its best!
The transcript and a bonus (the incorrect spelling is not mine)

































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Saturday, Oct 01, 2005

















Quotes And Statements




Quotes Statement By Bill Bennett, Sep. 30, 2005
From the Desk of William J. Bennett September 30, 2005

On Wednesday, a caller to my radio show proposed the idea that one good argument for the pro-life position would be that if we didn't have abortions, Social Security would be solvent. I stated my doubts about such a thesis, as well as my opposition to such a form of argument (the audio of the call is available at my Website: bennettmornings.com).

I then stated that such extrapolations of this argument can cut both ways, and cited the current bestseller, Freakonomics, which discusses the authors' thesis that abortion reduces crime.

Then, putting my philosophy professor's hat on, I went on to reveal the limitations of such arguments by showing the absurdity in another such argument, along the same lines. I entertained what law school professors call 'the Socratic method' and what I would hope good social science professors still use in their seminars. In so doing, I suggested a hypothetical analogy while at the same time saying the proposition I was using about blacks and abortion was 'impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible,' just to ensure those who would have any doubt about what they were hearing, or for those who tuned in to the middle of the conversation.

The issues of crime and race have been on many people's minds, and tongues, for the past month or so--in light of the situation in New Orleans; and the issues of race, crime, and abortion are well aired and ventilated in articles, the academy, the think tank community, and public policy. Indeed the whole issue of crime and race is not new in social science, nor popular literature. One of the authors of Freakonomics, himself, had an extended exchange on the discussion of these issues on the Internet some years back--which was also much debated in the think tank community in Washington.

A thought experiment about public policy, on national radio, should not have received the condemnations it has. Anyone paying attention to this debate should be offended by those who have selectively quoted me, distorted my meaning, and taken out of context the dialogue I engaged in this week. Such distortions from 'leaders' of organizations and parties is a disgrace not only to the organizations and institutions they serve, but to the First Amendment.

In sum, let me reiterate what I had hoped my long career had already established: that I renounce all forms of bigotry--and that my record in trying to provide opportunities for, as well as save the lives of, minorities in this country stands up just fine.



Quotes Bill Bennett Interview on Fox News' Hannity & Colmes Regarding Race, Crime, Etc.
Courtesy of Fox News Channel/9-29-2005

First, our top story tonight is the controversy surrounding radio talk show host Bill Bennett. Yesterday on his radio show, Mr. Bennett -- Dr. Bennett was quoted as saying. I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you cold abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down...that would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.

The comments have drawn criticism today from Senate minority leader Harry Reid who said he was appalled. Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy who called them racist and from House minority leader Nancy Pelosi who said they were shameful. Bill Bennett joins us now in an exclusive interview to talk about these comments.

Dr. Bennett, we appreciate you coming on tonight.

DR. BILL BENNETT, MORNING IN AMERICA HOST: Thank you.

COLMES: Might give you an opportune to put them in context and explain.

BENNETT: Sure. Well, the context was a radio show that I was doing yesterday, and the topic was abortion and we were talking about bad arguments in regard to abortion. A caller suggested he was opposed to abortion because he said if there were more babies there would be, eventually, more tax payers and a larger GNP, a smaller deficit. I said you want to be careful with that kind of argument because someone could postulate a situation where child's not likely to be a productive taxpayer. I said, arguments in which you take something that's far out, like the GNP and try to connect it up with abortion are tricky. I said make the case of abortion on the basis of life and protecting life. I said abortion is invoked in another way; you could make an argument that if you wanted to lower the crime rate, you saw the quote; you could practice abortion in very large numbers. You could do it in the black community; you could do it in other places. This is, by the way, the subject of a book for economics by a professor at Yale.

I said, however, if you were to practice that, widespread abortion in the black community or any other community, it would be ridiculous, impossible, and I appreciate you putting it on the screen, morally reprehensible. So I think morally reprehensible, when that is included in the quote makes it perfectly clear what my position is. A number of the people whom you have cited as condemning me have not made the inclusion of that remark, and so they make it seem, Alan, as if I am supporting such a monstrous idea, which of course I don't.

COLMES: Here's my concern. The root cause of crime, one would debate, it seems to be poverty. And from your remarks, I wonder if people might interpret it as saying the root cause of crime is race. And that debate about is it race is it poverty? What really is the root cause? And race affects people of all races and creeds and I think that's why...

BENNETT: Poverty. Poverty affects people of all races. Let me tell you what bothers me first, because I'm always candid with you. What bothers me is that last night on your radio show, you were all over me, Alan. And, you know, I was really surprised. You know me, you've known me for a long time and the fact that you would give credence to the notion that I would believe such a thing is very disturbing. I've had 1,000 opportunities when people have said to me what about that Alan Colmes, isn't he a jerk or a liberal this -- I've always said he's always a gentleman, he's nice to me. I run a radio show in which we don't yell at people, we don't make fun of them. We have liberals and conservatives and we deal with sensitive and important public policies issues and we do it in a responsible way. But people need to follow the argument and the argument I was making here is entirely plausible. The causes of crime are very complicated. But there is a very big literature, as you know, about single parenthood in crime, about race in crime, and about poverty in crime. And we've been talking about all these things lately in the context of New Orleans and other things.

COMES: Let me talk to you...

BENNETT: There are real things in the real world, and there are people who believe we should take such monstrous steps.

COLMES: Let me talk about what I said on my radio show.

BENNETT: I do not.

COLMES: Dr. Bennett -- Bill, because you know, I do consider you someone -- we've been good to each other. I like you. I think you respect me.

BENNETT: Yes sir.

COLMES: I was really shocked.

BENNETT: Have been.

COLMES: And I plaid what you said and the whole context of what you said. Frankly, I was just shocked by it. I don't believe you're a racist. I don't think that you believe those things. I was just shocked by what I heard and I -- basically there was a lot of callers calling up and commenting on it after I played your comments. And a lot of other people were shocked that you would have -- in the context you said it, say the things you said.

BENNETT: Well, you know, to put forward a hypothesis, a morally impossible hypothesis to show why it is morally impossible and reprehensible seems to me is a standard way of talking about public policy and a standard way of teaching. You know, I've taught philosophy for years and one argues in the hypothetical all the time. People have said such outrageous things, Alan, about race and this is not unknown to our history. It's certainly not unknown to our history -- to the history of Europe, recently. It's not unknown to the history of Islam. And what we have -- you've got to be able to make an argument and say look, you may be thinking you're going to achieve some good end, but you can't use a monstrous means to do it. You know, this is like a Swift's modest proposal for people who remember their literature. You put things up in order to examine them. I put it up, examined it, and said that is ridiculous and impossible no matter who advances that idea.

COLMES: All right, we got -- Sean will be with you in the next segment. There are some statistics, you know, that talk about how African- Americans are treated disparagingly in the criminal justice and, you know, we could debate whether or not there really is a greater prejudice against African-Americans and whether they are incarcerated disproportionately.

BENNETT: Yeah.

COLMES: But look we got to take a break and we'll continue with you...

BENNETT: Those are big complicated questions...

COLMES: And later, there more political fallout on Capitol Hill today over the indictment of Congressman Tom Delay. We'll take you behind closed doors to one of the most powerful members in the House.

And then Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, says the suffering of hurricane Katrina has actually brought black Americans together. Is he using the crisis for his own political gain? You don't want to miss this.

And FEMA made a hasty deal in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and it's costing taxpayers $236 million. We'll get to the bottom of this shocking story coming up on HANNITY COLMES, tonight.

(NEWSBREAK) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: And this is a FOX News Alert. You are looking live at the hills of southern California where wildfires are blazing out of control and are threatening to destroy private residences. We have 3,000 firefighters working at this hour to control the blaze, but as you can see from these live pictures, they're still burning pretty hot. We're gong to keep you updated throughout the hour. We'll bring you new pictures as we get them and let you know as this developes. We hope they can put that out. I was out in southern California in Hope Ranch when this happened. It is devastating.

Also coming up tonight, now that Tom Delay is out House majority leader, at least temporarily, will issue like immigration reforms, spending on the federal level will suffer. We're going to ask one of the men who is stepping into part of his leadership position.

And there is some late-breaking information tonight about the man who is prosecuting come to Tom Delay. Is it a publicity stunt for a movie being made about him? We'll tell you about this tonight.

First, we continue with the host of Morning in America. Bill Bennett is back with us.

Bill, first of all, I have known for you many, many years. I know your faith, I know your character, I know who you are. You're a former secretary of education, former drug czar. This notion that Bill Bennett as is being alleged by prominent democrats has any racist bone in his body is appalling to me.

BENNETT: Yeah.

HANNITY: And I'm glad to hear you say what you said here. I want you to respond to those democrats that are grandstanding, the same ones that had Robert Bird, the former Klansman as their leader. The ones that didn't speak out about Congressman Wrangle's Bull Connor remark.

BENNETT: Yeah. Yeah. Well, let's see, you got Kennedy. I will -- I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence. I'll take no moral instruction with him. That's much worse than legal gambling what Teddy Kennedy did. He should make no judgments at all about people. He shouldn't be in the Senate. As far as racist and all this other stuff, I'll put my record up with Howard Dean, with Harry Reid.

When I was drug czar, you bet, we were working on the issue of black crime, Alan and Sean, because there was a lot of crime in the black community. And you know who most of the victims are? Their black people. Yeah, black violence -- black-on-black violence is very serious. I went to about 120 inner city communities. That's where the senate wanted me to go, that's where the Senate wanted me to go, that's where I wanted to go. We went after public housing and we went after the bad guys. And you know what? We got the bad guys. And drug use went down. And we raised the price and lowered the purity of cocaine. And we arrested four of the most powerful drug dealers in the world. And got a lot of these guys off the street. And I am very proud of that. Because when we went into the inner city black community, the people said to me, Mr. Czar, or Czar, or Mr. Benet, you get those people off the street and protect us. And we did our best to do it.

Before that, when I was secretary of education, I took on what I think is one of the great civil rights issues of our time, which is educational opportunity and educational choice. The stupid ghettoized curriculum we have, the fact that these black kids go to lousy schools and aren't allowed to choose the schools of their choice because they don't have the money and don't have the opportunity.

I've been at this for 25 years and I have been called everything in the book, but I will stay at what I do because I believe it.

Let me just tell you, when it comes to abortion, my wife's program, best friends, has kept more young women from having abortions because they don't get pregnant because they take her good counsel...

HANNITY: Let me...

BENNETT: Than the entire black caucus. She has done more for inner city black girls than the entire black caucus. So I will not bow my head to any of these people. I will not give up the ground of compassion and sympathy. But I'll tell you, we have real issues and we have got to talk about them candidly. And if you don't think there are people who are making draconian proposals about abortion and this and that and the other thing, you know, you don't know the nature...

HANNITY: Let me ask you this. I want to ask you about the nature of debate in this society.

BENNETT: Sure.

HANNITY: I go back to the Bill Maher issue. I don't like -- I don't even like Bill Maher. We disagree on just about everything. But Bill Maher said one statement and his entire history of support in the military was cast aside and people focused on one thing. I said wait a minute, that's wrong. Here's Bill Bennett, here's Trent Lott. One statement, there's no room to apologize, explain, put into context, revise or extend one's remarks because people want to hop on it. We now see the democrats trying to do right now with you and trying to put you in a position of characterizing you, or categorizing you as something you are not. What does that tell you about debate and free speech in the country today?

BENNETT: It's bad. You know, if you could do an analysis -- it would be interesting to do an analysis. All day I've been reading reports and statements by people about me, Sean, and it's interesting, some use the whole quote and are fair, some don't. And that tells you something. But the problem, I think, on the liberal side, the democratic side is they attitudinize, they condemn but they don't have a program.

You know, the president -- I hope the president pays for this program in New Orleans, but he's got a program, and it's some interesting ideas about enterprise zones and school choice, and giving people opportunities, you know, with the loans and the green lining and they ought to be tried. Because these are ideas that might actually help the poor as opposed to maintaining the welfare state, which does not help poor people at all. It's destroyed a lot of families and it has created circumstances in which more poor people and more black people have had to suffer. What's lifted, the economic life and reduced crime in the black community has been hope and opportunity and education and enterprise.

HANNITY: Let me ask you one last question.

BENNETT: And that I think is much more, I have to tell you on this side of the aisle, I want to politicize this because there are good people on both sides.

HANNITY: Explain. I want you to explain, though, for people that see that one quote, that read that one quote, what do you say to them?

BENNETT: What I say to them, Sean, is if they were given the impression that I, you know, am in favor of such a horrible idea as, you know, my critics are suggesting, they need to look at the whole quote. I don't believe that. And I'm sorry that people have misrepresented my views so much that that has given folks that impression. You're right about a person's life. I've got a life, you know, take me in the totality of my actions and I'll tell you, I will stand with my record.

One must be very careful one gets into these arguments and we try to do it. But, you know, we try on this show to do serious and controversial issues. And it's a big country and it's a free country. We don't put liberals down. We don't put people down with whom we disagree. We talk about serious things in a serious way. And if you're not allowed to talk about these subjects, then it's not the country it's supposed to be.

You've got to be able to condemn these horrible ideas as I did.

HANNITY: Bill Bennett, appreciate you being on the program.

BENNETT: Thank you. Thank you guys.

HANNITY: Thank you very much.

And come upping next, Tom Delay will be fighting charges in court. So, you will be fighting for the GOP (SIC) in Congress. We'll talk to one republican leader next.

And who was the man going after the House majority leader, Tom Delay? We have late-breaking information tonight that he is allowing film makers to make a movie about him. Is this all part of a script? We'll give you the details. Much more to come.


We already established she is capable. It is a bonus that she is a fine person.
Typical Dem.
Liar, liar - Sen. Dodd Admits Adding Bonus Provision to Stimulus Package


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/18/sen-dodd-admits-adding-bonus-provision-stimulus-package/100days/


Bailout

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of our money, frist by inflation and then by deflation; the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks) will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered"


-President Thomas Jefferson


here's your bailout
I think that all the CEOs of the big three along with all their members of the board and whatnot, all the big wigs, that have made millions screwing people over for years and years should dip into their OWN pockets and sell a few houses, cancel a few vacations, cash in a few money markets and get their own companies out of debt.  Then, when the books are balanced, the people who have been making 80,000 a year to push a button should take a pay cut and NOT go on strike and live like the rest of real America.  Then they should be fine.
Bailout
if they fail, do you realize it would affect everyone. Millions of jobs in the auto industry alone. If people don't have jobs, they can't spend money anywhere. Stores will start to close, etc. It will affect everyone.
Bailout
I totally agree 1000% with your analysis - the only time these greedy CEO's give a hoot about us is when they see their profits increase.  You can bet your last five cents that if one of us went to them asking for money - they would call the police!!  It would be interesting to see  the salaries of CEO's in Europe as opposed to what these guys continually fleece us for...
About That First Bailout
Do you remember who told us "we had to act now or we might face dooms day (sic)" with all that bailout money? It was Hank Paulsen and George Bush. We may as well have flushed that first TARP payment down the toilet. There was no accountability, and no one knows where all that money went.

At least the present stimulus package has accountability built into it and some limits as to what can and can't be done with the money.
the bailout IS making

the US a socialist country - compliments of your beloved GWB and McPalin. congratulations you got your wish.


 


No Bailout for the rich
Say no to the bailout.  The FBI is investigating all of these companies for criminal mortgage fraud.
Why the rush for the bailout

There Is No Crisis--Summary by: Chris BowersTue Sep 23, 2008 at 16:22


Things are getting a little suspicious about this crisis.


1) Why did the Bush administration suddenly declare a crisis during the final two weeks when Congress would be in session during his presidency? Is it maybe because, after the election, Congress would know it wasn't dealing with Bush anymore?


2) If this is such a sudden crisis, why is it that the Bush administration was drawing up the plan for this bill for months beforehand?


3) Why is it that Congress is supposed to bail out many banks and firms that are actually quite successful and profitable right now, and not just those that are failing?


4) Why is Paulson blatantly lying to Congress about oversight?


5) Where did the $700 billion figure come from?


6) Why is Paulson urging that debate on the matter be held after the legislation is passed?The burden of proof should always be placed on those who are demanding a huge government bailout, not upon those who are skeptical that one is needed. And yet the questions keep mounting, with no answers in sight.


I am not saying that there is no need for government intervention. I am saying that the case for a $700 billion bailout is far from having been made. Until the case is made, there is no need to go forward. We will elect a new President in 42 days. We swear in a new Congress in 103 days. What is the rush? Why does this all of a sudden need to be done while the Bush administration is still in charge? The case hasn't been made, and answers are slow in coming, if they come at all. Chris Bowers :: There Is No Crisis--Summary


I don't agree with the bailout

We have some savings, but we still live paycheck-to-paycheck, not wanting to touch the savings.  I really don't agree that we taxpayers should have to fund this.  I think that the higher ups that walked away with 100s of thousands or even millions should have to pay for this.  Charge them with fraud and make them give it back.  I certainly don't feel I've put anyone in this situation and therefore don't feel I should have to pay for it. 


only 24% of us support the bailout
Yesterday it was reported only 24% of Americans support the bailout, 56% are opposed so 20% have no opinion. Senators' and reps' offices were flooded with calls and emails all day asking that the bailout be opposed. And I was one of those. Everyone should be contacting their own reps to express their opinions. That's they only way they will know what the people want.
Yes, and how about the bailout, ACORN, and
nm
Well.....look at it this way....if they don't push this bailout...
there are folks who know "where the bodies are buried." There is probably so much we DON'T know about all this...and yes, it is disgusting. Dodd and Frank, if they had an ounce of integrity, would apologize to the American people and resign. Pelosi, if SHE had an ounce of integrity, would demand it. So far John McCain is the ONLY one who has said someone should resign, and that was Christopher Cox, the Republican head of the SEC. He SHOULD resign. So should the treasury secretary, Paulson. Every member of that committee that voted back in 2006 to kill the bill McCain co-sponsored should resign. They should all be investigated criminally as well as far as I am concerned. I know the FBI is looking at Fannie/Freddie but talk about a day late and dollar short after Raines, Johnson, Howard, and Gorelick raped the American public for millions.

You're right. They should ALL have to go and start over.
SNL skit on the bailout. sm
Funny but sad because it is true.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/37758/saturday-night-live-c-span-bailout#s-p1-st-i1
TheSmokingGun/bailout
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/1007083aig1.html
AIG spa trip, right after gov. bailout approved. This is disgusting.
Not a bailout, entirely voluntary (nm

x


Again, I don't think the problem is the bailout itself, (sm)
but rather the way it's used, which right now leaves a lot to be desired.  As far as the rest of the country being screwed, well that's coming either way.  We have 2 choices--we can either do nothing, lose millions of jobs and go into a full-blown depression; or we can take a chance with bailing them out (preferably with stipulations) and owe a lot of money.  I think my preference would be to pay more taxes if need be, but still have a job so I could feed my family instead of not being able to do either of the above.
But, the first bailout passed because
the dems had the majority of votes. Am I right or did I lose my mind? DON"T ANSWER THAT QUESTION, PLEASE. LOL
Bailout dies in Senate.........sm
It's over, at least for this year.  I don't know, and the article did not state, whether there will be more talks after the first of the year. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4B50CL20081212?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
I have some ideas about auto bailout

Let the oil companies bail them out since they directly benefited from some of the bad management decisions.


Don't bail out the companies.  Give the money to the workers for re-education, etc., while the auto companies restructure.


My first suggestion was a little cynical, but I'm not sure why the second hasn't occurred to anyone.  ...


A little satire about the bailout scam. sm
A sense of humor can help in stressful times.

From The Nation to the nation:

"Dear Lucky American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson"

Bailout as a Nigerian Request for Help
Ron Paul's comments on the bailout. sm
Dr. No is still working for us in Congress.

Dear Friends:

The financial meltdown the economists of the Austrian School predicted has arrived.

We are in this crisis because of an excess of artificially created credit at the hands of the Federal Reserve System. The solution being proposed? More artificial credit by the Federal Reserve. No liquidation of bad debt and malinvestment is to be allowed. By doing more of the same, we will only continue and intensify the distortions in our economy - all the capital misallocation, all the malinvestment - and prevent the market's attempt to re-establish rational pricing of houses and other assets.

Last night the president addressed the nation about the financial crisis. There is no point in going through his remarks line by line, since I'd only be repeating what I've been saying over and over - not just for the past several days, but for years and even decades.

Still, at least a few observations are necessary.

The president assures us that his administration "is working with Congress to address the root cause behind much of the instability in our markets." Care to take a guess at whether the Federal Reserve and its money creation spree were even mentioned?

We are told that "low interest rates" led to excessive borrowing, but we are not told how these low interest rates came about. They were a deliberate policy of the Federal Reserve. As always, artificially low interest rates distort the market. Entrepreneurs engage in malinvestments - investments that do not make sense in light of current resource availability, that occur in more temporally remote stages of the capital structure than the pattern of consumer demand can support, and that would not have been made at all if the interest rate had been permitted to tell the truth instead of being toyed with by the Fed.

Not a word about any of that, of course, because Americans might then discover how the great wise men in Washington caused this great debacle. Better to keep scapegoating the mortgage industry or "wildcat capitalism" (as if we actually have a pure free market!).

Speaking about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the president said: "Because these companies were chartered by Congress, many believed they were guaranteed by the federal government. This allowed them to borrow enormous sums of money, fuel the market for questionable investments, and put our financial system at risk."

Doesn't that prove the foolishness of chartering Fannie and Freddie in the first place? Doesn't that suggest that maybe, just maybe, government may have contributed to this mess? And of course, by bailing out Fannie and Freddie, hasn't the federal government shown that the "many" who "believed they were guaranteed by the federal government" were in fact correct?

Then come the scare tactics. If we don't give dictatorial powers to the Treasury Secretary "the stock market would drop even more, which would reduce the value of your retirement account. The value of your home could plummet." Left unsaid, naturally, is that with the bailout and all the money and credit that must be produced out of thin air to fund it, the value of your retirement account will drop anyway, because the value of the dollar will suffer a precipitous decline. As for home prices, they are obviously much too high, and supply and demand cannot equilibrate if government insists on propping them up.

It's the same destructive strategy that government tried during the Great Depression: prop up prices at all costs. The Depression went on for over a decade. On the other hand, when liquidation was allowed to occur in the equally devastating downturn of 1921, the economy recovered within less than a year.

The president also tells us that Senators McCain and Obama will join him at the White House today in order to figure out how to get the bipartisan bailout passed. The two senators would do their country much more good if they stayed on the campaign trail debating who the bigger celebrity is, or whatever it is that occupies their attention these days.

F.A. Hayek won the Nobel Prize for showing how central banks' manipulation of interest rates creates the boom-bust cycle with which we are sadly familiar. In 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, he described the foolish policies being pursued in his day - and which are being proposed, just as destructively, in our own:

Instead of furthering the inevitable liquidation of the maladjustments brought about by the boom during the last three years, all conceivable means have been used to prevent that readjustment from taking place; and one of these means, which has been repeatedly tried though without success, from the earliest to the most recent stages of depression, has been this deliberate policy of credit expansion.

To combat the depression by a forced credit expansion is to attempt to cure the evil by the very means which brought it about; because we are suffering from a misdirection of production, we want to create further misdirection - a procedure that can only lead to a much more severe crisis as soon as the credit expansion comes to an end... It is probably to this experiment, together with the attempts to prevent liquidation once the crisis had come, that we owe the exceptional severity and duration of the depression.

The only thing we learn from history, I am afraid, is that we do not learn from history.

The very people who have spent the past several years assuring us that the economy is fundamentally sound, and who themselves foolishly cheered the extension of all these novel kinds of mortgages, are the ones who now claim to be the experts who will restore prosperity! Just how spectacularly wrong, how utterly without a clue, does someone have to be before his expert status is called into question?

Oh, and did you notice that the bailout is now being called a "rescue plan"? I guess "bailout" wasn't sitting too well with the American people.

The very people who with somber faces tell us of their deep concern for the spread of democracy around the world are the ones most insistent on forcing a bill through Congress that the American people overwhelmingly oppose. The very fact that some of you seem to think you're supposed to have a voice in all this actually seems to annoy them.

I continue to urge you to contact your representatives and give them a piece of your mind. I myself am doing everything I can to promote the correct point of view on the crisis. Be sure also to educate yourselves on these subjects - the Campaign for Liberty blog is an excellent place to start. Read the posts, ask questions in the comment section, and learn.

H.G. Wells once said that civilization was in a race between education and catastrophe. Let us learn the truth and spread it as far and wide as our circumstances allow. For the truth is the greatest weapon we have.

In liberty,

Ron Paul
Letter to Congress re the bailout. sm
The bailout has stalled. Please contact your reps and tell them NO to the bailout. Phone calls, emails, and letters are having an impact. People have already lost their homes and jobs. According to experts in economics, this is going to cause inflation to soar and a depression.

Letter below is from someone who is on the verge of losing their home, and gave permission to copy it.

Almost 300 years ago the founders of this country believed in freedom and liberty so much that they risked everything—their property, prosperity, comfort, honor, and even their very lives—on the near impossible gamble of taking on the world’s greatest superpower, at that time, to win the liberty that we enjoy today. That example has inspired Americans through the ages until the present day to reach for greatness despite the presence of risk and uncertainty. Against these dangers the intrepid push forward, knowing the price of failure, yet never succumbing to fear because our system is so robust in its scope that failure can be overcome and the rewards of hard work eventually achieved. In these troubled financial times, we are tempted by fear to shy away from the responsibility that liberty requires and instead hearken to the safety net of socialism. George Washington and his men had no safety net. The price of failure for them was certain death.

More money can always be made, but once we give up our freedom for socialism we can only buy it back with blood and death. CongressPerson, that is too high a price for the rescue of a few banks that should have known better. Let them suffer the consequences of their actions. Let the markets buy up their assets and redistribute them as only a free market can. Bring back sound money and the value backed currency the Constitution requires. Stop the central bankers at the Federal Reserve from ruining our country. There will be some pain, just like there was in the winter at Valley Forge, but in the spring, the economy will thrive again just as did the army that won our freedom.

I call on you now CongressPerson to fight for our freedom. Fight with all your might and strength the way our troopers did at Cowpens. Do not surrender. Do not sell us out. Fight for us and our liberty CongressPerson, as if we were about to lose it…because we are.

RJH
Norman, OK

PS I am a homeowner in distress. I stand to avoid the specter of foreclosure if you pass the bailout…but PLEASE DON’T PASS IT! I would rather lose my house than see America lose her freedom. In time I can buy another house.
The Roundtable is chatting about the bailout.

Newt Gingrich, George Will, Steven Pearlstein, and Robert Reich are "debating".


The terms of the bailout will be posted on line around noon today. I think we all should read it to see what it's all about.


Because the bailout is a corrupt piece of
Most people do not even realize that HALF that money they are stealing from us is going DIRECTLY to foreign investors, i.e., the China
2-step......read up on it. Better yet, I'll send a link... sickens me to no end!!!!!

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=234
The O also voted for the bailout package. (nm)
x
Where is it documented that the man in charge of the bailout...
is Muslim? He's Indian-American by all I can find out. Would not matter if he was Muslim; however, I can't find anything credible saying that he is.
For those who support the auto bailout........ sm
please answer me this. 

If the Big 3 are truly in the dire financial straites they claim to be, surely this did not come on overnight.  Surely they did not wake up one morning a couple of weeks ago and say "wow, we have a problem.  Let's go get help from Washington."  GM has already received help from the government before and it didn't seem to keep them solvent.  With that line of thinking, what makes those of you who support the bailout think that they will manage whatever funds (it's up to $34K and possibly growing) they receive wisely and will not allow this to happen again? 
Yes, Bush proposed a bailout....
the majority democratic congress rejected HIS and made one of their own...you don't remember all the haggling back and forth? Bush by himself couldn't have done squat. Actually more republicans were against it than democrats and got castigated for stalling the bill that was going to save us all. Then the dems had to add a little pork into it (money for wooden arrows and some such) before it finally passed. However, if Chris Dodd (D) chair of banking and finance committees and Barney Frank (D) in the House had not blocked EVERY attempt by Bush and yes, John McCain, to regulate Fannie and Freddie it would be a moot point, because we would NOT BE in this mess. Whatever else Bush has done, he had NOTHING to do with this economic crisis. That was all Dems, all the time, to make sure every american whether you could afford one or not got into a house.
The bailout isn't going to help-Diana Olick

"The TARP money isn’t going directly to bail out the housing market, and let’s just say a lot of folks are PO’d.


The argument is that a lot of folks don’t qualify, there’s a 3% upfront fee on the FHA insurance, a 1.5 percent fee for the duration of the loan, and a lot of lenders still don’t want to write down principal, as is required by the program.



So then we get to the Hill this morning, and what I can only describe as a skewering of Neel Kashkari, the Treasury’s Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability. Congressman Dennis Kucinich of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform took Mr. Kashkari to task for changing the rules to the game of Monopoly, TARP edition. In fact, here’s a little montage with Kashkari, Kucinich, Cong. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), and Cong. Darrell Issa (R-CA), just the best bits from the testimony:


Kashkari: The secretary is very passionate about this as well-


Kucinich: Passionate about what?


Kashkari: Helping homeowners, congressman -


Kucinich: wwww- he is? in what country??


Cummings: You're on TV. You’re the man. I don't know how much we're paying you, but you're our employee...


Issa: Y'know, we could go ring around the rosie here, but you are here because Congress feels you played a bait and switch game...


Kashkari: I don’t think it's a good use of taxpayer money to put taxpayer capital into an institution that's going to fail-


Kucinich: Boy y'know, that statement you just made, you will hear about for the rest of your career.


Cummings: Is Kashkari a chump? "


 


Auto Bailout is on C-Span. If you

want to watch it tonight, it will be on at 8 p.m. In the meantime, the plans of GM and Ford are online.


I feel sorry for the Chryler guy. He seems to be the most honest and wants the least amount of money. Sen. Corker - TN told him right out he doubts Chrysler is going to make it even with the money and they should just be bought out by someone and leave the company go.


He was also tough on the UAW Gettlefinger (or whatever his name is). I don't blame him there. The guy was squirming but he kept talking about all the concessions hurting the workers; i.e., not willing to make concessions.


Hope the link works.


I don't agree with not giving them the bailout.

I think part of the problem is that now the foreign car makers who have plants here want a piece of the pie if the big 3 get it. I think that's what is turning them off.


They should never have started this bailout crap. I was against it from the start. But do our lawmakers listen to us? Nope.  They should have held a special election and let the people vote on it.


I think we need to start throwing out the guys who are not listening to their constiuents. A good wake up call might just straighten these jerks up.


Auto industry bailout...(sm)

I happen to think that the auto industry does need a bailout.  No, I don't agree with keeping the current management, and I do believe in making stipulations for how that money is spent.  I know most of you will disagree with that, but here's what I'm seeing in TN.


Congressman Zach Wamp (R) from TN was on the tube last night talkiing about how he does not want to do the bailout.  If that's his opinion that fine ----- However, lets look at his reason.  TN has been bidding for a new Volkswagon plant which has recently come to fruition---right here in my home town by the way.  He has been pushing for this for years.  This is obviously a good thing for people in TN because of the jobs it would create.  What I find ironic though is that he would let American companies go down the tubes and yet support a foreign auto maker.   My honest opinion about guys like this, is that they want the job creation, regardless of where the real money is going (overseas) and they would like to do this in such a manner so as to cut out unions. 


ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!


CITI group bailout
Okay, MSN just said the new administration will go into significant deficit spending to fund programs and bailout. They are talking a 700 Billion package here. Can anyone tell me how they will do that and where does deficit money come from? Seriously. I don't get it. Are we losing more and more of our future personal security here? Does this get borrowed from other sources (as in the spending they did instead of funding our social security?) Without that Social Security income in my future (not too far off, I might add) on top of what I have lost in my 401K and IRA, I am doomed.
Just thinking about this bailout money.
can demand for my money back from the bailout and get it back? Would anybody listen to me? Probably not. What about hiring a lawyer? After all, the money we gave to the government was to bail out foreclosure homes and bad assets. Millions of people called in to their legislators to state NO TO THE BAILOUT. When it was time to vote on the bailout, it was first a NO. Then it was voted again and it was approved and then went down to the chain and they voted and it was approved AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! NONE OF THE MONEY WENT TO THE FORECLOSED HOMES AND BAD ASSETS, but to the banks and to their CEO's bonuses, jets, vacation/trips,etc. Also went to the 2 car companies?

The car companies said about 2 million would lose their jobs and hurt the economy. Well, I thought we had about 81,000 lose their jobs in 3 DAYS this week! By the way, if you watch Super Bowl this Sunday, the stadium holds around 75,000 people. Look at all those people sitting in that stadium which is about how many have lost their jobs in 3 days.

Now we are at 4.8 million collecting unemployment which probably does not count for the 81,000 who lost their jobs Mon, Tues, and Wed. Also does not count for the ones who have lost their jobs today. So what if the car companies went down. Do they still have their jets and bonuses coming? By the way, Ford is not asking again for this next bailout. I will only buy American made products and I own Ford vehicles. I know in the stimulus it states something about GMC/Chrysler to give us a discount of around 7,500 to buy a new car. Well, I DO NOT HAVE 25,000-40,000 to buy a new car. Sticking to 3-5 year old Ford vehicles.

Well, dang it! I WANT MY MONEY BACK AND "NO MORE" BEING SENT TO THE GOVERNMENT. Frankly, THEY SUCK AT THEIR JOBS! Nothing but money hungry, greed, irresponsible, ego trip jerks. I already called my legislators again and told them I do not approve this stimulus. It needs more time to be approved. I understood in the stimulus that there is nothing that states about buying foreclosed homes. Suzie Orman states we have to buy the bad assets like the first bailout was supposed to do or our homes we are in are going to be worth nothing and need to focus on new jobs or there are going to be more foreclosures. Some areas like Toledo, Ohio and areas of Michigan are not in a recession, but a depression and soon it will hit us too. Shoot, we could all be out on the streets.

So, I WANT MY MONEY BACK TO FEED MY FAMILY! NO MORE HANDOUTS TO THE GOVERNMENT. Any suggestions? Sorry, just venting.
Who benefited from the bank bailout?

Wall Street, Citigroup, AIG, Fannie May/Freddie Mac, the car companies.


I don't want a check either but wouldn't be nice if they would give us the money instead of coming up with all these carppy bogged down packages?


What would you do if they would give us $30K or more?  That would probably cost less than what they are proposing and you know darn well, that money would go into the economy faster than their plan.


 


Only bankers take bailout money which
Only bankers who have to take bailout money should not have money go toward bonuses (at least for the year or two if economy is bad), no raises, no high end vacations for all executives, take a decrease in pay, etc.

We all as families have to budget and I have had to take a decrease in pay of up to 30% and my husband's is 7% this year with no bonus. Am I complaining, No! Why? Because we are thankful we have a job right now.

Bankers should do the same. They can sell their jet, get rid of their luxury cars (should be thankful they have a car at all), boats, high end vacations, etc. They can still take a vacation, like a ski trip or camping, hiking, etc. Should not have to go a hotel off some island somewhere and spend millions for the vacation with MY MONEY AND YOUR MONEY. If bankers cannot understand it is other people's money? Then they have no right to hold a money position job.

Better yet, fire the high end positions making the most money and hire the one who is unemployed and looking for a job to put food on the table who would be willing to work and do a good job. Other companies have let go many workers who were paid the most or who were shy of just 1 year from getting retirement, Motorola to name a few.
Wanda on the bank bailout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KADr2KG5aso
you'll believe what? the bailout money has already
nm
What I find so dang ironic about this bailout...
is that the people who got us INTO this mess are the major negotiators in this bailout. Just shakin' my head. No one should vote those slackers back in, that's for sure!! Pelosi for lying to cover it up, Dodd and Frank for being up to their eyeballs in it, Obama for being asleep at the wheel, too busy running for President to pay attention to the looming danger...grrrr. I am not a Democrat, but if I was I would be screaming to the high heaven at my party for selling me down the river. Sigh.
And this bailout bill? Didn't you state

below it was the 94 dem votes they needed and didn't get?


Bank Bailout Facts (2-min. video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68JUWYEc0Fg&feature=related 
Bank Bail Out True Facts
 
Obama supported the bailout too didn't he?
I respect your right to vote for who you want to, but why is it whenever something negative is said about Obama it is rumor but whenever something negative is said about Mccain it is fact? Shouldn't it go both ways. I mean I'm not dumb, I know that a lot of the mudslinging on both sides is pure crap, but there is some truth to both sides.

I'm praying with you too, but I'm not praying for one candidate over another. I'm just praying that God will put the person HE wants in there and He will work in their heart to help them make the right decisions. But sometimes I fear we may have already pushed God out of our nation to much and we it may be time for the judgment on America, just like what happened to Israel.

No matter who wins, it's time to batten (right word?) down the hatches and start saving and probably start stocking up on canned food! We are in for a llloonnnggg winter!
I am not in favor of the financial institution bailout either..... sm
I think it was just the first in a long line of folks parading to the White House with their hands out. I think we have opened a huge can of worms by bailing them out and there does not seem to be an end in sight.

I'd sure like to know when MTs are going to get their bailout! I'd probably get in line for that one! LOL
Mayors seek bailout funds
The first of many?


Here's a link for the auto industry bailout

They keep flip-flopping. The second link is Paulson's idea. That was probably posted before but am posting again just in case.


http://www.cnbc.com/id/27721013


http://www.cnbc.com/id/27712153


That 700B bailout wasn't meant....(sm)
for CEO bonuses either, but they didn't stop that...LOL
Michigan will lose big time if no bailout
Here in Michigan 7 out of 10 jobs are related to the auto industry.  I don't know if the bailout is the right thing to do or not, but if the auto industry fails, Michigan will be in big trouble.  We already have the highest unemployment rates in the country and I believe the highest foreclosure rate.  I do believe most of the high executives need to go, their salaries and "benefits" are unbelievable with the bonuses, stock options, etc.