Here’s a copy of the bill in the WSJ.com forums. Scroll down. Read “Illumined’s” post. He includes the bill, and a short commentary. I “mostly” concur with his opinion.
http://forums.wsj.com/viewtopic.php?t=4062
I trust Glenn Beck. He said this bailout is like controlling a crashing plane rather than letting it fall out of the sky.
I'm not crazy about this idea...and I'm the farthest thing from a financial expert. But if we don't create TARP, what's the alternative? Are you willing to stand back and watch the American banking industry crumble?
1. Nationalize anything at will and print unlimited $ to do so causing the $ to collapse (sec 2a and 2b3)
"National anything"?
The draft only authorizes purchase, not nationalization (seizure). Moreover, it only authorizes purchase of "mortgage-related assets" not "anything."
The author cannot read, apparently.
2. Form it’s own internal takeover police / security force to enforce takeovers (sec 2b1)
It says nothing of the kind, especially nothing about forcing takeovers.
3. Ride roughshod over existing legal contracts (sec 2b2) making any private contract worthless (just like a dictatorship)
It says nothing of the kind. What it does say is that the new agency is allowed to enter into any mortgage contract, regardless of restrictions on public contracts that would otherwise prevent the agency from becoming a party.
The author is just making stuff up out of whole cloth and assuming we're too stupid to read.
4. Invent unlimited future laws (sec 2b5)
No, it says that the agency will be able to come up with its own "regulations" not laws. Just like every other existing government agency.
5. Seize, control, micro-manage & dictate the price of mortgages and therefore houses (ie, become a command / planned economy) (sec 5a-c)
Completely false. It says that the agency can make markets in the mortgage assets that it purchases from mortgage sellers.
There's nothing about asset seizure here at all.
6. Cream billions out of it for personal expenses (sec 7)
No, it discusses administrative expenses (i.e. paying employees) not personal expenses.
7. Dictatorially declare himself to be above the law – unaccountable to anyone no matter what he does (sec 8)
No, it basically says that if you want the agency to buy your mortgage then you hand over all the terms of the mortgage to the agency and you don't get to sue the agency if you change your mind about the sale.
8. Declare that in a practical sense, the “meat” of the above rules will never end (sec 9)
More lies. Clearly the emaning of the proposed language is that the agency, afetr two years, will lose its authorization to purchase mortgages, but will still be allowed to administer the mortgages it does own beyond that period.
9. Slap the entire cost on the national debt meaning everyone will end up paying more under the next government due to drastically higher national debt interest payments (and therefore taxes) (sec 10)
(1) It raises the debt ceiling. Which Congress routinely does.
(2) The increased interest payments on the national debt is offset by the cashflows from the mortgages. The average mortgage yields upwards of 7%. The US' cost of debt is less than 2.4%.
If you borrow 700 million of debt at 2.4% and use it to buy assets that yield more than 2.4%, you are profiting.