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Posted on 09/24/2008 6:08:53 AM PDT by bamahead
Congressional Republicans on Tuesday voiced their strongest objections to date about the Bush administration’s $700bn financial rescue plans, dealing a blow to White House ambitions for them to be quickly approved.
As Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, and Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, predicted grim consequences if the plan were rejected, the Republicans’ Senate leadership called for new provisions on executive pay, which the administration opposes, while others cast doubt on the whole package.
“We are going to advance taxpayers’ dollars, and government ends up in effect taking an equity position in businesses,” Mitch McConnell, Senate minority leader, said. “I think the taxpayers should expect no less than strict limits on the type of executive compensation that might be possible for those involved in these partially government-controlled enterprises.”
Growing Republican doubts will make it harder for momentum to build in favour of the proposal. Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader, on Tuesday said the Republicans needed to “start producing some votes for us”. Although the Democratic leadership supports the need for a rescue package, many rank-and-file members are wary of pushing through what could be an unpopular $700bn (€480bn, £380bn) intervention in an election year.
The political unrest surrounding the bail-out plan was on display throughout Tuesday’s tense hearing before the Senate banking committee – the first since the new authorities were demanded by the administration over the weekend.
Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate banking committee, warned “we could very well spend $700bn and not resolve the crisis”. He called on the US to exhaust “all reasonable alternatives” before committing itself to the plan.
Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina said: “I am very sceptical of this proposal and am extremely frustrated that we find ourselves in this position.” Jim Bunning of Kentucky added: “This massive bail-out is not the solution, it is financial socialism, it is un-American.”
Meanwhile, Democrats pressed the administration to agree that the government should automatically take stakes in the companies it acquires, as well as curbs on executives’ pay and bankruptcy reform that would allow judges to modify the terms of mortgage loans.
Chuck Schumer, the New York senator and chairman of the joint economic committee, suggested the bail-out could be smaller and its effect evaluated in January.
After the hearing Chris Dodd, the Democratic chairman of the banking committee, said the Treasury proposal was “not acceptable”. “A lot of reservations have been expressed this morning by Democrats and Republicans on this matter ... This is not going to work.”
Mr Paulson had argued during the hearing that the full amount was needed to stabilise markets and that limits on executive pay and mandatory government stakes in participating firms could undermine the plan’s effects. “The best protection for the taxpayer, and the first protection for the taxpayer, is to have this work,” he said.
The administration aims for approval of its bail-out plan this week. On Tuesday, Dick Cheney, US vice-president, sought to win over the conservative Republican Study Committee after 31 of its members signed a letter last week decrying the “the increasing propensity, size and frequency of government interventions”.
A second hearing on the plan is scheduled for Wednesday
Why don’t they just print some more money? That’s worked so well for us. </s>
Many of us don’t like President Bush seemingly cramming this down our throats.
Let me get this straight - people borrow money they can’t afford to pay back. The government is going to pay the lenders back. In some places if people borrow money they can’t pay back, they get their legs broken. Can the taxpayers break their legs if people default on their mortgages and require taxpayer bailouts?
There are other far less costly plans out there. One is to suspend the “mark to market” rules that force loan holders to devalue the loans they hold to an amount far less than their actual worth which would allow them to show the true worth of their loans. Loans backed by real estate are NOT worthless. They may be worth less than the loan, but even if they are 30% over valued, the real estate is still worth something. Lehman was caught in this mark to market trap and had to sell their assets at a fraction of the value.
Another thing to do is to extend the FHA insurance to cover the real estate in danger of foreclosure. That would cost something, but far less than $1 trillion.
I emailed my two senators from Oklahoma, Coburn and Inhofe, and told them I do not want responsbile citizens left once again picking up the tab for irresponsible lendors and homeowners. I am sick of it.
Not Another Dime.
Cut the budget to pay for it, starting with foreign aid, farm aid, the Dept of Energy, the Dept of Education. And prosecute everyone involved in the mess. And let mortgages fail. And get us back to the damn gold standard.
This argument is moot frickin point...
FNMA, FDMC were socialist constructs from the get go, let a “private company” take all the rewards while the taxpayers were taking all the risk. Yet not one of these supposed ‘conservatives’ ever remotely argued these things were socialist.
Day late and a dollar short to be worried about the fallout from the socialist system that’s been in place for decades now.
If they truly are anti-socialist, they’d disban the fed immediately and return to the gold standard, because if you want to root cause this whole credit mess, that’s where it all began.
Oh, and where are these “its socialist” idiots on the Federal Home Loan Banking system? They ready to put spotlight on that socialist mess as well?
I don’t trust a damned one of em, and I’m sick of partisans trying to blame one side or the other for this mess, the reality is the whole damned lot of em are to blame and if you think otherwise you are too blinded by ideology to be given a driver’s license.
The economy had “surgery” done to it in the 70’s and a surgical instrument was left and sutured up inside. The cut had never truly healed due to the left behind instrument. Infection now has run rampant. Many “band-aids” have been placed on it.
Now we need to “go back in” and remove the instrument that has infected the economy. The instument that was left behind is called “socialism”.
The question is, “Due we remove the band-aid slow or fast”?
I vote for fast.
If they take all the consequences away from those that spent, borrowed, and bought irresponsibly,
the rest of us are CHUMPS.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The sooner Bush gets out of office, the better it’ll be for the conservative movement. The man is probably the worst GOP president in recent history.
Dave Ramsey?
“I don’t trust a damned one of em, and I’m sick of partisans trying to blame one side or the other for this mess, the reality is the whole damned lot of em are to blame and if you think otherwise you are too blinded by ideology to be given a driver’s license.”
Exactly!
Furthermore...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089062/posts
For the last five years, I’ve reported on the rapidly expanding illegal alien home loan racket. The top banks clamoring for their handouts as their profits plummet, led by Wachovia and Bank of America, launched aggressive campaigns to woo illegal alien homebuyers. The quasi-governmental Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority jumped in to guarantee home loans to illegal immigrants. The Washington Post noted, almost as an afterthought in a 2005 report: “Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing major ethnic or racial group, have been courted aggressively by real estate agents, mortgage brokers and programs for first-time buyers that offer help with closing costs. Ads proclaim: “Sin verificacion de ingresos! Sin verificacion de documento!” — which loosely translates as, ‘Income tax forms are not required, nor are immigration papers.’”
lol, we’d end up paying the medical bills for these people cause they can’t afford shit.
lol, we’d end up paying the medical bills for these people cause they can’t afford shit.
“Many of us don’t like President Bush seemingly cramming this down our throats.”
Yeah, he seems to have the same attitude he did about amnesty.
“If you don’t like it, too bad” is what he seems to be saying.
Well known Democrat Warren Buffet is now investing 5 BILLION into Goldman Sachs because he wants to profit off the bailout - NUTS.
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