Posted on 09/30/2008 4:33:30 PM PDT by CitizenM
My Friends,
We are in the greatest financial crisis of our lifetimes. Congressional inaction has put every American and the entire economy at the gravest risk. Yesterday the country and the world looked to Washington for leadership, and Congress once again came up empty-handed.
I am disappointed at the lack of resolve and bipartisan good will among members of both parties to fix this problem. Bipartisanship is a tough thing; never more so when you're trying to take necessary but publicly unpopular action. But inaction is not an option.
If we do nothing, many businesses may fail. Sonic Corporation, a drive-in restaurant chain based in Oklahoma, learned on Thursday that one of its lenders, GE Capital, had stopped extending new loans to the chain's franchisees. That will block plans to rebuild restaurants, add equipment and open new locations.
When financing dries up, students can't get loans. In Wisconsin, more than 100 Milwaukee Area Technical College students couldn't access private loans to fund their education. Fortunately the school was able to come up with emergency loans, but this temporary arrangement cannot continue. Markets need to work so that people can get financial help and students can be educated.
Again, inaction is not an option. In light of the House's failure to act, this morning, I spoke to the President about two things that the administration has not done, but should do following the inaction of Congress. First, the Treasury has already used its Exchange Stabilization Fund to back money market accounts. I encourage it to use it this fund as creatively as possible to provide backstop for accounts across our financial system to maintain confidence on the part of savers and investors. And second, the recent housing bill gave the government nearly $1 trillion in authority to purchase mortgages. Housing and mortgages are at the root of this crisis.
The Administration can take these actions with the stroke of the pen to help alleviate the crisis gripping our economy. I urge them to do so.
The FDIC should quickly be granted the authority to increase the deposit insurance cap from $100,000 to $250,000 so that families do not have to worry about their money. We cannot allow a crisis in our financial system to become a crisis in confidence.
I call on everyone in Washington to come together in a bipartisan way to address this crisis. I know that many of the solutions to this problem may be unpopular, but the dire consequences of inaction will be far more damaging to the economic security of American families and the fault will be all ours.
And to my supporters, I assure you I will continue to do whatever I can to aid in a constructive answer to the challenge before us.
Sincerely,
John McCain
P.S. I'm asking you to pass this email along to your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues. We must spread the word that inaction is not an option.
And with messages like this we won't be on "speaking terms" for quite sometime.
He, like so many and in both political parties, just don't seem to "get it".
Being "responsible", either at the personal, business, and/or government level means one must manage their own "debt" and not let debt manage them. Unfortunately for far too long now Washington politicians have had no problem passing on their irresponsibility to future generations. It must quit sometime, so why not the present?
I mean if Sonic can't grow without loans - that is their problem.
If school age kids can't go to college or vo-tech without borrowing the money - get a job, save up and then go - guarantee their education will mean much more to them.
If people who couldn't afford to buy homes did so for what ever reason and are now losing them - well tough dooty. That's life.
Why should those of us who have played by the rules, accepted personal responsibility, especially for our financial situations, continually be asked to "bail out" folks that haven't?
Eh, Johnny boy?
Excuse me while I go barf up the meal I just paid for!
On top of all these crimes being perpetrated by these crooks, no one will go to jail and they then play politics with the bail out, cover up in order to score points for their election! Enough is enough. If these Senators and Congressmen can't take a stand against these crooks now, then when?
Guys here in Illinois we’re starting to see a lot of community banks that loan to small and mid size businesses and provide HELOC and other consumer loans being pulled off the table, even to people with decent credit. This is not some scare bs - this is really happening and if the economy slows then companies can tap into LOCs to make payroll in some instances which causes layoffs. So while I am all in favor of doing this right, there has to be some intervention here. Unemployment increases will only hurt McCain further. Please re-review what’s on the table and add suggestions to your Congressman instead of “oh let the market correct itself” - the only correction you’ll see is further pain on this - so if you’re cool with tightening your belt further or losing your job in some areas, then I guess fine, but I’m not going that route. Heck even my office (as an MD) is susceptible. So it hits all areas.
i got it, i was disappointed in it.
This e-mail totally shows a disconnect between perception and reality. If this were a real immediate crisis, there would be no congressional holiday. As ugly as it is, the Democrats don’t it fixed before the election. Economic damage is a bonus. There is no sign that the Democrats who created this mess are willing to accept responsibility for the carnage they are creating. It is proving to be a wonderful club with which to beat the Republicans. Bipartisan is just another word for defeat. The only fix is to call the bullies at every turn. Like meeting with any petty dictator, set define the ground and set reasonable preconditions. Ambush them with one liners.(Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall).
Socialism with a capital R.
***The FDIC should quickly be granted the authority to increase the deposit insurance cap from $100,000 to $250,000 so that families do not have to worry about their money.***
Oh right that’ll solve it. And what if the FDIC runs out of money? Are we going to have it printed? Besides most people don’t have accounts with more than $100,000 so i doubt this would ease most people’s minds.
Oh I totally missed that! I rescind all of my previous arguments against McCain! Sorry Republican Party! Here’s a huge donation! /s
Although there are some who would say exactly what you said... without the sarcasm.
And the problem is ???? In times of financial straights, companies as well as individuals have to adjust and stop spending.
I heard him on Fox this morning, he stated some of the same crap.
He also said that congress needed to pass the bill inspite of the voters wishes, that voters don’t really understand the issues.
McCain will NOT receive my vote I don’t care if Jesus is his running mate.
SCREW McStupid.
Maybe some of these businesses that are on the edge of going out of business should get a business tax break. What about eliminating their expensive environmental regulations they have to pay for. How about the large State taxes they are under! Making more money available to these business in order to keep them afloat is like taking water out of the other end of the bucket.
This all started with giving our tax dollars to the minorities and the poor that never had any intent on paying the money back. Until this practice stops and those who stole this money are in jail, US Congress should let the free market work. Only when they stuck their greedy fingers into the money market and the banks did the whole thing blow up in their face.
Get the government our of our lives and step back and watch how many more businesses and jobs will be created without living on the edge of bankruptcy each and every day.
BUT THE ALTERNATIVE IS SO MUCH WORSE!!! Take it up the butt this election... and the next... and the next ad infinitum.
McCain needs to hear the people. WE DON’T WANT THIS.
I’m voting for Sarah.
I find this email disappointing. Regardless, I plan to vote for McCain/Palin.
Whenever I read something, I pause at the first unsupported assertion. If the statement fails my test, I read no further. In this case we have three in a row.
I am not convinced that we are in the greatest financial crisis of our lifetimes. Why would he say that? The stock market rebounded today.
Congressional ACTIONs by Democrats led by Senator Obama are what put us in this situation.
Congress did not come up empty-handed in my opinion. They did the right thing to give us more time to develop options less risky to main street.
The Democrats forced socialistic policies on us behind our backs with their twisted and warped need for social equality. Every and anybody should be able to buy a house, even those who cannot afford one. According to their demented minds, especially Barney Frank, more socialism will fix the problem.
Main street is sick and tired of being treated like we are ATM machines for the Democrats to take more of our hard earned cash so they can push more failed policies on us!
Please Mr. President, take a time out to consider other viable options that actually help lighten the burden on the beleaguered middle class.
“And to my supporters, I assure you I will continue to do whatever I can to aid in a constructive answer to the challenge before us.”
You just don’t understand McC that the above statement rings hollow when compared to your current action.
Hey stupid, you just ignored the will of the people. Screw you, I will now not be voting for you in November.
We can still tell the house to vote NO.
Woah, way out of line. You can’t expect to ask those kind of questions and be taken seriously. /s
I see the market came back up today. What does that mean? Does it mean it is correcting itself without the bailout?
I don’t trust the Sonic Corp. owner J. Clifford Hudson. He’s given thousands & thousands of dollars to the Democrats over the years. He also sits on the board of the Ford Foundation. I don’t trust the timing of his “bank problems”.
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