Posted on 10/02/2008 7:14:02 AM PDT by joanie-f
Let’s boil this ‘new and improved’ bailout bill that just passed the Senate down to its bare bones. Then, if you’re moved to do so, it might just be time to pick up the phone and call your congressman, urging him to really ‘stand up for the American taxpayer’ (not to mention do what is right). Admittedly, the do what is right aspect of this whole thing would represent a complete aberration where any decision-making in Washington is concerned, but you may just sleep better tonight, having at least engaged in a personal effort to revive that archaic concept.
The bill that was voted down on the floor of the House on Monday is essentially the same bill that was passed on the floor of the Senate last night, with one glaring exception: the addition of a myriad of ‘you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours’ pig-product codicils.
Translation:
Monday’s bill: A $700 billion bailout for the congressional/special interest/Wall Street criminals who brought about this economic meltdown to begin with, with the $700 billion needed to ‘keep the economy chugging’ to be paid by the American taxpayer. Today’s bill: A $700 billion bailout for the congressional/special interest/Wall Street criminals who brought about this economic meltdown to begin with, with the $700 billion needed to ‘keeping the economy chugging’ to be paid by the American taxpayer … with the added stipulation that a huge number of businesses/organizations, with direct ties to congressmen whose votes are needed in order to pass the bill, will be granted enormous tax breaks.
Result: The fair share of taxes that would normally be paid by ‘friends of Congress’ will now also be shifted onto the shoulders of the American taxpayer ...
... as if the American taxpayers’ portion of that gargantuan burden weren’t heavy enough already.
The self-serving corruption in Washington is so thick as to be impenetrable anymore.
The concept of ‘public service’? Capitalism and the free market system in America?
Turn out the lights on your way out. It’s over.
~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed
America is a representative republic. Following that definition, the citizenry is supposed to elect leadership that will lead in a way that reflects its wishes.
The ‘leadership’ of America has not been doing that for decades.
How can this be?
'This can be' simply because the voters (1) vote based on soundbite promises that are rarely kept, (2) don’t anymore have a genuine grasp of our history and our roots (and therefore our Constitution, (3) have put up with a public education system that, for fifty years, has focused more on teaching children what to think rather than how to think, and (4) are too ‘otherwise occupied’ to be well-informed about the state of the world and the goings-on in Washington.
As a result, the wishes of the ‘average American’ have become meaningless in Washington, and our 'leadership' embarked, several decades ago, on their own single-minded crusade to redistribute wealth (in the form of money and power).
That redistribution is being funneled from the ‘average American’ (the working/middle class) in two directions: (1) to the burgeoning ‘entitlement class’ (ably represented by special interest groups such as ACORN, which the House is still attempting to enrich in the fine print of any ‘bailout’ bill), and (2) to the political/financial ruling elite (who have already profited from the borderline, and outright, criminal behavior that ushered in this ‘economic crisis’).
Sadly, any ‘bailout’ bill that is finally passed will not alter any of the above. The entitlement class will continue to grow, since the implementation of socialist doctrine will have been provided a major shot in the arm, and the ruling elite will amass even more wealth and power as a result of the increased oversight regulations they will be accorded.
And who will be the primary loser once all the dust has settled?
The average/middle class American.
How can we put a stop to this un-American, unconstitutional steam roller? Simply by giving a damn. By teaching our children about their hard-won inheritance, instilling in them the sense of civic duty required to retain that priceless possession, and setting an example by being an informed citizen, looking beyond media-fabricated soundbites for our information, and taking a stand against the edicts handing down by a ruling elite who believe that they know better than we do what is best for us, who see no crime in benefiting from the sacrifices of others, and who believe they have a right to take what is ours at the point of a gun and give it to those they deem 'more deserving'.
~ joanie
If they don’t listen, they’ll be making a huge mistake. It won’t completely unfold for six months or more, but they’ll live to regret it. We all will.
This is what threw me off, thinking that yo9u were only emailing.
This is what threw me off, thinking that you were only emailing.
I have made about four dozen calls so far today, and rarely have had difficulty getting through. So it’s heartedning to hear that many others are finding the lines jammed.
~ joanie
I haven’t had any problems with busy numbers and that indicates to me that not enough people are calling.
We can be thankful that many of them are up for re-election. Otherwise they wouldn’t be listening to us!
Ahh yes. However, the main thing that is left out of the explanation of that CRA implementation is the "WHY" it was passed. Back then whole tracts of Inner Cities were blocked from the Bank's Financial Portfolios because of "Red-Lining". Properties in a lined-off area were not accepted for collateral for loans, even under the common 20% Down plus Closing Costs of the then Standard Mortgage. Those who would have bought within the Red-Line areas were turned away, letting the area fall into deeper disrepair and expanding the slums of the inner cities.
It had been going on for years, and the government did try to improve the housing stock but they built ant-hills. Low-cost apartment blocks sprang up with tenancy restrictions on who could live there, with Social Services overseeing the plots.
The initial thrust of the CRA was to open up those areas to local investment, by providing added insurance to the banks that the loan would not lose them money, but the borrower would lose their stake in the property if they defaulted on the mortgage.
Main Street and Wall Street are two symbiotic alien cultures. The first requires stability and long-term planning to succeed. The latter relies on the quick turnover of profit and short-term views. Since corporate lawyers are the main vocation of the Members of Congress, is it any wonder that the Wall Street views are accorded more weight and deliberation than the requirements of Main Street?
Meanwhile, our Overlords have already poisoned the well: USA Today reported:
Kinda cranky today arentcha ;^)
Dearest joanie, I think you, along with a lot of other conservatives have given it about all we can, short of taking up arms; something I don't really care to ponder on very long, but if we must....
We've all but marched to the gates of the palace in an effort to make our voices heard. I believe we've been successful at that, but to what end? They say, "We don't understand. Trust us". Feh! Would that they were trustworthy.
What might happen with a near complete collapse of the credit markets? Do any of us know? Would we feel any differently if we were privy to the projections of their experts? I dunno. However with our roots firmly and deeply planted in our once great nation, I would put our values up against theirs any day. I'm all but convinced they don't even consider what's right or wrong any more. Only what is politically expedient. A pox on 'em.
I also believe that the media polls (given the massive media corruption) are deliberately rigged to discourage conservative voters, and more blatantly so in these last few critical weeks.
Nothing will change in DC unless we can get somebody elected who knows something about the American people. This may be our last chance.
For at least the next four weeks, we need to ignore the Tokyo Rose media, and keep fighting to win.
Just four more weeks -- doing what little each of us can do to keep Obama out, and get Sarah Palin in.
After that, if we don't win, there will be plenty of time and opportunity to write our eulogies. We're just not there yet.
That most definitely reflects the mood I'm in. I'll have to step up my tea consumption so I have enough to send out.
Exactly!
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