Bailout Falling Apart; House Repubs Not On Board

Fox News | 9/28/08

[pabianice]

Now on Fox: Pelosi twisting arms to get Repubs on board bailout bill; much push-back. Pelosi will not let this pass without Repubs on board in case it blows-up and Repubs can pin it on Dems. Race to complete before Asian markets open. The Adventure Continues...

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"Yes, exactly and it's why I demand that not one dime goes to buy those paper assets. And while they're at it, please stop telling lies about how these assets are not valued at zero and that someday we can recoup much of this money once the market stablizes. That's all BS and every thinking person who can read and bothers to do so knows it."

Capital gains tax holidays and the like would be absolutely wonderful, and I'd love to see them happen, but they are akin to prescribing gourmet meals to a patient who's exsanguinating.

The root cause of this mess is Federal intervention in the mortgage markets. Let us count the ways: Fannie & Freddie were created by Acts of Congress, the CRA was a Carter-era Act of Congress and got turbocharged by the Clinton Administration; asset ratios were cut by Congress, freeing more cash to be thrown at bad mortgages; and against it all those who wrote those mortgages were busy bundling and reselling them; meanwhile insurance firms like AIG got into the business of insuring the holders of these securities against loss; finally the Sarbanes-Oxley mark-to-market requirement triggered an avalanche of institutional failures as instantaneous writedowns necessitated by a soft market cascaded through the balance sheets, bringing institution after institution below the statutory floors also established by Congress. All along, the Princes of Armani on Wall Street and K Street would tweak their spreadsheets, pushing risk-profiles down and asset-valuations up, cashing in on seven-figure bonuses until the music stopped.

The problem is now so big and so deeply entwined with all aspects of finance (including, yes, outside the U.S.) that the whole edifice is teetering. And I say again: it's a $62 trillion issue. That's the size of the credit-derivatives market. That's bigger than the global economy. Its collapse would be an unimaginable calamity. And it doesn't need to happen. But it's a government-made problem, so it stands to reason that a government-centric solution may be necessary. And it must involve not only mortgages but the bundles based on them, because they are what's threatening to vapor-lock the markets.

I cannot say if the bill currently being constructed is the correct answer. That is why we have representatives in Washington. (Alas, mine are horrible, of course-- they sure as hell don't represent me! Fortunately we have Blount et fils leading the charge for our side.) As McCain has said, doing nothing is not an option. And doing very good but long-term-oriented things like taking a holiday from the capital-gains tax and considering eventual changes to Sarbox would be wonderful but would not solve the more immediate problem that the patient is bleeding out all over the floor and getting wobbly in the knees.

The rest of your rant is just ad-hominem shouting and makes me embarrassed for you.

[aposiopetic]

Bond holders in other banks are saying “Hey wait a minute”, and are now selling there bond holdings in other banks. This means banks are losing capital very fast right now.

The bonds are already issued, so I don't see how this is a loss of capital. Rather, doesn't this mean that the cost of capital for banks will be higher? And wouldn't this be appropriate, given the risk?

[Skid Marx]

Thank You.

[Revel]

As far as I can tell. On this matter McCain is undecided for the most part. That is how he acts anyways.

[MrPiper]

I got a question...what if by the House Repubs taking the ball and running.....causes markets to crash

If its gonna crash, (think buying opportunity), this will only postpone the inevitable and allow those on wall street to bail leaving us holding the bag of demoncrat excrement.

Don't forget the timing of this either. Someone behind the curtain has pulled some strings. This just did not happen out of the blue. Its been going on for years. Why now?

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Since when did our Government go into business to “share” profits with anyone?

[Peter W. Kessler]

Thanks for the link. My email to Congressman Boehner:

Congressman Boehner,

This so-called bailout is a complete and total travesty.

My wife and I have owned homes for almost 30 years, and have never missed a mortgage payment. I cannot tell you how many chicken hotdogs we called dinner while working three, four, and even five jobs to keep current with our financial obligations. I never want to see, smell, or taste a chicken hotdog for as long as I live.

But we met our obligations.

Now, we are being asked to fulfill the obligations of those who simply walked away from theirs.

Additionally, we’re being asked to fund organizations and groups that are under state and federal investigations (ACORN, to name one).

If this bailout is absolutely necessary, and I have serious doubts that it is, I would demand from my elected representatives that they do so WITHOUT any frills.

If you stick to your guns, Mr. Boehner, I will support you all the way.

But, if you cave in to these Socialists, I will work ceaselessly to see to it that NOT ONE MEMBER OF CONGRESS (including my own - Rodney Frelinghuysen, who has already been contacted by me) survives his / her next primary election.

Our Nation is at greater risk from within than from any terrorist attack that could be imagined.

See to it that our Republic is preserved.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Peter W. Kessler

[TADSLOS]

When you value bipartisanship over the truth, the truth suffers.

That needs to be painted in large bold text across the sides of the Straight Talk Express bus.

[beckysueb]

Oh please! I hope you are enjoying FR since the 4th of September. Sign up for the elections?

[Warlord]

Hope that you’re right.

[roamer_1]

The democrats will pass this bill, reagrdless of Republican agreement, and mediawhoredom will give them the cover they need by painting the changes as sourced from the almost blackman messiah, but the result will remain the same, socialism by threatened implosion.

Then let them, and all the Rinos with them- and the American people will throw them out on their collective Asses.

Your effort to attack McCain are not as stealthy as you imagine, son.

I am sorry if you thought it stealthy, as I was being rather forthright. McCain is a traitorous RINO globalist bastard, financed by George Soros and Ketchup Kerry, who shouldn't get a single Conservative vote, nonetheless my own.

There is no leadership in evidence on this issue, any more than there was on drilling.

[dragnet2]

Why is it that some people have this knee-jerk reaction of going after our politicians.

I just can't imagine.

[Revel]

“This guy is giving a BJ to Dodds, Frank and Schumer.”

Some of the biggest players in the “Affordable” housing scam that brought us here. The ones who stopped the republicans from establishing real oversight over Fannie and Freddie. You see the Media really does determine the fate of us all.

[tioga]

first off, the man in charge of the crisis..paulson shouldn’t be holding his hand out for more money to follow the bad he already lost..........this is NOT “change we can believe in”.....it’s more of government funding their losing programs.

[dsutah]

From what I’ve seen on “FOX” news, they did take ACORN out! Didn’t they, or have I taken it wrong? I heard a person on there say that there were investigations going on about their practices.

[Revel]

I guess you are right. The banks will simply not be able to issue more bonds at an affordable price.

[beckysueb]

Wow! That is huge! I always thought the influx of Hispanics had a lot to do with this. They have been buying up houses like crazy in the last few years.

[VideoDoctor]

ABSOTIVELY POSOLUTELY TRUE!

[trisham]

The root cause of this mess is Federal intervention in the mortgage markets.

********************

Exactly right. Although I fear that further government intervention will lead us in the wrong direction, I also fear that no intervention at all would be a disaster. Few who lived through the great depression are around today to warn us of how really dreadful it was. Ironically, it is the opinion of some that it was socialism (in the form of public works projects, for one) that turned the economy around. There are others who believe it was World War II. Perhaps it was a combination of the two, but I am no history student.

[beckysueb]

Maybe they are working and don’t have time to personally report to you. Try watching TV. Their have been several Repub Reps on today.