What are your feelings about the economic crisis

[KCFlyer]

Shocking Video Unearthed Democrats in their own words Covering up the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Scam that caused our Economic Crisis

Yes...isn't it a SHAME that the GOP controlled congress at that time did not step in to adopt stronger regulation. But...given the scandals so many GOP congressmen found themselves in, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the democrats had pictures of those congressmen in a brothel with a donkey...it's the only way they would have had the power to prevent these suggested regulations from being enacted.

 

[Tug McGroin]

You are digging deep Tug.

That was the congress controlled by the Republicans in 2003...

There is much blame to go around Tug. We can trade jabs with great backup all night long. Let me just say that congress was asleep at the wheel...Democrats and Republicans.

Stardate: SEPTEMBER 18, 2006



Wall Street Journal Link.

I wouldn’t define “digging deepâ€￾ as reviewing the last three years in Congressional History. Where it’s true that we could precipitate in an all night “moderate to severe finger pointing danceâ€￾ over who’s to blame for the mess, it wouldn’t solve a thing. Meanwhile, Rome goes to three alarms!

The point I’m trying to make is that this exact unproductive “blame gameâ€￾ activity is what Congress has been doing over the last three weeks. Assigning blame to the other respective party, then fighting over who said and who did what. In the interim, our country weeps.

Where it is true that the Republicans held majority status in the 109th Congress, they could not pass Freddie Mac / Fannie Mae reform legislation without the expressed written consent (votes) of key Democrats. Fast forward to 25 September 2008, Pelosi and Reid announce, to an eagerly awaiting world, that an agreement/solution had been reached. If the Democrats had the votes to pass their bill, why didn’t they? The reason; they couldn’t pass their bill without the expressed written consent (votes) of key Republicans.

It has been noted that John McCain rarely mentioned the “middle classâ€￾ during the debates. What hasn’t risen to the surface is the fact that the “middle classâ€￾ is totally absent from the purposed Democrat settlement.

With the help of McCain, the Republicans were able to slow down the rush to a quick settlement. As more details of the purposed Democrat settlement become available, it appears that the purposed Democrat bill benefits special-interest groups and political contributors over the best interest of those tasked with paying the bill!

House Minority Whip, Roy Blunt explained some of the details of the purposed Democrat settlement that the Republicans and 75% Americans want to see removed from the settlement:

TRIAL LAWYERS – Instead of investigating the scandal-plagued American trial lawyer industry, the Democratic Congress has showed it in pork, tucking special benefits into major bills to benefit the industry at the expense of American taxpayers – and the economic rescue bill has been no exception. Working drafts of the bill include so-called 'cramdown' provisions allowing bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage principal under the guise of helping those at risk of foreclosure. If enacted into law, the provision would be a bonanza for trial lawyers and undercut the effectiveness of any economic recovery effort by making it even harder to value mortgage-backed securities.

WASHINGTON LABOR BOSSES – Washington’s powerful big labor bosses – another special-interest constituency closely aligned with the Democratic Party – also get a big handout in the working draft of the bailout bill. So-called “say on payâ€￾ or “proxy accessâ€￾ provisions have been added to the bill by Democrats proposing to mandate a nonbinding shareholder vote on proxy access and other issues for all companies in which the Treasury Department buys a direct stake in certain assets. The proposal can and should include restrictions on executive compensation for participating firms in a responsible manner without allowing Washington labor bosses to have an undue say on corporate governance at the expense of American workers and their prosperity.

ACORN – The draft bill includes a left-wing giveaway that would force taxpayers to bankroll a slush fund for a discredited ally of the Democratic Party. At issue is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now – better known as ACORN – an organization fraught with controversy for, among other scandals, its fraudulent voter registration activities on behalf of Democratic candidates. Rather than returning any profits made in the long-term from the economic rescue package, Democrats want to first reward their radical allies at ACORN for their (often illegal) help in getting Democrats elected to office. Families, seniors, small businesses, and all American taxpayers deserve better.

MORTGAGE INDUSTRY BAD ACTORS – The draft of the bill includes “foreclosure mitigationâ€￾ provisions that essentially establish a preference for purchasing assets with the goals of modifying or restructuring loans. House Republicans believe the goal of the rescue legislation should be to stabilize the markets and protect taxpayers – NOT to use taxpayer dollars to identify assets to purchase in order to improve loan workouts. Congress has already enacted one irresponsible housing bailout to deal with the mess created by the Democrats’ refusal to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We don’t need another.

Is it too much to ask for the American tax payers to be placed at the top of the “pay backâ€￾ seniority list?

 

[tech2101]

Is it too much to ask for the American tax payers to be placed at the top of the “pay backâ€￾ seniority list?

Absolutely not. I would expect no less.

That is precisely what I told my representatives (in different terms) this week.

 

[Tug McGroin]

Absolutely not. I would expect no less.

That is precisely what I told my representatives (in different terms) this week.

Bailout deal reached; ACORN, other pork removed!

The plan includes options for asset insurance that House Republicans demanded, as well as broad accountability for actions taken by Treasury in purchasing assets. The deal also allows a wider group of banks to rid themselves of the toxic assets, created in large part by Congress over the last ten years:

A summary of the tentative agreement released by Ms. Pelosi’s office said the plan “gives taxpayers an ownership stake and profit-making opportunities with participating companies; puts taxpayers first in line to recover assets if a participating company fails; (and) guarantees taxpayers are repaid in full — if other protections have not actually produced a profit.â€￾

Additionally, the summary said the legislation will expand the range of firms that can sell troubled assets to the government to include pension plans, local governments and community banks serving “low- and middle-income families.â€￾ …

The summary issued by Ms. Pelosi’s office said the legislation will include provisions giving Treasury the ability to work with cash-strapped homeowners whose mortgages are purchased by the federal government to refinance into a more affordable mortgage. Other foreclosure-prevention measures included in the agreement are an extension of the tax holiday for homeowners who face foreclosure, as well as a tax break for community banks who held shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The rescue plan will allow affected banks to take an immediate tax deduction on losses from investments in the two firms, which were taken over by the federal government earlier this month.

Lawmakers also included provisions allowing them to keep a close eye on the Treasury program, including a bipartisan oversight board appointed by members of both parties in Congress, an inspector general to monitor Treasury decisions, and regular audits from the Government Accountability Office.

Additionally, Treasury will be required to make transactions made through the troubled asset program available publicly online. Unlike the original Treasury proposal, which would have given the department legal immunity in the program, the tentative agreement reached late Saturday allows for judicial review of Treasury decisions.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1222576829...ign2008_mostpop

The funding of the Housing Trust Fund, the slush fund that feeds ACORN and La Raza, is out. You can thank House Republicans for enough obstructionism to get that result. Other changes made to the final version of the bailout, according to a source on the Hill, were the removal of several provisions:

Provision to provide unions and other activist groups with proxy access for corporate boards.

Provision to mandate shareholder votes on compensation issues (union priority).

Diversion of funds into a housing fund to support left-wing activist groups like ACORN.

A provision to allow trial judges to arbitrarily adjust mortgages, creating bonanza for trial lawyers.

A provision to require the government to sell to state and local governments at a discount homes the government acquires as a result of foreclosure.

 

[North by Northwest]

McCain guru linked to subprime crisis:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9246.html


McCain Embraces Regulation After Many Years of Opposition

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?hpid=topnews

"A decade ago, Sen. John McCain embraced legislation to broadly deregulate the banking and insurance industries, helping to sweep aside a thicket of rules established over decades in favor of a less restricted financial marketplace that proponents said would result in greater economic growth. " :down: