Obama On Bailout: "No Blank Check" (VIDEO)

Speaking at a rally in Charlotte Sunday, Obama addressed the issue of how the government should respond to the financial crisis. He began by stressing that Washington must recognize "that economic recovery requires that we act, not just to address the crisis on Wall Street, but also the crisis on Main Street and around kitchen tables across America." Obama also criticized the Bush Administration's lack of a plan to combat the problem:

As of now, the Bush Administration has only offered a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan. Even if the U.S. Treasury recovers some or most of its investment over time, this initial outlay of up to $700 billion is sobering. And in return for their support, the American people must be assured that the deal reflects the basic principles of transparency, fairness, and reform.

He then made a number of key points concerning how the government should tackle the financial crisis.

First, there must be no blank check when American taxpayers are on the hook for this much money.

Second, taxpayers shouldn't be spending a dime to reward CEOs on Wall Street.

Third, taxpayers should be protected and should be able to recoup this investment.

Fourth, this plan has to help homeowners stay in their homes.

Fifth, this is a global crisis, and the United States must insist that other nations join us in helping secure the financial markets.

Sixth, we need to start putting in place the rules of the road I've been calling for for years to prevent this from ever happening again.

And finally, this plan can't just be a plan for Wall Street, it has to be a plan for Main Street.

Watch video of Obama's remarks.

Comments

[kassandrasduplex]

Chicago Tribune July 07, Obama's Big Fish, we learned that the second largest fundraiser to Obama campaign was UBS bank employees, who donated some $142K. We have learned from Mother Jones news article Foreclosure Phil that Phil Gramm's "other job" is as executive at...that's right, you guessed it, UBS bank. Now why is the mastermind of the current mortgage meltdown, Phil Gramm working at the bank that funded Obama's early campaign?
Can anyone explain this connection to me please?

[Sabreen60]

The bank didn't fun 0ba-ma's c@mpaign. Where do you work? If you as an employee contribute to 0ba-ma has the company for which you work contributed to his c@mpaign? No ! Most people work for some company. If I work for ABC insurance and contribute the maximum of $2300 to 0ba-ma, ABC has NOT contributed to the c@mpaign. I have !

[Squirtapotamus]

You really think we're stupid enough to think Obama and Phil Gramm are guilty by association? Phil Gramm is McCain's lead economic advisor. As for the UBS employees giving to Obama...well isn't it obvious that the employees are more rational and intelligent than the executives and so support the more rational and intelligent candidate for president?

[HerbTee]

Bravo Squirtapotamus and Sabreen60! You just can't teach facts or reason to some people as ignorance is already inbred into them. I work for the Boeing Company and have donated several times to Obama's campaign. Yet, the Boeing Company does NOT contribute directly to any political candidates...only its employees do. Kassandrasduplex, do you see how this works now?

[JMorgan]

This is a swindle. Paul'son demands a "clean" bill with no limitations on CEO salaries or restrictions on golden parachutes. The legislation includes nothing about the cause of the problem, nothing to fix it or prevent it again, and nothing to help the American citizens who are drowning in debt&losing their homes.

The legislation includes a paragraph unheard of before this. It gives Paul'son, a prime player in this crisis, who has been asleep at the switch, the man who told Congress last year, "Subprime problem? No way!", it gives him total & complete authority and autonomy in handling this crisis. He is to be subjected to NO OVERSIGHT OR REVIEW WHATSOEVER. Not by any administrative agency, not by any court.

This is the Bus'h administration squeezing the last dregs from the middle class on its way out of town.

In another segment of Stephanopoulos's show, ChrisDodd&JohnBoehner both beat the drum for it. They refused to answer Stephanopoulos's question asking them what exactly Paul'son told them in Friday's meeting that scared them. "It was sobering". That was it. Stephanopoulos wanted to know the words used, & they refused, "Don't want to scare the (kiddies) American people."

Cokie Roberts speculated that some (not her, just the "conspiracy minded") think this crisis is being manufactured, pre-election, to shift more massive wealth to the cronies.

See Naomi Klein suggest it's more "shock economy" on Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WgDjJqFP0Y

[Ping]

This comment is pending approval and won't be displayed until it is approved.

This is corporate welfare. Welfare recipients don't get to set the terms of their assistance.

[keepacoolhead]

Obama's plan has a sound ring to it. Especially with us having to bail out these damn corporations (privatize gains and socialize the losses....) I do not want to pay for all these little golden CEO parachutes. CEO compensations may need to be addressed in that debacle too.

[Bitsko]

That sounds like what the Senator is getting at. Hope the congressional business shills in both parties don't rush headlong into this bail out, like they did with Iraq, etc.

[PumaAnn]

Mistake here. Either bail out or don't, but politicizing this will make people crazy with fear.

[teron678]

f**k u .................... everything Obama says or does .. u spin as a negative ..........

[soapington]

Oh yes, something must be done or the plebs will run riot!

[Bitsko]

Americans crazy with fear? We've been trained to fear everything since at least since the end of World War 2.

[StillIRise]

And those of us who forgot were certainly reminded with the Bush administration for the last eight years. In fact, though I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I wouldn't at all be surprised if we learn some years from now that this too was manipulated by the Bush administration to incite fear solely to create a financial order that the government can now own and control ... legally..

[Ping]

This comment is pending approval and won't be displayed until it is approved.

What you call "bail out", I call corporate welfare.

[athenasword]

How 'bout take a minute to breathe, and another few minutes to actually read the bill? And another few moments to see if anything is amiss. I'd love some actual THOUGHT as opposed to a knee jerk reflex.

[2bevrchgn]

yup ....you know that is how mccain and palin want to react to everything... in the blink of an eye

[PumaAnn]

That's probably smart. It's just when they breathe? They politicize it to the nth degree.

And I have real friends, in real life, living off of AIG annuities.

Do the deal.

You think "main street" will survive a no bail-out?

Oh man......you have not experienced deep recession/depression, then.

[freedomthrutruth]

The bill gives Paulson a blank check to do whatever the hell he pleases with hard earned American money. It calls for no oversight by either Congress or the courts on the activities of the Treasury with respect to what it will do with those trillions of dollars. Under the bill, Paulson suddenly becomes king. With no oversight whatsoever, he could theoretically use the money for himself and his business interests, and there wouldn't be a damn thing any of us serfs could do about it.

[huffy2001]

And Palin's plan was...it needs "fixin' and shakin' up."

[athenasword]

Fried moose w/ a crunchy "shake and bake" coating? She's utterly brilliant.

[marinade]

F*** Paulson.

[ohmercy]

Here's a plan!
soeech from the 18th-

http://tinyurl.com/3u79bl

at minute 11:45 is some very good stuff- story with babies in the river.

perfect!
beginning outlines what happened and how, second half gives a detailed- point by point plan on how to over come and change the way the game is played.
Lastly are calls, requests- demands? for the administration.

Excellent.

22 minutes but well worth it.
I'ts the economy stupid.

[Comedian1968]

Tremendous stuff!

[SherryIndianapolis]

Just wrote my reps-

Very easy to do and only takes a couple of minutes.

LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

[jinxed]

Me too, but my senior Senator nevere acknowledges me. My junior Senator does though.

[Laurie66]

Wall Street pushed for legislation to prevent consumers from being able to get out from credit card debt by declaring bankruptcy. People have been sold mortgages where they only pay interest on the loans. There need to be concessions for main street, not just wall street.

The government needs to loan corporations the funds they need, not give our money away. If they choose to use these limited budgets on pay offs for CEOs, then what does that say about the intelligence of corporate management?

If the middle class needs to pay for their excess, so does the ruling class. The Democrats need to push for fairness and accountability.

[Daisy1111]

B i d e n pushed the bankrupcy bill you complain about. He's in the pocket of Delaware credit card companies.

[Bitsko]

Still for voting for 0bama/Biden anyway!

[margardner]

Almost 100% of todays political panels agreed McCain is OFF his game.
Obama is right on point, calm, collective, and presidential!

[juzcuz]

this talk that Obama did in North Carolina is right on. It's what all these Repubs have been asking for... Obama's plan for some of the economic mess we're all in. Think they'll listen and get it? Hell no, they'll be too busy trying to think about what other crap to throw out there to confuse people.
I like all of Obma's ideas here. I have total confidence in him, Biden and all of the Democratic advisors and others who will work together wisely to help all of America.

Obama= Inspiration
McBush = a GREAT DEPRESSION

[jinxed]

Which means McCain will steal Obama's plan and call it his so he can get elected then he'll scrap it as soon as the election is over and deregulate the insurance companies.

[pie8ter]

That's not enough. 0bama is black and many whites won't for him even if the Rome burns.

[Bitsko]

You're killing my buzz.

[shelobo]

Palin says she told the big guys in washing to keep their money ,Alaska didn't need their money : LIE a really BIG lie ....Contracts Performed in Alaska
(FY http://www.usaspending.gov/fpds/fpds.php?reptype=p&detail=-1&fiscal_year=2007&sortby=f&database=fpds&stateCode=AKde=AK Federal Assistance Spent in http://www.usaspending.gov/faads/faads.php?reptype=p&database=faads&datype=T&fiscal_year=2007&sortby=f&detail=-1&principal_place_state_code=02code=02

[530Rose]

On 60 minutes McCain said that "Obama has never presented a plan about what he would do about this issue." Guess neither McCain nor 60 minutes noticed this speech. He stumbled through a softball interview on the economy, then he went on to talk about Iraq. That boy needs to come home from Nam already. We can't afford another penny on this war. Bring the troops home now. Can't say we lost, we just ran out of money.

[Yola]

Obama did well on 60 minutes; McCain is a joke! http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4463696n

[ohmercy]

well, he just gave this speech today didn't he?
Here is a good plan:
http://tinyurl.com/3u79bl

[530Rose]

Nice speech. But same HC. III MeMeMe MyMyMy She needs to stop campaigning (did anyone tell her she lost?) and start supporting the democratic ticket.

O has been talking about this all week, while he was traveling around campaigning for president, while he was having meetings with Bloomberg and other financial guru's. He has a carefully thought out plan and is trying to make it a consensus. Some people just have to have the floor. Too bad that many of these problems have their origins in her hubbies administration.

Too bad she voted wrong on Iraq.

[shelobo]

Websites that ALL Tax payers should read http://www.fedspending.org// and the website Palin said she would make sure we have ,BUT already do have ,LOL http://www.usaspending.gov/ng.gov/ (Google Like searchs)

[530Rose]

Lets get Bush out of the way and give it over to Obama already. He is the only one that has the leadership and intelligence to help fix this problem. Barney Frank said this am that there should be a surcharge on people making over a million dollars a year. Other dems have said they thought it was important to help homeowners and protect 401K and retirement accounts first. Most Dems I have heard insist on some form of penalties for corporate executives in companies requesting assistance.

Unless GWB is willing to step down on 11/4 and let Obama in the door early, Dem's should just completely refuse to go along with this nightmare until Obama is in office. It is an international problem, we can wait and have some time to think this through without a knee jerk reaction. It can have a band aid until then.

BTW McCain was on 60 min, and it looks like his mouth is drooping on the left side. Is this new? It looks like a mild stroke, but I suppose it could be from his facial surgery. I just have never noticed it before.