Give Us a Bailout that Helps Everyone

After days of silence from the White House, President Bush emerged last night to tell a national television audience that his request for a $700 billion blank check for bankers was dead. Instead, the president capitulated on some of the key points that Democrats, labor and progressive groups have been demanding in any federal financial bailout, including the need for oversight, limits on executive compensation and protection for the taxpayers who will be footing the bill.

The threat to Wall Street clearly got the president's attention. That's great. But it's hard not to be amazed at the threat to working Americans that he's ignored all year long. After all, we've lost more than 605,000 jobs this year, while Bush echoed John McCain that the economy was fundamentally strong. 9,800 people lose their homes to foreclosure every day, while Bush and McCain opposed federal assistance. 45 million Americans go without health insurance, while Bush and McCain ignore the country's demand for quality, affordable health care for all.

They insist they oppose "big government" -- except when their friends on Wall Street ask for help! The struggles of America's working families don't cut it for them. Nope. Problems on Main Street are to be ignored. However, led by President Bush and his anti-regulation, pro-market, anti-government, free-market-cheering corporate cohorts, the federal government is swiftly coming to the rescue of the financial markets.

The mess on Wall Street does need an urgent fix and it is an appropriate role for government. It's also the government's role to help prevent these kinds of crises in the first place, and to make sure that this week's solution tackles the whole problem, because the problem is bigger than Wall Street.

But last night, Bush agreed to several of the common-sense proposals given by those who want to resolve the crisis but ensure that tax dollars won't be given without strings attached. However, the president continues to ignore the needs of American workers laid off this year, state and local governments that are reeling under the failed Bush economy, and families who are losing their homes and savings while Bush has been in charge.

For working families, the Bush message is clear: "You're on your own." So too are state governments, who have to meet their responsibilities to their citizens no matter what the federal government does. Not only is that approach not right, it also won't work.

As Bush drove the national economy over the cliff, state and local governments have been put into an ever-tightening vice grip. Their budgets are bursting at the seams while their cash flow is drying up.

This creates another real crisis -- just when citizens' needs are greatest -- our state and local governments are least able to provide that assistance. But throughout the last year, George Bush and John McCain have turned a blind eye to those who are struggling to keep their homes, their health care and their jobs during this economic downturn. Back then they were talking about "market correction." Only now are they talking about government intervention.

While the federal government comes to the aid of Wall Street, it also needs to help the families on Main Street. States need immediate assistance to prevent cuts in health care and vital services. They need more resources to create jobs and complete infrastructure repairs. They need funds to help families maintain a basic standard of living. Federal assistance for programs such as Food Stamps and Medicaid are especially important right now. While we must restore accountability and stability to our nation's financial institutions, we also can't turn our back on the urgent needs of millions of hard-working Americans who struggle to pay the bills, feed their children and seek health care if they fall ill.

This is America -- we know how to take on tough challenges. And we can do more than one thing at a time. We have to rescue the economy and our state governments and the working families who depend on them.

There are tough choices to be made and Congress should make them. They should insist on fairness for all rather than a bailout for the wealthy few. They should help our state governments along with the Wall Street firms. They should insist on a bailout that's accountable, transparent and prevents these problems in the future. Congress should remember that the goal here is not to bail out Wall Street but to rebuild the economy and rebuild America's middle class.

Comments

[Pdubya]

"Give"?

GIVE?

This is Keyesian Economics' failure coming to fruition. We have only two choices presented us with only two outcomes. And, no matter how many options are presented will result in only a slight change in these two outcomes:

1. "do nothing" (a politically divisive word) - deep, severe, painful, but relatively short lived recession

2. bailout - infusing out of thin air a fiat currency into the system, devaluing our dollar, resulting in a long drawn out depression.

thats it folks. that is where we are.

And NO party on the Hill is addressing the culprit, the Federal Reserve or its authority, central banking and Keyesian economics. Over two hundred astute and respected economists are against this bailout.

Look to Von Mises or Hayek and our Constitution. The answer lie within.

There are only two camps on the Hill politicizing this: the complicit and the clueless. And those camps cross party lines...because we only have one party: the criminally rich.

to understand more:

www.mises.org

www.campaignforliberty.com

www.silverbearcafe.org

[paulita]

I think a Receiver should be appointed to administer a so called bail out plan, of course he should have a staff of qualified experts). Very similar to a bankruptcy proceeding. It is after all the same thing. These industris have gone bankrupt and should be put on a bankruptcy plan.

The plan should be administered by a non-political person, such as Alan Greenspan. It is absurd that one Secretary of the Treasurer should be given unlimited power. The Receiver should be answerable to Congress via finance committee and the plan should include the taxpayers and putting the companies back on financial health with no bonuses to executives.

The concern should be on America, the finiancial health of America, and the financial and economic health of Americans and that´s it!

[joebiz]

The Republicans were supposed to be good at business. From the financial melt down, I wouldn't let them run a lemonade stand. However, here are some issue that should be looked at:

>A CEO or group of financial leaders or "leader types" from Wall Street needs to come on TV and apologize to the American people and ask us, nicely, for the dollars;

>Americans should be able to get an equivalent home that they lost in the last few years. Or, being able to keep their current home and rewrite their loans to a more equitable level

>Guarantees should be made in financial stakes in the companies that we are bailing out and the profits be used to bolster community and housing programs;

>The FBI should look into if any criminal activities were commited by leaders of these financial credit companies;

>Congress should not give them $700 billion in one shot. How about $50 biillion in tranches. that is $50 billion per month to see if it works.

>Strong oversight of the dollars should be available to the public via internet and we should see where the money is going, and how it's being used.

Just some recommendations.

[Dynamohum]

You would think that by now the wealthy repugnants would realize that in order for their wealth to be maintained and grown, they need a huge, healthy middle class in place to drive it all. Will they learn in time? Will they share and benefit the many? One lesson in all of this should be that by helping the middle class and working class it helps everybody from the bottom up!