Worse than Hoover
So the verdict is in. The House's failure to pass the bailout bill means that George W. Bush's record will not be as bad as Herbert Hoover's. It will be worse.
When Hoover entered office, he called a meeting of economists and business leaders to discuss how the country should best deal with prosperity. Then came October 1929. The stock market plummeted and never really recovered until after World War II. At least Hoover didn't trigger the collapse himself and he didn't mire the country in a trillion dollar war.
Hoover, unlike Bush, was a progressive president. But he was also an adherent of laissez-faire economics, which meant that he was intent on balancing the budget. The economy would never have recovered on his watch. Franklin Roosevelt averted the worst by establishing the New Deal. But not until World War II did the economy really begin to hum.
Today it is Barack Obama who has the potential to create a new New Deal. John McCain joined together with the House Republicans, most likely in an attempt to ingratiate himself with the party's hard right, to scuttle Bush's proposal. Now it's back to the drawing board--if Bush even has anything to draw up. Like Hoover, Bush has been extraordinarily passive, letting his Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke take the lead. They, and he, were unable to close the sale. Will there be anything left to sell in coming weeks?
The irony is that the House Republicans may well be sealing Obama's victory in November.
Should the economy continue to collapse, McCain won't simply lose the election, but be crushed.
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What is all this "blame" stuff? Who says this bill is any good, that it will cure whatever ills Bush and Paulson suddenly laid at our feet and demanded action on, after telling us everything was fine for the last eight years?
What is the urgency with this bill? What is the problem it's going to fix, and how do we know that it will fix it?
How can they rush such a massive bill through Congress before most of them even understand what the situation is?
This is pure panic. What was Bush's motive for triggering this stampede? Isn't anybody suspicious? Has the administration ever told the truth, ever proven itself trustworthy? Why are we listening to them at all? Why didn't Congress conduct hearings, bringing dozens of experts to testify about the economy and what the best approaches would be for dealing with a crisis that nobody seemed to know was coming?
The cause for *panic* is we're not reacting to finding ourselves on the 'edge' of a cliff, we're reacting to finding ourselves already over the edge and running in space like the coyote in a Roadrunner cartoon! The House Repubs turned down the recovery bill - but what was their alternative to save the nation? Eliminate the capital gains tax! This country frickin' doomed. Sometimes people panic because panic is most appropriate response.
"What is the urgency with this bill?"
For starters, you could take a look at how the stock market did today...
The bill is not meant to "cure" anything, it's meant to stanch the wound until cooler heads prevail. A lot of people have a problem with this because it's viewed as "more of the same." In a sense, this is true - those who "have" seem to be getting the breaks at the expense of those who "have not". This is why the Democrats have worked so hard and impressively (and in a bi-partisan manner), to shore up taxpayer protections, reduce ongoing foreclosures, and provide some return on investment from Wall Street back to the people.
There is NO segment of our financial system which hasn't been infested with these mortgage securities and derivative packages, many of which are tens of times over-valued. This means that your 401-K, the kids' college account, the value of your home, could be worth 40, 50, 60 times LESS than you believe it to be. Those are real numbers, scary numbers, Great Depression Era numbers.
The longer we wait to stop the damage, the greater the risk; because money never stops flowing, because balance sheets and quarterly reports and profit margins and home valuations and retirement accounts all depend on knowing the value of what comprises them.
were is the bread lines... this is a two term president
I know this is very hard for people like you to believe, but maybe the house Republicans are concerned more about the country than they are about an election.
Explain.
then they should said that...not whined about Pelosi's speech.
It would have been far easier to believe.
If that were the case then they wouldn't have come rushing to the spotlight decrying one or two "partisan" jabs thrust at them from the Speaker. I mean, give me a break! The Democrats are putting it all on the line. With this vote they open themselves to 30-50 more years of being (falsely) labeled the tax/spend party, yet they move ahead BECAUSE it's in the best interest of the country.
Hah! That's rich...
You're right. Very very VERY hard to believe.
Bush's ignorant/arrogant policies have done more to accomplish bin Laden's goals than he himself could have possibly done. And with relatively little loss of life on the part of his al Qaeda soldiers.
They will live to fight another day in many more locations, and the US will be left with a neutered position on the world stage with no money to continue the grand scale 20th century empire building.
What is sad, is that there are American ideals embodied in the US Constitution, the greatest human document ever written, that can be of immense benefit to the rest of the world. But now we must attend to our own issues and will leave a void on the world stage that I'm afraid will be filled by bin Laden types.
From "leader of the free world" to emerging 3rd world, debtor nation in 7 short years, all thanks to GWB and Repub bankrupt morals and philosophies.
Nice summation of the Bush years.
He was EXACTLY the wrong sort of person to be in that office when 9/11 happened. He has ruined us -- with plenty of help from Cheney and their Party -- from within. We are weaker in every measurable way: militarily, economically, morally, environmentally, scientifically, etc.
If this is what it means to be "conservative," we need to never, ever elect one of them again...
epu
Gee, I thought everyone said we would get hit again and if we did it would be W's fault but seeing that we did not, it was just luck.
Bush 43's presidency began on a sour note and its ending on even more sour note. It proves KARMA is very real. JEB must be regretting why he and Katherine Harris went through all that trouble manipulating the votes in florida and it was all for a bad legacy.
While you're hurling these comparisons around, try to remember that Herbert Hoover was a Progressive Democrat before he changed parties to run for president. Also, it was his application of the Progressive/Fascist practices of the Wilson administration that actually made a recession into a deep depression. And that FDRs policies dragged it out until WWII saved our economic bacon. Please stick to the facts.
First factual error: WWII was an economic boon for the US.
Let's see if you can find the others.
You, apparently, have NO idea of the meaning of the word "boon". Check it out!
Wilson a fascist?
More Kool Aid here, please...
You, apparently, have absolutely NO idea of what Fascism is! Study up, don't just regurgitate dogma!
No one should be surprised that GWB would completely bollix the US economy through neglect and fraud.
He did it at several companies in the 1980's, like Arbusto Energy, Spectrum 7, and Harken Energy. He is a remorseless, incompetent, talentless, spoiled rotten rich kid who refuses to take responsibility for his actions.
Note that GWB's first company, Arbusto, received a $50K investment in 1978, made on behalf of Salem bin Laden, the patriarch of the bin Laden family -- and older half-brother of Osama bin Laden.
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There are two things about this bailout, that should be considered independently. Firstly, the bill is a monstrosity; it should not have been proposed, does not do a squat for the economy, does not create a single job (except some in the Treasury). The fact that it was defeated is a reason for celebration. Secondly - different congresspeople may have voted against it for completely different reasons, some of which may not include a good of the society; whatever these reasons were, it is FANTASTIC that this money grab was prevented! Rarely in US history the popular pressure on lawmakers was so successful, as in last 4 days. What is needed, is not a bailout for the rich, but investment in infrastructure - power grid, railways, wind energy, public schools, etc. For 10-20 billions, it would be possible to start a recovery process. Don't waste your money on speculators!
Exactly polakinidaho!
And I thank EVERY Republican and Democrat that voted against this debacle waiting to happen.
Now maybe they will consider voting for something that would do some good outside of the pockets of the idiots in the financial 'industries' this time out?
A New Deal of some kind will be needed. The system as it is now is broken for almost everybody INCLUDING a lot of the rich bastards. The specifics of how to 'fix' it are beyond my education and 'pay grade' - but I am thinking that more than just throwing a vast pile of money at idiot companies is what we really need.
We need a plan,... a Good Plan,... and the will to enact it.
A new social contract.
Thanks a lot, cranky little Repubs. And DAMN YOU to every Dem who voted against this. I guess they think, like my dear departed parents (who lived through the first one) "what this country needs is another good Depression!!"
Bush has never run anything well; all of his businesses collapsed and he was merely a figurehead in Texas. He will go down as the worst president of all time for sure.
Americans are dumbest of all time for making election close enough to steal. Twice.
Of course blame goes to Bush as president, but he is an unpopular lame duck and it is 1 month before the election, so he is not in a strong position to win the day if he tried.
"Blame" should shift to McCain and Obama, the two leaders of the party and the two tops of the ticket in November. Both have failed to take a leadership role in either passing or defeating the measure.
Being an Obama supporter, once again I see him avoid taking a principled stand. Is he ever going to put something on the line? ... and don't tell me of his stand on Iraq, where a majority of his district supported his stand. He finds common ground, but he does not "move the chains".
I want to see the political cartoon of OSAMA BIN LADEN with the banner over HIS head "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED'. Why isn't Bush RESIGNING??????
The Republican party was already well on its way to total collaps with the loss of legitimacy through Bush's policies and crude mistakes. Now the total collapse of our financial system may well rest squarely on their shoulders as well. Certainly it's taken a lot of pain to re-learn the lessons of the Great Depression that lassez-fair market policies do not work to secure the economy.
Most Americans don't know those lessons, but we're all going to be experiencing them first hand in the coming days. Those who's policies got us into this mess, the deregulators, the lobbiests, the ultra greedy ultra rich and all their Republican patsies cannot escape the blame this time with their tired rhetoric and sleigh of hand diversionary scare tactics. Rebranding won't be enough to save them either. They are destined to be replaced with something else, shape of which is yet to be determined.
I've noticed that like rats, Republicans tend to eat their own. Expect a lot of throwing each other under the bus in the coming weeks...
I fail to see how Barney Frank blames the republicans for the bill not passing when 95 dems thought the same. He didn't mention how Pelosi couldn't persuade the additonal 13 votes out of her own party. Funny how the Dems control Congress yet can't come up with a fix or a vote.
I hate to point this out but the failure of the bailout bill is solely the responsibility of the Democrats. Specifically the failed Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her lack of leadership abilities. She, Leader Reid, Rep. Frank, et al have been hyperpartisan from the start. They are either totally inept or intentional sought to poison the well.
It may be popular to try and blame the Republicans. But the Democrats have more than enough members in the House to pass the bill. That is a simple fact of life - just do the math. To try and lay this at the feet of the Republicans is disingenuous. When 40% of the House Democrats defect it is not the Republican's duty to provide make up votes.
Finally, this was wholly predictable. A week ago Sunday while sitting at the Eagle-Steeler game I turned to my daughter and said that the bailout wouldn't be done by Friday, that the Democrats will choose to use it for political purposes instead. In her nearly 18-year old eyes I am now brilliant. Having raised her to be a responsible citizen, I was proud to see her voter application checked off for Republican.
Drgrph - you've taught your daughter how to be a Republican allright - make up "facts", and then spread those "facts" (lies) far and wide.
"Specifically" you say that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is responsible for the failure of the Bill? She only has one vote.
Your Party - the Republicans - voted 133 against the bill and 65 in favor.
The other party - Democrats - voted 95 against the bill and 140 in favor of the bill.
So the majority of the negative votes for this bill came from the REPUBLICANS!
And you want me, or your daughter, to believe that Nancy Pelosi MADE those 133 Republicans vote against the Bill? Riggggghhh
You want us all to believe whatever you say - regardless of the facts.
Just like Bush would have us believe that Iraq was a threat, that deregulation is good, that trickle down works for the little people, and that 9/11 was caused by 19 Arabs who outwitted the world's greatest civil and military defense system in the world.
I hope your daughter can someday fill out her voter registration without your interference or observation or approval.
Bush believes (ed) that history will prove his prominent legacy. Well, he'll have a legacgy all right, one he can pull out of the toilet.
I find it very interesting that one of the major goals of the 9/11 terrorists was to destroy the US economically. 7 years later, an utterly awful president and vice president, a ridiculous war that has upset the delicate apple cart in a volatile part of the world, no one monitering out of control greedy CEO's who absolutely knew exactly what they were doing when approving zany mortgages and credit limits. Guess what, 23 terrorists and 1 6'5" deranged rich Saudi Arabian have just about pulled it off.
As if there were any doubt about it.
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