You know it's got to be bad if the Governor is making press releases trying to assure everyone not to panic.
Gov. Bill Ritter announced today he is taking several steps to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure the state is able to continue providing essential services amid a deepening national economic crisis.
"Thanks to our many economic-development efforts and our diverse economy, Colorado is fortunate. We have become a magnet for a growing and vibrant New Energy Economy that encompasses traditional energy and renewable energy. We are making great strides with other knowledge-based industries of the future like aerospace, bioscience and technology.
[Yes, make us feel good]
So he's starting a hiring freeze in most state government offices, delaying new construction, telling state offices to batten down the budget hatches, oh, and we'll wade this storm.
- You know how lame the complaints are about how biased bloggers can be? Yet look how shameless a reporter can be in pushing a message that CEO's bad, little people good. I mean, sure I want to believe that as it makes be feel batter. But, if you're gonna go for the emotional plea, at least be honest enough to admit you're not reporting this, you're acting like an activist blogger. And, no one likes them.
I sure like this plan better than a $700 billion blank check.
I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.
I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.
I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.
This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.
Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.
Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson
When you consider the FBI is investigating a lot of these firms, why should we give a bunch of alleged (for now) criminals our money? And if you'd like to add you own bad investments to the bail out, see this.
The other day Stoller over at OpenLeft got another interesting anonymous email from a lawmaker:
Here's the industry's play: progressives will approach Nancy with ideas for reform, and she'll agree to push for their proposals, and she'll really mean it. Then industry lobbyists will go to Dennis Moore, Melissa Bean and a few other Democrats, and tell them how dire the consequences of the proposals would be, and that the members who understand how the economy works need to step up to stop Nancy and the crazy liberals from doing something rash. Then those Democrats will go to Steny and tell him how terrible Nancy's crazy ideas would be, and how we can't rush into something like that without much, much more thought. Maybe Barney will try to talk to Dennis or Melissa, but it will become apparent quickly that they have no idea what they're talking about; they're just repeating by rote what the lobbyists told them to say. Melissa may actually be dumber than Sarah Palin. Barney will realize he might as well talk to the lobbyists directly and save a step. The lobbyists will agree to something inconsequential, but certainly nothing that would really affect the industry's conduct. Then the leadership will do the math and conclude that because the vast majority of Republicans will vote against any bill, we can't get enough votes without the Dennis and Melissa crowd. The only way, our leadership will conclude, to get anything at all passed is to include nothing more than the inconsequential proposals that the lobbyists agreed to. Then we'll all go along because it would be wildly irresponsible not to act when we're staring over the brink of a complete collapse of world financial markets.
I'd diagram it for you if I had a chalkboard. I've seen the play again and again, and it always goes for long yardage.
The only defense for the play is for a significant group of Democrats to say they won't vote for any proposal that isn't unpalatable to industry, and mean it. It's a pretty high stakes game of chicken, but otherwise we come out of this with nothing but a $700 billion giveaway to a crooked industry.
So I got together with our great friend Lynette to do some more stick figure drawings. Yeah, she did the drawing, but then we worked together on the cleanup.
For those with low res screens:
Crazy Liberal: Hey Man, shouldn't we have like, government oversight and accountability for the people who created this mess?
Pelosi: That's a great idea, I will start working on it!
Lobbyist #1: She doesn't know what she's talking about!
Lobbyist #2 (rubbing hands) You must stop her!
Lobbyist #3 The sky will fall! Economy will collapse!
Reps Moore and Bean: We must stop her! She doesn't know what she's talking about. The sky will fall! Economy will collapse.
Lobbyist #2: Give us $700 Billion and we promise not to gouge the public every other Friday. And free Lehman brothers pens for every taxpayer.
Steny Hoyer: There was no way that we could get anything reasonable through this zombified congress so we had to go with the 'no gouging Fridays' bill. Plus, please won't be able to afford pens for very long, so that's a good deal...
Zombie congresscritter #1: Sky will fall...
Zombie congresscritter #2: Economy will collapse...
Zombie congresscritter #3: Brains...brains...
And that boys and girls is how a bill is made....today.
Do you want the Authorization for use of Financial Force, or real reform? Then get on the phone, the email thingy, or that John McCain invented device, the fax, whatever, this morning to demand our leaders not give away our tax dollars to a bunch of already rich guys for screwing the pooch. Here's one anonymous lawmaker's take, but we won't have true reform until at least 50% + 1 (or more if there are veto threats) of them feel the exact same way:
Paulsen and congressional Republicans, or the few that will actually vote for this (most will be unwilling to take responsibility for the consequences of their policies), have said that there can't be any "add ons," or addition provisions. Fuck that. I don't really want to trigger a world wide depression (that's not hyperbole, that's a distinct possibility), but I'm not voting for a blank check for $700 billion for those mother fuckers.
Nancy said she wanted to include the second "stimulus" package that the Bush Administration and congressional Republicans have blocked. I don't want to trade a $700 billion dollar giveaway to the most unsympathetic human beings on the planet for a few fucking bridges. I want reforms of the industry, and I want it to be as punitive as possible.
Henry Waxman has suggested corporate government reforms, including CEO compensation, as the price for this. Some members have publicly suggested allowing modification of mortgages in bankruptcy, and the House Judiciary Committee staff is also very interested in that. That's a real possibility.
We may strip out all the gives to industry in the predatory mortgage lending bill that the House passed last November, which hasn't budged in the Senate, and include that in the bill. There are other ideas on the table but they are going to be tough to work out before next week.
I also find myself drawn to provisions that would serve no useful purpose except to insult the industry, like requiring the CEOs, CFOs and the chair of the board of any entity that sells mortgage related securities to the Treasury Department to certify that they have completed an approved course in credit counseling. That is now required of consumers filing bankruptcy to make sure they feel properly humiliated for being head over heels in debt, although most lost control of their finances because of a serious illness in the family. That would just be petty and childish, and completely in character for me.
I'm open to other ideas, and I am looking for volunteers who want to hold the sons of bitches so I can beat the crap out of them.
Ed, is that you?
h/t to Mr. Krugman for that phrase at the beginning.
The Secretary's authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time
Sec. 8. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.
Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.
That's $700 Billion with a B for Bailout and $11 Trillion with a T of debt, and there's to be no review by that other branch? Excuse me but why does this sound just like Bush giving back to his base of have mores? What an excellent Return on Investment. Bush, McCain, and Gramm made such deregulation possible. Those banks have screwed up royally and are now being paid back as if to reward them for their failure. I thought the more you screw up, the higher the punishment, not the other way round. How about some higher taxes on speculators, corrupt mortgage bankers, and traders, rather than the rest of us taxpayers having to pay this off?
When the American people, facing a foreclosure crisis and struggling economy, turned to this administration for help, the answer was no. Now, the administration is turning to the American people for help, to rescue the credit markets and take on hundreds of billions in debt and financial obligations as a consequence of that same foreclosure crisis. The truth is, Main Street came to Washington and got little. Now Washington is coming to Main Street and asking for a lot. The American people deserve to know that this isn't a blank check. While the need to address the current crisis is clear, I will only support steps that will prevent a widening crisis, tackle the worst kinds of abuse tolerated for too long by the Bush administration, and address the root problems at work.
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