You're right. Financial and social melt down sounds like a lot more fun. Throw in a little anarchy to make it even more fun. The Police/sheriff can't even protect you now, where do you think you'll turn for help when the system melts down. Do you think the police are going to work for nothing ?  I don't like it either but to just stand back and watch the chips fall is not the answer. We can only hope that our leaders extract our pound of flesh from these bailouts. And even with the bailouts it may not be enough. Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

Here is what it smells like to me. For years the big commercial banks have been trying to get in on the major Wall Street investment banking market. Bank of America poured billions into the effort over the past several years to gain a foothold in the formerly lucrative investment banking world. Here is a brief excerpt written by Binyamin Appelbaum and Zachary A. Goldfarb from the Washington Post on the subject:

"For Bank of America, which is based in Charlotte, Merrill Lynch also offers the prestige of owning one of the nation's great investment banks. Bank of America has struggled to build its own operation. Chief executive Ken Lewis declared last fall that he had "all the fun I can stand," as he announced that the company would slow its efforts to grow its own investment bank.

It now appears the firm never relinquished the underlying ambition, and Bank of America will now be a major player on Wall Street."

It was J.P. Morgan, another very large commercial bank, who acquired Bear Stearns just months earlier, and before this type of failure was deemed to be the end of the world as we know it.

Look at who will take over the investment banking interests as every major Wall Street investment bank is rendered into just another brand for the very few and very large and ever shrinking commercial banking world. This smells like a power-play to eliminate competition and choice in the market place. People will still need the services that these former separate banking structures performed, but the consumers options and hence bargaining leverage has gone away in one fell swoop.

This whole crisis seems manufactured for financial gain, but may have had an unintended repercussion with AIG going bust after the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rescue. It is my belief the perpetrators of this new financial crisis did not foresee AIG coming undone and rendering all mortgages forfeit. As Freddie and Fannie were rescued according to plan (and mortgages still considered fully viable and insured) these forces could call for cash from the capital short Wall Street investment banks and force them into failure where they would be bought up pennies on the dollar. The failure of AIG put the vast bundles of now uninsured mortgages in the bond and securities markets into temporary free fall. No one can determine the good loans from the bad  loans today because the mortgages have been sold by the thousands to various buyers around the world. If the market went into free-fall no home loan was safe and no investment was safe.

The Secretary of the Treasury is a Cabinet level position. He is not elected, and serves at the pleasure of the President of the United States. This position, although important in helping create policy and for implementing actions agreed upon by both the Executive and Legislative branches, should never control business or the tax payer purse. Period!!! Never!!!!!  We must never lose the ability to control our own government. 

It is time to hunt down the profiteers who made the call and demanded cash on the investment banks. These profiteers must be punished for their greed and avarice. A commentator, whose name escapes me, recently said it best, "When a company becomes too big to fail, it is obvious that it has become to big to manage."

We need to dust off those anti-trust laws and start applying them right away. We are living in a plutocracy as it is, where fewer and fewer control more and more. It is time to stop the carnage on the middle class and poor. That is the bailout the American citizen needs.

To continue to subsidize only the most wealthy while continually belittling and hampering the poor is what stinks in this country.

Lois - I know you never respond to common people, but I am going to ask you some questions anyway.

What is Kevin going to do - yes or no? If he votes yes, I will make it my mission to have him never elected again.

What has been the repsonse to his office from the locals? Or are most people in this town too stupid to care and as long as American Idol is on they are happy.

How can Paulson and Bernake justify their position before the senate when:

1.  They're not sure how much money it will take to correct the banking fiasco, or if it can be corrected at all....

2.  But they manage to come up with a figure of $7 billion and wants congress to approve it immediately, before oversight protections are written into it.

I'm not sure I want congress to bow before the demand of President Bush again.  The last time they did it, we got involved in an six year war.  Bush was so desperate for a quick fix that he sent his hatchet man Cheney to congress to try and persuade (strong arm) reluctant senators into agreeing with a blank check.  He was met with a cold shoulder (for once).

If the bailout does happen, I want an oversight chairman appointed whose sole responsibility is to  keep control of the money.  Someone who is not tied to the problem, like Paulson.   Someone with integrity.

Secondly, the loan needs to be conditional.  Based on the promise that the CEO's of the failed companies won't get multi million dollar severance packages.

Thirdly, an thorough investigation needs to be made to reveal how this fiasco happened and what safeguards can be put in place to ensure that it never happens again.

Fourthly, we don't need to give the banks the full 7 billion they're asking for at once.  Let's give them SOME of it and see how well they handle it.  Let's treat them like the greedy children they are.

Lastly, we need to regulate the banking system again.  This disaster proves what can happen when the fox is appointed to guard the hen house.

The outcome of this will show the American people the priorities of Congress. There is a clear cut choice between helping average Americans (Main Street) and big business (Wall Street). The Government can bail them out but that still doesn't address the problem of people foreclosing on homes and not meeting basic needs. These institutions were supposed to indirectly address this with minimal government intervention and it's failing. In dire times as these, who has priority? Americans, who are supposed to be protected by the state, or MNCs who have no national allegiance to anyone and only exist to make a profit?

FDR and a Democrat Congress gave us FNMA.

LBJ and/or a Democrat Congress gave us Freddie Mac.

Jimmy Carter and a Democrat Congress gave us the CRA of '77.

B.J. Clinton and a Democrat Congress gave us a revised CRA that would punish lenders for not making sub-prime loans

Democrat cronies (Raines and Gorelick at Fannie Mae) in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made sure that nearly every sub-prime loan could be securitized as they plundered those organizations with cooked books for well over $100 million while the funneled cash into the PACs and campaign funds of mostly Democrat politicians in Congress who were supposed to be overseeing them, assuming hundreds of billions of bad loan guarantees for the taxpayers as the Democrats in Congress blocked 17 attempts by Bush and/or McCain to provide some regulatory oversight--with teeth--over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Yes, that sure sounds like a failure of conservativism to crush Liberal opposition.


Oh, and here again is the list of people in Congress from both parties receiving money in large amounts from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac according to the FEC:

Name Office State Party Grand Total Total from
PACs Total from
Individuals

Dodd, Christopher J S CT D $165,400 $48,500 $116,900 Obama, Barack S IL D $126,349 $6,000 $120,349 Kerry, John S MA D $111,000 $2,000 $109,000 Bennett, Robert F S UT R $107,999 $71,499 $36,500 Bachus, Spencer H AL R $103,300 $70,500 $32,800 Blunt, Roy H MO R $96,950 $78,500 $18,450 Kanjorski, Paul E H PA D $96,000 $57,500 $38,500 Bond, Christopher S 'Kit' S MO R $95,400 $64,000 $31,400 Shelby, Richard C S AL R $80,000 $23,000 $57,000 Reed, Jack S RI D $78,250 $43,500 $34,750 Reid, Harry S NV D $77,000 $60,500 $16,500 Clinton, Hillary S NY D $76,050 $8,000 $68,050 Davis, Tom H VA R $75,499 $13,999 $61,500 Boehner, John H OH R $67,750 $60,500 $7,250 Conrad, Kent S ND D $64,491 $22,000 $42,491 Reynolds, Tom H NY R $62,200 $53,000 $9,200 Johnson, Tim S SD D $61,000 $20,000 $41,000 Pelosi, Nancy H CA D $56,250 $47,000 $9,250 Carper, Tom S DE D $55,889 $31,350 $24,539 Hoyer, Steny H H MD D $55,500 $51,500 $4,000 Pryce, Deborah H OH R $55,500 $45,000 $10,500 Emanuel, Rahm H IL D $51,750 $16,000 $35,750 Isakson, Johnny S GA R $49,200 $35,500 $13,700 Cantor, Eric H VA R $48,500 $46,500 $2,000 Crapo, Mike S ID R $47,250 $40,500 $6,750 Frank, Barney H MA D $42,350 $30,500 $11,850 Bean, Melissa H IL D $41,249 $34,999 $6,250 Bayh, Evan S IN D $41,100 $16,500 $24,600 McConnell, Mitch S KY R $41,000 $40,000 $1,000 Maloney, Carolyn B H NY D $39,750 $16,500 $23,250 Dorgan, Byron L S ND D $38,750 $30,500 $8,250 Miller, Gary H CA R $38,000 $31,500 $6,500 Rangel, Charles B H NY D $38,000 $14,750 $23,250 Tiberi, Patrick J H OH R $35,700 $32,600 $3,100 Bunning, Jim S KY R $33,802 $29,650 $4,152 Stabenow, Debbie S MI D $33,450 $32,000 $1,450 Chambliss, Saxby S GA R $33,250 $22,500 $10,750 Menendez, Robert S NJ D $31,250 $30,500 $750 Enzi, Mike S WY R $31,000 $27,500 $3,500 Van Hollen, Chris H MD D $30,700 $11,000 $19,700 Landrieu, Mary L S LA D $30,600 $20,000 $10,600 Murray, Patty S WA D $30,000 $23,000 $7,000 Clyburn, James E H SC D $29,750 $26,000 $3,750 Crowley, Joseph H NY D $29,700 $25,500 $4,200 Sessions, Pete H TX R $29,472 $24,000 $5,472 McCrery, Jim H LA R $29,000 $26,000 $3,000 Hooley, Darlene H OR D $28,750 $19,500 $9,250 Royce, Ed H CA R $28,600 $4,000 $24,600 Renzi, Rick H AZ R $28,250 $28,000 $250 Lieberman, Joe S CT I $28,250 $11,500 $16,750 Baucus, Max S MT D $27,500 $21,000 $6,500 Moore, Dennis H KS D $26,550 $25,500 $1,050 Coleman, Norm S MN R $24,690 $12,000 $12,690 Matheson, Jim H UT D $24,500 $24,000 $500 Schumer, Charles E S NY D $24,250 $1,500 $22,750 Durbin, Dick S IL D $23,750 $14,000 $9,750 Rogers, Mike H MI R $22,750 $21,000 $1,750 Lynch, Stephen F H MA D $22,500 $13,500 $9,000 Rockefeller, Jay S WV D $22,250 $5,000 $17,250 Smith, Gordon H S OR R $22,000 $20,000 $2,000 Mikulski, Barbara A S MD D $21,750 $16,500 $5,250 McCain, John S AZ R $21,550 $0 $21,550 Spratt, John M Jr H SC D $21,500 $17,000 $4,500 Brown-Waite, Ginny H FL R $21,000 $21,000 $0 Davis, Geoff H KY R $21,000 $19,500 $1,500 Velazquez, Nydia M H NY D $20,750 $16,750 $4,000 Baca, Joe H CA D $20,500 $20,200 $300 Alexander, Lamar S TN R $20,500 $20,000 $500 Allard, Wayne S CO R $20,250 $0 $20,250 Neugebauer, Randy H TX R $20,000 $20,000 $0 Nelson, Ben S NE D $20,000 $19,000 $1,000 Salazar, Ken S CO D $19,900 $17,000 $2,900 Jefferson, William J H LA D $19,250 $8,500 $10,750 Byrd, Robert C S WV D $18,500 $8,000 $10,500 Hatch, Orrin G S UT R $18,250 $12,500 $5,750 Miller, Brad H NC D $18,000 $16,500 $1,500 Sherman, Brad H CA D $18,000 $12,500 $5,500 Craig, Larry S ID R $18,000 $15,000 $3,000 Roberts, Pat S KS R $18,000 $18,000 $0 Waters, Maxine H CA D $17,800 $15,000 $2,800 Biggert, Judy H IL R $17,750 $15,500 $2,250 Gerlach, Jim H PA R $17,750 $16,500 $1,250 Reyes, Silvestre H TX D $17,550 $2,000 $15,550 LaTourette, Steven C H OH R $17,500 $17,500 $0 Brownback, Sam S KS R $17,300 $14,250 $3,050 Barrett, Gresham H SC R $17,250 $13,000 $4,250 Watt, Melvin L H NC D $17,250 $13,000 $4,250 Scott, David H GA D $17,000 $13,500 $3,500 King, Pete H NY R $16,750 $1,000 $15,750 Cummings, Elijah E H MD D $16,700 $10,000 $6,700 Grassley, Chuck S IA R $16,500 $14,500 $2,000 Cantwell, Maria S WA D $16,250 $0 $16,250 Domenici, Pete V S NM R $16,226 $7,000 $9,226 Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie H SD D $16,200 $4,500 $11,700 Putnam, Adam H H FL R $15,500 $15,500 $0 Feinstein, Dianne S CA D $15,250 $2,000 $13,250 Brown, Sherrod S OH D $15,000 $15,000 $0 Feeney, Tom H FL R $14,750 $13,500 $1,250 Sununu, John E S NH R $14,750 $0 $14,750 Hinojosa, Ruben H TX D $14,500 $13,000 $1,500 Capito, Shelley Moore H WV R $14,250 $8,000 $6,250 Burr, Richard S NC R $14,250 $13,500 $750 Jackson, Jesse Jr H IL D $14,000 $8,000 $6,000 Meeks, Gregory W H NY D $14,000 $13,500 $500 Cornyn, John S TX R $14,000 $12,000 $2,000 Collins, Susan M S ME R $13,000 $12,000 $1,000 Boxer, Barbara S CA D $12,750 $5,000 $7,750 McHenry, Patrick H NC R $12,500 $12,500 $0 Israel, Steve H NY D $12,050 $10,000 $2,050 Nunes, Devin Gerald H CA R $12,000 $12,000 $0 Davis, Artur H AL D $11,750 $11,500 $250 Martinez, Mel S FL R $11,750 $8,500 $3,250 Roskam, Peter H IL R $11,650 $8,500 $3,150 Pryor, Mark S AR D $11,650 $9,500 $2,150 Webb, James S VA D $11,550 $1,000 $10,550 Doolittle, John T H CA R $11,500 $11,500 $0 Harkin, Tom S IA D $11,450 $6,900 $4,550 Lee, Barbara H CA D $11,250 $11,000 $250 Thune, John S SD R $11,057 $1,000 $10,057 Klein, Ron H FL D $11,000 $11,000 $0 Mahoney, Tim H FL D $11,000 $11,000 $0 Fossella, Vito H NY R $10,750 $7,500 $3,250 Schultz, Debbie Wasserman H FL D $10,750 $9,750 $1,000 Thompson, Mike H CA D $10,600 $1,000 $9,600 Moran, Jim H VA D $10,500 $1,250 $9,250 Kennedy, Edward M S MA D $10,500 $3,000 $7,500 Clay, William L Jr H MO D $10,250 $8,500 $1,750 Payne, Donald M H NJ D $10,100 $5,500 $4,600 Dingell, John D H MI D $10,000 $7,000 $3,000 Lincoln, Blanche S AR D $10,000 $5,500 $4,500 Levin, Sander H MI D $9,800 $0 $9,800 Roybal-Allard, Lucille H CA D $9,800 $5,000 $4,800 Barrasso, John A S WY R $9,500 $9,500 $0 Nelson, Bill S FL D $9,500 $9,000 $500 Napolitano, Grace H CA D $9,300 $8,500 $800 Castle, Michael N H DE R $9,200 $7,000 $2,200 Drake, Thelma H VA R $9,000 $9,000 $0 Dreier, David H CA R $9,000 $7,000 $2,000 Bachmann, Michele Marie H MN R $8,850 $6,500 $2,350 Gonzalez, Charlie A H TX D $8,500 $5,000 $3,500 Lewis, John H GA D $8,500 $4,000 $4,500 Knollenberg, Joe H MI R $8,250 $5,000 $3,250 Moore, Gwen H WI D $8,250 $8,000 $250 Pastor, Ed H AZ D $8,100 $4,500 $3,600 Norton, Eleanor Holmes D DC D $8,000 $3,000 $5,000 Becerra, Xavier H CA D $8,000 $7,000 $1,000 Jackson Lee, Sheila H TX D $8,000 $0 $8,000 Larson, John B H CT D $8,000 $8,000 $0 Lewis, Jerry H CA R $8,000 $7,000 $1,000 Melancon, Charles J H LA D $8,000 $8,000 $0 Walsh, James T H NY R $7,750 $0 $7,750 Corker, Bob S TN R $7,750 $2,000 $5,750 Cramer, Bud H AL D $7,500 $7,000 $500 Cubin, Barbara H WY R $7,500 $5,000 $2,500 Ensign, John S NV R $7,300 $6,000 $1,300 Meek, Kendrick B H FL D $7,250 $6,500 $750 Wilson, Charlie H OH D $7,250 $7,000 $250 Leahy, Patrick S VT D $7,250 $2,500 $4,750 Cleaver, Emanuel H MO D $7,000 $7,000 $0 Marchant, Kenny Ewell H TX R $7,000 $7,000 $0 Thompson, Bennie G H MS D $7,000 $6,000 $1,000 Casey, Bob S PA D $7,000 $6,000 $1,000 Solis, Hilda L H CA D $6,800 $6,500 $300 Gordon, Bart H TN D $6,750 $4,000 $2,750 Pomeroy, Earl H ND D $6,750 $5,000 $1,750 Tiahrt, Todd H KS R $6,500 $6,500 $0 Boyd, Allen H FL D $6,000 $5,500 $500 Capuano, Michael E H MA D $6,000 $5,000 $1,000 Heller, Dean H NV R $6,000 $6,000 $0 Marshall, Jim H GA0 D $6,000 $6,000 $0 Whitfield, Ed H KY R $6,000 $6,000 $0 Klobuchar, Amy S MN D $5,650 $1,500 $4,150 Ross, Mike H AR D $5,550 $3,000 $2,550 McCarthy, Carolyn H NY D $5,500 $5,500 $0 Slaughter, Louise M H NY D $5,500 $5,500 $0 Hodes, Paul W H NH D $5,450 $5,000 $450 Cardin, Ben S MD D $5,300 $500 $4,800 Boren, Dan H OK D $5,250 $5,000 $250 Ackerman, Gary H NY D $5,000 $4,000 $1,000 Andrews, Robert E H NJ D $5,000 $0 $5,000 Camp, Dave H MI R $5,000 $5,000 $0 Cole, Tom H OK R $5,000 $5,000 $0 Davis, Lincoln H TN D $5,000 $5,000 $0 Hill, Baron H IN D $5,000 $5,000 $0 Pearce, Steve H NM R $5,000 $5,000 $0 Perlmutter, Edwin G H CO D $5,000 $5,000 $0 Weller, Jerry H IL R $5,000 $0 $5,000 Snowe, Olympia J S ME R $5,000 $4,000 $1,000 Wicker, Roger S MS R $5,000 $5,000 $0 Davis, Danny K H IL D $4,950 $2,000 $2,950 Chabot, Steve H OH R $4,750 $3,000 $1,750 Honda, Mike H CA D $4,750 $4,000 $750 Price, David H NC D $4,550 $2,050 $2,500 Hagel, Chuck S NE R $4,500 $0 $4,500 Lugar, Richard G S IN R $4,500 $1,000 $3,500 Kaptur, Marcy H OH D $4,350 $1,000 $3,350 McCollum, Betty H MN D $4,350 $0 $4,350 Carson, Andre H IN D $4,250 $4,000 $250 Obey, David R H WI D $4,250 $2,000 $2,250 Salazar, John H CO D $4,250 $4,000 $250 Sanchez, Loretta H CA D $4,250 $3,000 $1,250 Tanner, John H TN D $4,250 $3,500 $750 Cardoza, Dennis H CA D $4,000 $4,000 $0 English, Phil H PA R $4,000 $4,000 $0 Green, Al H TX D $4,000 $4,000 $0 Kilpatrick, Carolyn Cheeks H MI D $4,000 $3,250 $750 Murphy, Chris H CT D $4,000 $4,000 $0 Tester, Jon S MT D $4,000 $3,500 $500 Rodriguez, Ciro D H TX D $3,750 $3,000 $750 Donnelly, Joe H IN D $3,500 $3,500 $0 Matsui, Doris O H CA D $3,500 $2,500 $1,000 Paul, Ron H TX R $3,500 $0 $3,500 Price, Tom H GA R $3,500 $3,500 $0 Schmidt, Jean H OH R $3,500 $2,500 $1,000 Wexler, Robert H FL D $3,500 $3,500 $0 Wyden, Ron S OR D $3,500 $0 $3,500 Biden, Joseph R Jr S DE D $3,300 $0 $3,300 Gutierrez, Luis V H IL D $3,250 $2,500 $750 Harman, Jane H CA D $3,250 $0 $3,250 Hensarling, Jeb H TX R $3,250 $1,500 $1,750 Kennedy, Patrick J H RI D $3,250 $0 $3,250 Ryan, Paul H WI R $3,250 $2,500 $750 Myrick, Sue H NC R $3,200 $1,500 $1,700 Schwartz, Allyson H PA D $3,200 $2,000 $1,200 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln H FL R $3,000 $3,000 $0 Lucas, Frank D H OK R $3,000 $1,500 $1,500 McCarthy, Kevin H CA R $3,000 $3,000 $0 Souder, Mark E H IN R $3,000 $3,000 $0 Udall, Mark H CO D $3,000 $2,500 $500 Bingaman, Jeff S NM D $3,000 $3,000 $0 Levin, Carl S MI D $3,000 $3,000 $0 Stevens, Ted S AK R $3,000 $3,000 $0 Hobson, Dave H OH R $2,850 $0 $2,850 Johnson, Eddie Bernice H TX D $2,825 $1,000 $1,825 Berkley, Shelley H NV D $2,750 $2,000 $750 Jones, Walter B Jr H NC R $2,750 $0 $2,750 Ferguson, Mike H NJ R $2,700 $0 $2,700 Cannon, Chris H UT R $2,500 $2,000 $500 Childers, Travis W H MS D $2,500 $2,500 $0 DeGette, Diana H CO D $2,500 $2,000 $500 Ellison, Keith H MN D $2,500 $2,500 $0 Keller, Ric H FL R $2,500 $2,000 $500 Oberstar, James L H MN D $2,500 $0 $2,500 Serrano, Jose E H NY D $2,500 $1,500 $1,000 Shays, Christopher H CT R $2,500 $2,000 $500 McCaskill, Claire S MO D $2,500 $2,500 $0 Cuellar, Henry H TX D $2,450 $2,000 $450 Markey, Edward J H MA D $2,250 $0 $2,250 Smith, Adam H WA D $2,250 $2,000 $250 Butterfield, G K H NC D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Costa, Jim H CA D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Foster, Bill H IL D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Grijalva, Raul M H AZ D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Hastings, Doc H WA R $2,000 $2,000 $0 Moran, Jerry H KS R $2,000 $0 $2,000 Murphy, Patrick J H PA D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Olver, John W H MA D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Porter, Jon H NV R $2,000 $2,000 $0 Regula, Ralph H OH R $2,000 $0 $2,000 Reichert, Dave H WA R $2,000 $2,000 $0 Sanchez, Linda H CA D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Sires, Albio H NJ D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Tauscher, Ellen H CA D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Akaka, Daniel K S HI D $2,000 $2,000 $0 Cochran, Thad S MS R $2,000 $2,000 $0 Whitehouse, Sheldon S RI D $2,000 $1,000 $1,000 Allen, Tom H ME D $1,950 $0 $1,950 Stearns, Cliff H FL R $1,850 $1,850 $0 DeLauro, Rosa L H CT D $1,750 $1,000 $750 Towns, Edolphus H NY D $1,750 $0 $1,750 Hulshof, Kenny H MO R $1,700 $1,250 $450 Fattah, Chaka H PA D $1,500 $1,000 $500 Neal, Richard E H MA D $1,500 $1,500 $0 Diaz-Balart, Mario H FL R $1,450 $1,000 $450 Kucinich, Dennis J H OH D $1,349 $0 $1,349 Alexander, Rodney H LA R $1,250 $1,250 $0 Carnahan, Russ H MO D $1,250 $1,000 $250 Wilson, Heather A H NM R $1,250 $0 $1,250 Coburn, Tom S OK R $1,250 $0 $1,250 Feingold, Russ S WI D $1,250 $0 $1,250 Kyl, Jon S AZ R $1,250 $0 $1,250 Linder, John H GA R $1,150 $500 $650 Sestak, Joe H PA D $1,150 $0 $1,150 Specter, Arlen S PA R $1,100 $350 $750 Berry, Marion H AR D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Blackburn, Marsha H TN R $1,000 $1,000 $0 Boswell, Leonard L H IA D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Boucher, Rick H VA D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Boustany, Charles W Jr H LA R $1,000 $1,000 $0 Calvert, Ken H CA R $1,000 $1,000 $0 Campbell, John H CA R $1,000 $1,000 $0 Cazayoux, Donald J H LA D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Conaway, Mike H TX R $1,000 $1,000 $0 Cooper, Jim H TN D $1,000 $500 $500 Ellsworth, Brad H IN D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Filner, Bob H CA D $1,000 $0 $1,000 Graves, Sam H MO R $1,000 $1,000 $0 Hayes, Robin H NC R $1,000 $0 $1,000 Higgins, Brian M H NY D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Johnson, Hank H GA D $1,000 $0 $1,000 Latham, Tom H IA R $1,000 $1,000 $0 Lofgren, Zoe H CA D $1,000 $0 $1,000 McNerney, Jerry H CA D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Michaud, Mike H ME D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Mitchell, Harry E H AZ D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Musgrave, Marilyn H CO R $1,000 $0 $1,000 Ortiz, Solomon P H TX D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Rush, Bobby L H IL D $1,000 $0 $1,000 Schiff, Adam H CA D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Scott, Robert C H VA D $1,000 $0 $1,000 Smith, Chris H NJ R $1,000 $0 $1,000 Space, Zachary T H OH D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Terry, Lee H NE R $1,000 $0 $1,000 Walberg, Tim H MI R $1,000 $0 $1,000 Welch, Peter H VT D $1,000 $1,000 $0 Wolf, Frank R H VA R $1,000 $1,000 $0 Dole, Elizabeth S NC R $1,000 $0 $1,000 Lautenberg, Frank R S NJ D $1,000 $0 $1,000 Christian-Green, Donna D VI D $750 $0 $750 Inslee, Jay R H WA D $750 $0 $750 Duncan, John J Jr H TN R $600 $600 $0 Bilbray, Brian P H CA R $500 $0 $500 Bishop, Sanford D Jr H GA D $500 $500 $0 Castor, Kathy H FL D $500 $0 $500 Edwards, Donna H MD D $500 $0 $500 Hinchey, Maurice H NY D $500 $0 $500 LaHood, Ray H IL R $500 $0 $500 Mack, Connie H FL R $500 $0 $500 Pascrell, Bill Jr H NJ D $500 $500 $0 Pickering, Charles "Chip" Jr H MS R $500 $500 $0 Rehberg, Denny H MT R $500 $0 $500 Sarbanes, John H MD D $500 $0 $500 Shadegg, John H AZ R $500 $0 $500 Skelton, Ike H MO D $500 $500 $0 Smith, Lamar H TX R $500 $500 $0 Stark, Pete H CA D $500 $500 $0 Weldon, Dave H FL R $500 $0 $500 Wu, David H OR D $500 $0 $500 Graham, Lindsey S SC R $500 $0 $500 Brown, Corrine H FL D $450 $0 $450 Turner, Michael R H OH R $375 $0 $375 Hastings, Alcee L H FL D $300 $0 $300 Warner, John W S VA R $300 $0 $300 Aderholt, Robert B H AL R $250 $0 $250 Arcuri, Michael H NY D $250 $0 $250 Carney, Chris H PA D $250 $0 $250 Dicks, Norm H WA D $250 $0 $250 Lampson, Nick H TX D $250 $0 $250 Manzullo, Don H IL R $250 $0 $250 Platts, Todd H PA R $250 $0 $250 Watson, Diane E H CA D $250 $0 $250 Weiner, Anthony D H NY D $250 $0 $250 DeMint, James W S SC R $250 $0 $250 Sanders, Bernie S VT I $250 $250 $0 Total $4,844,572 $3,017,797 $1,826,775


http://www.opensecrets.org/...
 

Next.................

And McSame is the "change" candidate, right?

One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager from the end of 2005 through last month, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement. The disclosure contradicts a statement Sunday night by Mr. McCain that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had no involvement with the company for the last several years. Mr. Davis’s firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae, the other big mortgage lender whose deteriorating finances helped precipitate the cascading problems on Wall Street, the people said.

They said they did not recall Mr. Davis doing much substantive work for the company in return for the money, other than speak to a political action committee composed of high-ranking employees in October 2006 on the coming midterm congressional elections. They said Mr. Davis’s his firm, Davis & Manafort, was kept on the payroll because of Mr. Davis’s close ties to Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who was widely expected by 2006 to run again for the White House....

Freddie Mac’s roughly $500,000 in payments to Davis & Manafort began immediately after Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in late 2005 disbanded an advocacy coalition that they had set up and hired Mr. Davis to run, the people familiar with the arrangement said....

Between 2000 and the end of 2005, Mr. Davis had received nearly $2 million as president of the coalition, the Homeownership Alliance, which the companies created to help them oppose new regulations and protect their status as federally chartered companies with implicit government backing. That status let them borrow cheaply, helping to fuel rapid growth but also their increased purchases of the risky mortgage securities that were their downfall.

On Sunday, in an interview with CNBC and the New York Times, Mr. McCain responded to a question about Mr. Davis’s role in the advocacy group by saying that his campaign manager “has had nothing to do with it since, and I’ll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it.”

After the Homeownership Alliance was dissolved, Mr. Davis asked to stay on a retainer, the people familiar with the deal said. Hollis McLoughlin, who was chief of staff to Richard F. Syron, Freddie Mac’s chief executive, arranged for a new contract with Davis & Manafort, at the reduced rate of $15,000 a month...

Chico,

Why are the names of the Democrats highlighted, while the names of the Republicans are not? Just asking.

Laurah

He learned that trick from Sean Hannity.  Hannity  did the same thing last night when talking about which Senators were the one's confronting Paulson and Bernake.  You'd think there weren't any democrats in the senate the way he reported it.

The news about Davis getting all that money from Freddie Mac is very suspicious to say the least. It almost makes me think that the collapse was timed to effect the election, since Bush knew and was planning for the collapse for at least a month. It also just happened to coincide with congress just about to adjourn for the campaign season. They gave them just enough time to pass something they don't have time to read. I'm guessing McCain didn't think the media would do its job and find out about Davis in time. It all makes me wonder what the FBI is going to find.

Congress needs to punt on this one and take the necessary time to do this right. 

"Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America's secondary mortgage market to ensure that mortgage bankers and other lenders have enough funds to lend to home buyers at low rates. Our job is to help those who house America.

Fannie Mae was created in 1938, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, at a time when millions of families could not become homeowners, or risked losing their homes, for lack of a consistent supply of mortgage funds across America.

The government established Fannie Mae in order to expand the flow of mortgage funds in all communities, at all times, under all economic conditions, and to help lower the costs to buy a home.

Fannie Mae has a unique duty to the public it serves -- and the private investors that fuel its service -- to be a model company focused on service, reliability, and value."  -You have a problem with this charter, Chico?-

"Freddie Mac conducts its business primarily by buying mortgages from lenders, packaging the mortgages into securities and selling the securities – guaranteed by Freddie Mac – to investors. Mortgage lenders use the proceeds from selling loans to Freddie Mac to fund new mortgages, constantly replenishing the pool of funds available for lending to homebuyers and apartment owners. Just as stock and bond markets have put investor capital to work for corporations, the secondary mortgage market puts private investor capital to work for homebuyers and apartment owners, providing a continuous flow of affordable funds for home financing." -Freddie Mac was created  in 1970 under Nixon. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the concept of Freddie Mac. What went wrong is that there has been no oversight on what the mortgages actually were. An extremely high percentage of Wells Fargo mortgages are fine, but a significant percentage Ameriquest and Countrywide mortgages are junk. Where was the regulator checking to insure these mortgages bundled and repackaged were good? Oh, that's right, Republicans have been very busy deregulating and killing government oversight for 28 years.

Chico, I'm not sure what ax you have to grind over CRA, which is simply a community reinvestment agency designed to periodically check and make sure banks and other lending institutions are serving the community. Other agencies do the fact checks like FDIC, FRB and OCC. The fact is with the government shorting most of these departments and underfunding the insurance needs by moving most of  the federal money into defense and the Middle East we the people are on the short end of the stick. We're going to be really on the short end after this capitulation to Wall Street and the central commercial banking interests. Looks like loan sharks are going to be making a serious revival in the near future. 

Grow a conscience, Chico, and vote for Democrats this November 4, 2008.

Curious to see McCain duck the debate to wade his very small understanding into this economic morass.

BakersfieldBubble:

McCarthy, wouldn't tell me how he'll vote. He just told me the things he was concerned about, CEO pay and more accountability and transparency than the plan initially had. And he was very very concerned that this was a huge gamble with pretty much every tax dollar we have leveraged to the hilt.

I haven't called his staffers to find out if they're being inundated with calls from constituents. I imagine they are, and should be!

And, since I AM a "common" person, I'm not sure what you mean that I never respond to common people. I try to be as accessible as possible, but I've been distracted by "sign-gate."

Guess we were suckered by the right wing nuts into opposing the package to rescue the economy.  We all just lost about $1.2 trillion - that's T-R-I-L-L-I-O-N  - from our retirement accounts because some right wingers got their feelings hurt by a speech by the left wing nut-in-chief.  

To whom it may concern;

A Better Proposal instead of a Bailout,

Call it what you want but here are a few ideas.

"We Deserve It Dividend".

“An Investment in the American People”.

“An Economic Grant for the American People”.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are
200,000,000 bonafide United States Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 305,302,458 +/- counting every man,
woman and child.. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.

That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.

A husband and wife have $595,000.00.What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of

trickling out a $1000.00 by way of giving the tax-payer a future tax reimbursement..

If we're going to do a bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

Here's my rationale. We the tax paying citizens deserve the bailout and Corporate America does not. Most Corporations are not currently paying a substantial amount of taxes to support the $700 Billion dollar bailout.

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion

We Deserve It Dividend more than Corporate America.

And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 Billion
because $25.5 Billion is returned

A substantial amount of bad mortgages will be paid off or paid down to allow the mortgages to be refinanced at better rates. This creates a larger tax income for Uncle Sam due to the Mortgage Interest credit when filing taxes. No mortgage, No mortgage interest write off means more tax revenue.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads.

This would be a great boost to have young adults pay their own college expenses to better serve America with an Education they can afford themselves. This would also provide more income to Uncle Sam by disallowing the Educational Tax write off at tax time.

Put away money for college - it'll be there.

Parents would be able to better allow younger children to save for college expenses by investing in college savings accounts and funds. This program could also be expanded to allow every American as they turn 18 to receive the Grant or Dividend.

Bank savings-

Residual monies can be invested in our Financial businesses as savings accounts, Mutual Funds, Retirement Accounts. Financial Institutions need investment capital and savings to spur economic growth. Better investments into private retirement accounts reduce Social Security liabilities and expenditures.

 

Buy a new car - create jobs.

The stale Automotive Industry would have a renewed growth in their market sector. Not only does this create new jobs but it creates Sales Tax income for purchases to the States. This new growth will also help to pay off the negotiated loans to Automobile manufacturers recently.
 

Invest in the market - capital drives growth.

We know our investments into the Financial sector drives the World Economy and value of the Dollar.

Pay for your medical insurance - health care improves.

This could be an area to expand the concept of a National Health Care Plan. Employees and Citizens could better afford Health Insurance due to the Dividend payment. An employee could have Health plan premiums deducted from their paychecks for a voluntary participation into a National Health Care Program.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks

who lost their jobs due to the Financial Sector and current status of the Economy. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

Program Implementation.

The program can be implemented by utilizing several forums.

Applying during the Tax filing process.

Apply directly through an IRS website link.

A passport record is a very good source for age and citizenship verification due to the requirement of a U.S. Birth Certificate during the application process. A possible requirement to obtain a U.S. passport might be an idea for age and citizenship verification.

Economic Growth.

The economic growth from this stimulus infusion into the U.S. Economy will provide more than a Ten-fold return.

State Sales Tax revenue would dramatically increase due to large dollar purchases with residual funds.

Consumer credit ratings would be salvaged along with Corporate credit ratings due to the pay off of Mortgage debt with the Dividend funds.

The ability to pay for a very expensive College Education that later reaps rewards by having a college education drives growth.

The reduction in Mortgage debt generates more tax growth due to mortgage interest credits being eliminated at tax time.

The reduction in College expenses and debt generate more tax income due to interest and expenses not being claimed at tax time. No more financial aid to fund, no more future educational grants to be given.

The reduction in consumer debt generates a cash infusion into the financial sector to recoup loses and delayed or delinquent debts.

Bankruptcies will drastically reduce in combination with the new recently passed bankruptcy laws requiring repayment which would satisfy consumer obligations.

The infusion and Investment into the citizens and taxpayers will stabilize the Financial Investment sector and gain confidence in the U.S. economy worldwide.

This is an Investment into the American Economy. But more importantly it is an Investment into every U.S. citizen to gain a renewed interest in America and the potential each U.S. citizen is afforded with this Dividend payment.

The government will recoup the costs of the program quickly and somewhat immediately. The initial cost allocated is $85 Billion dollars and a Federal tax of 30% recoups $25.5 Billion dollars immediately. The real cost to the American Taxpayer is $59.5 Billion Dollars.

The amount of the Dividend could be increased to an initial investment in the U.S. citizen to $500,000.00 depending on the economic needs. The program will still recoup nearly One-Third of the initial allocation as a result of a Federal Gift tax. A $500,000.00 Dividend would have an initial cost of $100 Billion dollars with a return of $30 Billion by way of tax.

The program can also be a one-time infusion into the U.S. economy or made into an ongoing economic plan for every U.S. citizen that turns 18.

I foresee this as an ongoing program for future growth and investment into the U.S. citizen.

This program has so many advantages for expansion to incorporate

additional social need programs.

The need for Welfare reform.

A National Health Care Program.

Social Security reform

Other State programs for social aid and reform.

The idea that this Dividend could allow citizens to further benefit and better pay for services and programs they are unable to afford currently. The dividend could also spur social program reform thus reducing the economic liabilities and expenditures of the government.

This could reduce the amount of economic support and public assistance in other areas. Public assisted housing would be reduced dramatically, Food vouchers through FDA and school lunch programs reduced, and Social Security benefits payable would be reduced.

The future fiscal responsibilities to support the baby-boomers through Social Security will be a significant drain on the economy and the need for reform is overdue. Further reform would also reduce the future liabilities of Social Security.

Unemployment benefits could be reduced by a family being able to afford home ownership by reducing the amount of family expenditures. Being unemployed can be more sustainable by way of minimum wage jobs to temporarily offset expenditures that do not include a mortgage payment.

The key is to sell ‘Home Ownership’ to the American people and the benefits would be astounding by Investing in America and the U.S Citizen with a Dividend. The growth in the housing market would be tremendous thus offsetting the surplus properties that have fallen to foreclosure recently.

The Dividend would not create a marriage penalty and there would be ‘No State income tax’ on the Dividend payment. More importantly the program would require minimal oversight because the requirements are simple. United States Citizenship and be an adult 18 or older to receive the Dividend or Grant or whatever terminology is best to describe the program.

States will generate revenues through sales tax and economic growth. Counties will generate more growth in revenue by property taxes and sales tax. Corporate and small business owners will have increased growth.

The U.S. economy will flourish world wide by consumer and investor confidence. The monies may even generate growth in small business start-ups where other conventional sources of funding are not viable.

Every year we as tax payers support billions of dollars in grants whether it be in small business start-ups, Housing grants, School educational grants, free lunch grant programs or social aid to other countries.

The monies would be well used to generate growth in Hurricane stricken areas like Florida, New Orleans and Texas for Housing and business redevelopment. There are still so many people displaced due to lack of proper insurance in these areas and people could afford to rebuild in these areas.

I simply cannot think of a negative to this idea and program by Investing in the U.S. Taxpaying Citizen. The idea of trying to sell to the American Taxpayer a financial bailout of businesses and corporations is a hard sell. The idea of investing in the American Taxpayer can only be a logical sell because I see this as a social commitment to excel, prosper and reinvest in America.

I originally received this as an outlandish email idea for a better way to spend $85 Billion dollars instead of Bailing out AIG. I was intrigued by the concept of the email and I expanded on the original concept. Upon thinking and expanding ideas of how this might better work given the financial crisis our country is facing. I came to the conclusion that supporting a financial bailout without benefit to the taxpayer is not very viable.

A financial bailout of the American taxpayer is a better option to produce growth, stability and a renewed interest in investing in America. The investment would also generate new tax growth by reducing tax credits.

Tax growth is a very significant factor in achieving this as a viable alternative by minimizing the cost of this program to the Taxpayer. Creating tax growth without increasing taxes is a benefit to this program by reducing tax credits through home ownership.

The taxpayers will be allowed to decide how to spend their Dividend. Should taxpayers decide to pay off their mortgages, that decision will allow the failing financial institutions to not fail by having a cash infusion for the debt they are holding. The tax payers will have a significant roll in relieving the struggling financial institutions by paying off their mortgage debt.

As I have mentioned it is a selling point that should be strongly made to alleviate a further financial crisis by taxpayers paying off their obligations with the dividend and non homeowners to purchase the volumes of foreclosure properties saturating the housing market.

There are three main sources of desired funding that concern the American citizen. Purchasing a home, purchasing a vehicle and obtaining funding for a better college education. The large source of this dividend can provide a path to achieve these three goals.

I believe this path will also do so much more for the American economy both Domestic and abroad. This is the ultimate investment in the America by investing in every adult United States Citizen.

Respectfully Submitted for your consideration;

Minnesota drug intervention is basically here to give an individual suitable resources to get a person struggling with an addiction that doesn't think he requires it into a drug or alcohol rehabilitation treatment.

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jonathan

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Drug Intervention Minnesota

Considering this was written in Sept, and considering everything that's happened since January, I find this most fascinating.  I hope everyone re reads it.

I have no idea what Minnesota drug intervention has to do with it but I'm glad you brought this blog back.

Hello madam i like to read your article and jonathan this is full information drug and

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