Senator McCain's Long Weekend
John McCain has suspended his campaign until the bailout crisis is resolved. From what I've read, our esteemed Washington leaders, Dems and GOP, Administration and Congress, seem to think they can solve the crisis over the weekend.
Really?
I still haven't heard or read an explanation that makes any sense of just what is going to happen if action isn't taken immediately.
Various pols have intoned that we must act immediately to "restore confidence" in the financial markets. Whose confidence? If it's mine, borrowing another $700 billion to give to Wall Street isn't going to get it. Spending the money after less than a week of thought, based on marathon bargaining sessions between Barney Frank and Secretary Paulson, will make me even less confident.
Who's going to administer this gravy train? Some government bureaucrats? The Wall Street people that screwed it up in the first place? Maybe we can bring in the Chinese to run it, it's their money we're going to use.
What happened to capitalism? You know, let the markets do their job, in the end they will lift all boats. (Shush - we aren't going to admit it didn't work. So, don't tell anyone, but we are going to administer some more supply side socialism here. As put by several pundits, we'll monetize the losses and privatize the gains. We just won't call it that.)
Dave, wealth envy? So unbecoming of you after reading your blog these past two years. Sorry, as a peon I just lost my head there for a minute. Senator McCain - Godspeed on your quest. Spend more money like a drunken sailor (sorry about the military reference, but McCain does it all the time), if it works we're all the better for it. In the meantime, I wish they hadn't prohibited naked short selling. I'd be looking into it - if I did it in a big enough way, and failed, they'd just roll me into the bailout.
5 comments:
I know virtually nothing about stocks, bonds, Wall Street -except that the news reports say what has happened on the Market is the same as what caused the crash in 1929 and the Great Depression. What I don't understand at all though are the salaries and especially the "golden parachutes" provided to executives, chosen for their supposed superb abilities in making money, management, etc., who have screwed up yet they still qualify for these huge, obscene wages and perks. If you or I messed up majorly in the workplace in our puny little jobs, we would be canned, no severance, possibly even jail but these clowns just march merrily forward, all the richer for their plundering of things. Why, exactly, is this $700 billion (is that the right figure) aid package necessary -really? Why aren't criminal charges forthcoming to those who broke the rules and regulations of lending procedures? To me, the whole process stinks, pure and simple, smells like several sewage plants, all leaking profusely and nothing is ever done to actually correct the problem -like rewarding wrong-doing with jail time instead of multi-million dollar perks.
Maybe it is "wealth envy" -probably a lot would accuse me of that with my thought process leaning towards severe punishment, but I prefer to think of it as abiding by the laws already on the books. Break 'em and you go to jail -do not pass GO and you sure as hell don't collect the $200 there either then.
And having the senate or congress as a "watchdog" over these groups is just about as ridiculous a move too cause they don't seem to be all that hep on rules, regulations, ethics and such either.
When retirees couldn't afford their medicines, government didn't have any money for them. When factory workers lost their jobs to overseas sweatshops, they told them "tough shit." When poor people couldn't pay their credit card bills, they changed the law- to prevent them from declaring bankruptcy.
But when rich people are at risk of losing a portion of the wealth they acquired through what seems to be a variation on a Ponzi scheme, suddenly government can't swoop in fast enough with a "bipartisan" bailout.
I feel like I have no stake at all in this country. If the whole damn thing collapses- good.
When we were in school studying the Great Depression we were told that it could never happen again - safeguards were in place.
Apparently those safegards are our tax payer money.
Congress - if it only had a brain!
One morning while driving to school my twelve year old son even asked me (after listening to NPR reporting this very thing) why we weren't putting the people that caused this mess into jail.
And honestly, I didn't even know how to answer him.
This whole thing makes me so very very sad and stressed.
Anybody have evidence of criminal activity at these major financial firms? I am not saying there isn't, but any REAL evidence, besides class warfare diatribes?
Could it be that this was all legal and actually endorsed and encouraged by the government?
The activity of Fannie and Freddie, probably legal, set this in motion. Let's role play and pretend that you are the CEO of Coutnrywide. Fannie and Freddie lower standards to encourage "affordable" home loans for the "working class". Along with the poor people, middle class and upper class people avail themselves of the se stupid loans. As a financial genius you KNOW the loans are stupid. You also know that, if you don't take advantage of them, your stockholders will boot your ass for not maximizing shareholder value or some "activist" will sue your ass for discriminating against "____" people (insert your favorite underclass name inthe blank. Remember the loans are legal and backed by the Federal government, what would you do? Your DUTY is to your shareholders.
Now, pretend you are the CEO of Lehman Brothers. Those crappy loans are being roled up into securities. If you don't participate in this bonanza, you face at least one of the threats your counterpart at Countrywide faced. Remember it is all legal and backed by the Federal Government.
It is also backed, since at least 2003, byu the Chairman of the congressional oversight committee which regulates your industry.
Do you still have a decision tomake? If you are struggling with that decision, it is too late becaseu you are already out the door and replaced by a more "proactive" CEO. Thanks for playing, better luck next time.
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