Ogre’s Politics and Views

The news bits are all over the board on this issue as Congress considers whether or not they will take an additional $700 billion from working people to give it to big business and Wall Street. Allow me to at least try and put a little tiny bit of truth behind the words you might be hearing:

“What they have sent us is not acceptable.” — Chris Dodd, D

In other words — this bill doesn’t give us ENOUGH bribes! We will only pass this bill if we get to spend MORE of the taxpayers’ money.

“We have got to look at some alternatives.” — Richard Shelby, R

Translation: Oh, I love this one, but I realize that recent surveys show 71% of Americans opposed to it, so I can’t come right out and support it openly or I might lose my next election.

Ben Bernanke bluntly warned reluctant lawmakers they risk a recession with higher unemployment and increased home foreclosures if they fail to pass…Bernanke sketched a scenario in which neither businesses nor consumers could borrow money

What he is claiming is that the world will end if this $700 billion transfer of money doesn’t happen. In reality, his pals will be out a lot of money and their jobs if this doesn’t pass. And the economy might actually contract to a level supported by capitalism — which just can’t happen according to government today. Foreclosures and unemployment are not things that the government in a free society should be concerned with — but this isn’t a free society any more, is it?

“Nobody is happy” about the bailout request, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Translation: Government, Democrats, Republicans, and Big Business ABSOLUTELY LOVE the bailout — but they know people don’t like it, so they can’t say so.

“I understand speed is important, but I’m far more interested in whether or not we get this right,” said Dodd, D-Conn.

Translation: How in the world can we pass this great socialist bill without letting taxpayers know that we’re screwing them?

“The financial markets are in quite fragile condition and I think absent a plan they will get worse,” Bernanke said.

Translation: Give us this money OR ELSE.

“I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way.”

“a normal, healthy way” means one guided by freedom and capitalism. This simply cannot be allowed to happen, according to the government and government representatives.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., “I am emphatically against it.”

Representative Issa will be a target in the next election, you can be sure. It took guts to stand up against this one.

The legislation that the administration is promoting would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other troubled assets held by endangered banks and financial institutions.

In other words, the government will literally take cash from taxpayers and buy assets and things worth exactly zero dollars. They WANT to pay $700 billion with ZERO return on their money — ZERO. That’s exactly $700 BILLION in taxpayer cash down the toilet.

“You worry about taxpayers being on the hook?” he replied at one point. “Guess what — they’re already on the hook.” Paulson

Blatant LIE. Complete lie, and Paulson knows it. SOME taxpayers are on the hook — and A LOT of people “on the hook” aren’t even taxpayers — they’re bums. This bill puts the entire burden of the irresponsible on ONLY the responsible. Someone should have called Paulson on this — it’s a TOTAL, DAMN LIE and he knows it. This statement was clearly made with malicious intent.

This crap is “the single most effective thing we can do to help homeowners, the American people and stimulate our economy.”

Once again, still true: the scariest words ever uttered: We’re from the government and we’re here to help. The only way this statement is remotely true is if you believe the world “help” means “bend over because we’re really going to screw you.”

And finally, there are a FEW good guys on the side of freedom and right:

Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the panel’s senior Republican, was even more blunt. “I have long opposed government bailouts for individuals and corporate America alike,” he said. Seated a few feet away from Paulson and Bernanke, he added, “We have been given no credible assurances that this plan will work. We could very well spend $700 billion, or a trillion, and not resolve the crisis.”

Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., added, “This massive bailout is not a solution. It is financial socialism and it’s un-American.”

If this bill passes, there will be no chance for economic freedom in America again. The economy might have a slight, short-term increase, but in the long-term it will suffer dramatically.

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Tags: Freedom, Government //