My friend and co-blogger at Market Correction, Andy Morriss, sent this letter to the Financial Times:
Sirs,
Your editorial on the failed bailout vote in the US House of
Representatives claims the bill “could be part of an effective answer”
to the financial crisis. Perhaps in the sense that as a 48 year old, out of
shape university professor, I “could be” an astronaut. The bailout
bill has grown from three pages in Sec. Paulson’s initial “give me
$700 billion and I’ll fix it” proposal to the size of a hefty
paperback novel. As of Thursday morning the Senate version was 450 pages long. My
chances of a moon walk greatly exceed the chance that this bill will be
anything other than a massive resource grab — those extra 447 pages aren’t
value added, they’re favors for special interests, like the attempt by
Senate Democrats to shovel millions to the radical group ACORN, or total
irrelevancies hitching a ride on the crisis atmosphere, like the provision requiring
insurance companies provide more money for mental health treatment.
Andrew P. Morriss
H. Ross & Helen Workman Professor of Law and Business
University of Illinois
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Come on, given that the announced idea behind the package is to establish prices for many securities that might currently be blessed by ignorance, some of us are not even sure of whether the current proposal would end up as a bail-out since it actually could just as well turn out to be a take-down.
Per Kurowski,
You've got a point there. But once the government has a $700 billion dollar stake, it also has an incentive to overvalue the assets. Isn't that the whole idea of removing the mark to market requirement?
Robert Tracinski hits one out of the park.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/realclearpolitics/20081002/cm_rcp/kill_the_bailout;_ylt=AvfuPyZDv6heUnSZteTUQpj9wxIF
Robert Tracinski
Let's try it this way…
Warren Buffett thinks the rescue plan is a good idea: http://mathoda.com/archives/433
Warren Buffet probably thinks he is going to get a sizable chunk of that 700 billion dollars.
Don't forget the provision, now in the bill, to provide tax rebates to companies who encourage their employees to ride bicycles; by providing monthly allowances for bike storage at work, bike maintenance, and tracking per employee trips to work per month….. blah blah blah
Constituent Rebellion Now!
Millions wrote and called to say No! and still the Senate said Yes? It is time for a housecleaning! Time to show them that they work for Main Street, not Wall Street.
Based on quick analysis, it looks like there are 2-4 Senators who voted Yes who are in tight races, and 3 or 4 more who are vulnerable.
In the House, the analysis is similar, 7 or 8 vulnerable races where a little bit of influence might make all the difference.
Targeting these so-called representatives of the people, with print and radio ads highlighting their betrayal, could really make an impact on their chances for re-election — and put the fear of constituency back into the Washington elite.
Are you interested in making it happen? There isn't much time before the election, so it will take funds and effort. Can you participate by offering time, skills or funds?
Let us know.
Contact the Constituent Response Team at constituentresponse@gmail.com.