SubscribeIt is an old maxim and a very sound one, that he that dances should always pay the fiddler. Now, sir, in the present case, if any gentlemen, whose money is a burden to them, choose to lead off a dance, I am decidedly opposed to the people’s money being used to pay the fiddler…all this to settle a question in which the people have no interest, and about which they care nothing. These capitalists generally act harmoniously, and in concert, to fleece the people, and now, that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people’s money to settle the quarrel.A. Lincoln, 1837
Bush acknowledged that many voters were opposed to helping out Wall Street with tax dollars, but said there is little choice to move forward with the plan. He said most if not all of the tax money spent to buy distressed mortgage-backed securities should be recouped when the Treasury sells them in the coming years.Now, what I honestly don't get on this spin is that if these are such good investments that people will make all or most of their money back, why don't the banks just hold on to them? Why make the taxpayer buy what no one else wants?
"Someone needs to close the stock market and declare a bank holiday. Everyone needs a few days to think about this without OMG DEATH looming over them," Alison.Yeah, that would calm people down.
Shmita (Hebrew: שמיטה, literally "release"), also called the Sabbatical Year, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel, and still observed in contemporary Judaism.
When the Shmita year ends, personal debts are considered nullified and forgiven.
The current Shmita year began on Rosh Hashanah of the Hebrew year 5768, and extends until 29 Elul 5768 (September 13, 2007–September 29, 2008).
Prices for crude-oil futures are plummeting on fears the U.S. economy is going headlong off a cliff—and is going to drag down Europe and Asia with it. Crude futures closed at $96 a barrel in New York; two months ago, crude was at $147 and ”superspike” analysts were elbowing each other to call $200 oil first.
"Sen. John McCain and his campaign believe he ought to have gotten credit -- some credit -- for its passage. McCain, today:'I put my campaign on hold for a couple days last week to fight for a rescue plan that put you and your economic security first. I fought for a plan that protected taxpayers, homeowners, consumers and small business owners.Said Steve Schmidt, McCain's chief strategist, on Meet the Press:
I went to Washington last week to make sure that the taxpayers of Ohio and across this great country were not left footing the bill for mistakes made on Wall Street and in Washington.
Some people have criticized my decision, but I will never, ever be a president who sits on the sidelines when this country faces a crisis. Some of you may have noticed, but it's not my style to simply "phone it in."''What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this.'So if McCain wanted credit for passage, should he share some of the blame for its defeat?
Two thirds of half Republicans voted for its defeat...after a weekend of telephone call diplomacy from McCain.
Nancy Pelosi may have given a partisan speech, but she was able to get most of her Democrats on board...."
“[T]his bill would not have been agreed to had it not been for John McCain. … But, you know, this is a bipartisan accomplishment, a bipartisan success. And if people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain.” — Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, 9/29/08"If the McCain campaign was willing to take credit for the success of the bill, does McCain also deserve credit for its failure?"
“Earlier in the week, when Senator McCain came back to Washington, there had been no deal reached. … What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all the parties to the table, including the House Republicans.” — Senior adviser Steve Schmidt, 9/28/08
“But here are the facts, and I’m not overselling anything. The fact is that the House Republicans were not in the mix at all. John didn’t phone this one in. He came and actually did something. … You can’t phone something like this in. Thank God John came back.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 9/28/08
“Before John McCain suspended his campaign yesterday, the situation that we’re looking at today looked very different then. After he showed leadership and called for bipartisanship, for us to partisanship aside and tackle this solution head on, here we are.” — Spokesman Tucker Bounds, 9/25/08
How many people are in the House, again? 435?There's a vacancy due to the recent death of Stephanie Tubbs Jones from Ohio.
...The failure of the bailout is being interpreted in some quarters as a Jacksonian-style triumph of democracy over the know-better decisions of the technocratic elite -- Main Street's whims over Wall Street's needs. And yet, this isn't really true. When described as a "bailout," the public opposes it. When the principles of the bill are described without using the word "bailout," they support it. So the failure of the bill, was, really, a victory for the inadequate and time-bound vocabulary that our elected leaders use to explain ....The Dems need to get across that the "deal" was no longer really a "bailout."
On Monday, the Dow finished lower than when George W. Bush assumed the presidency: 10,587.59 on January 19, 2001 compared to 10,365.45 at its close on September 29, 2008.We're also down a few amendments to the Bill of Rights, to boot.
NASDAQ, the American stock exchange, too, was lower now than it was when Bush took office: 2770.38 on January 19, 2001 compared to 1983.73 on September 29, 2008. The dollar exchange with the Euro was lower than when Bush was elected: 1.068 on January 19, 2001 compared to .695 on September 29, 2008.
Some things have risen, but not the good economic indicators. The Consumer Price Index was at 175 on January 19, 2001 and 219 by September 29, 2008. Unemployment, meanwhile, stood at 4.2 percent when Bush came into power. Today, it is at 6.1 percent.
Banks throughout the United States carried on with the business of making loans yesterday even as federal officials warned again that their industry is on the verge of collapse.Oh, well, so long as people are still doing business on the verge of collapse, I suppose we don't have to worry about that silly collapse anymore.
Do you favor or oppose the proposal for the federal government to purchase up to $700 billion in assets from finance companies?—Rasmussen, 21 September
28% Favor
37% Oppose
35% Not sure
"Q: Jeff, didn't catch firm name: Is there any way to ensure the purchased dollars are actually re-lent back into the system? will that be mandated?If this is a liquidity crisis, if the problem is that business lines-of-credit are drying up, that tells you this bailout isn't about fixing that.
A: No provision for that.
I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.This bit applies now:
Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind’s goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.
True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.
The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.
Quite the opposite. This is usually what makes congress people vote.Just one, huh? Ok, here's one cite: McClatchy. This DailyKos article has more details and a few other links.
cite please. find me one, just one, example where phone calls from constituents made a significant difference in a piece of legislation.
As opposed to posting here?
i didn't assert that posting here would have any impact. you asserted that calling one's congressperson was a means to a more favorable bailout bill. it is that notion that i take exception to. i'll be happy to be disabused, if you can find a cite or make an argument as to why you think my phone call will matter in the slightest.
posted by Hat Maui at 5:32 PM on September 29
"The servers hosting the Web sites of the House of Representatives and its members have been overwhelmed with millions of e-mails in the past few days, forcing administrators to implement the "digital version of a traffic cop" to handle the overload -- for the first time ever."
posted by letitrain at 11:04 AM on September 29, 2008