Paulson’s Demands

One of the things President Bush said tonight got me screaming at the television.  It was when he said they were worried executives wouldn’t want to participate in the program if restrictions were put on their compensation.

Makes me think this really can’t be as dire as they keep telling us.  Since when does a drowning individual dictate to his rescuers how and when he’s going to be rescued?

I wanted to make sure my ears were working correctly so I googled to find the answer.  According to Forbes:

Dodd proposed his own counter-proposal to Paulson’s plan earlier this week. Among other things, it calls for limits on executive compensation at troubled firms and for the Treasury to take a contingent equity stake in those firms. On Tuesday, Paulson rebuffed both ideas, as it might discourage firms from participating in the bailout program.

Earlier in this same article, I was surprised to discover the answer to that nagging question about how they arrived at the $700 billion figure:

“It’s not based on any particular data point,” a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. “We just wanted to choose a really large number.”

This really sounds more like something The Onion would publish, doesn’t it?

Just Say No!

One the many failures of this administration is that we no longer trust our government.  I listened to a small part of Sec. Paulson’s testimony yesterday and, sad to say, I don’t trust him either.  Who believes him when he says he was always for oversight but thought it was presumptuous to include it in the proposal? 

In this morning’s newspaper I read where Paulson also claimed, ”This is all about the taxpayers.  That is all we are about.”  Oh, really?

I think Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio congresswoman, sums it up quite well:

[seen at Eschaton]

No Accountability

For all you Chicken Littles out there, I hope you feel relieved to discover that your government is asking for $700 billion of your hard earned money with absolutely NO RESTRICTIONS!  How many of you trust these guys enough to give them a blank check?  Not me.  From the NY Times today:

The proposal, not quite three pages long, was stunning for its stark simplicity. It would raise the national debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion. And it would place no restrictions on the administration other than requiring semiannual reports to Congress, granting the Treasury secretary unprecedented power to buy and resell mortgage debt.

This is unbelievable.  And if the sky truly is falling, then Henry Paulson will have to agree to some oversight or the world will come to an end.

I’m betting Paulson says no and then we’ll know we’re being taken to the cleaners AGAIN.  Suckers.

Bailout B.S.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling.  I think Sec. Paulson is auditioning for the role of Chicken Little.

Sure, I think the financial markets are in a mess.  And  yes, I think the Feds had to do something to restore confidence in our economy and markets.

But I’m not at all convinced that the plan this administration is jamming down our throats is the best thought out plan, especially when I read stuff like this:

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson gave few details about the structure of the new program. Asked about an overall price tag, he said, “hundreds of billions” of dollars.

Congressional leaders said they were ready to move quickly but still needed details.

For instance, there was no indication of what the government would get in return from financial companies for the federal assistance.

Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke briefed lawmakers in both parties on the idea by conference call Friday.

In a session with House Democrats, they described a plan in which the government would, in essence, set up reverse auctions, putting up money for a class of distressed assets – such as loans that are delinquent but not in default – and financial institutions would compete for how little they would accept for the investments, said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., who participated in the call.

Paulson rejected Democrats’ calls to include tighter regulations, corporate reforms or limits on executive compensation as part of the measure, Sherman said.

“He’s doing his best to paint a picture of the sky falling, and then he says, because the sky’s falling, you have to do it my way.”

You gotta love the part about Paulson not providing any details or what exactly we, the taxpayers, would be getting for our billions and billions of dollars.  Will the Democrats roll over once again and accept this plan lock, stock, and barrel?  No provision for tighter regulations, corporate reforms or limits on executive compensation?

Oh yeah, I forgot, the sky is falling and we’re all going to die if we don’t sign this thing, and sign it NOW.  And don’t forget the definition of “hundreds of billions” could mean 200 billion or 900 hundred billion or more.  What a deal.