You can either vote against and lose votes as constituents lose jobs (and homes) and go hungry or you can vote for it and lose votes as rampant inflation makes employed constituents go hungry.
* The government can use its power as the owner of mortgages and mortgage backed securities to facilitate loan modifications (such as, reduced principal or interest rate, lengthened time to pay back the mortgage) to help reduce the 2 million projected foreclosures in the next year
Scary stuff. Propping up markets didn't work in the 1930's and won't work now.
Well...hopefully this 350 billion puts LIBOR and the TED spread back to manageable levels.
After that you've got to start to resuscitate all of the small and medium-sized businesses that were funding short-term liabilities with credit before they went brain-dead over the last few weeks.
Those shortfalls spread quickly, think of all the receivables that are going to be written off if these businesses don't get credit.
Unless those credit lines are unfrozen in the next day or two it might be too late.
There's no deal. One of the leaders of RSC is against this, and that influences over 100 House Republicans. The Democrats will not vote for this unless the Republicans get on board.
___________________________
Why I Oppose the Bailout
by Rep. Mike Pence
09/28/2008
Dear Colleagues,
Our nation has been confronted by a serious crisis in our financial markets. The President and this Congress were right to act with all deliberate speed in addressing this crisis.
We now have a deal that promises to bring near term stability to our financial turmoil, but at what price?
Economic freedom means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail.
The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy.
Republicans improved this bill but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it.
Before you vote, ask yourself why you came here and vote with courage and integrity to those principals.
If you came here because you believe in limited government and the freedom of the American marketplace, vote in accordance with those convictions.
Duty is ours, outcomes belong to God.
We have fought the good fight. Now we need to finish the race and make sure that posterity and the American people know there were conservatives who opposed the leviathan state in this dark hour.
And if you do this I promise you, I will stand with you and, I believe with all my heart, the American people will stand with you as well.
carney writes: "Also, we're hearing that the initial tranche of bailout bucks for the Treasury will only be $250 billion, not the $350 billion that has been widely reported."
yes, you heard that from the wsj at 10 this morning.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 2:18PM
Any pol who votes in favor of this should start looking for a new job now.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 2:33PM
You can either vote against and lose votes as constituents lose jobs (and homes) and go hungry or you can vote for it and lose votes as rampant inflation makes employed constituents go hungry.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 2:41PM
* The government can use its power as the owner of mortgages and mortgage backed securities to facilitate loan modifications (such as, reduced principal or interest rate, lengthened time to pay back the mortgage) to help reduce the 2 million projected foreclosures in the next year
Scary stuff. Propping up markets didn't work in the 1930's and won't work now.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 2:50PM
even harper's condescendent(?). humbling times indeed, hank
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3law7Slv8BA&refer=home
Posted by SlashAndBurn , Sep 28, 2008 2:51PM
Attempting to "prevent" foreclosures is asinine.
These people won't be "out on the street" -- they'll be back in apartments, where they should have remained in the first place.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 2:55PM
Three hours to Asian open. Where are the actual terms of the deal?
Posted by diablo , Sep 28, 2008 2:59PM
Who cares about Asian opening? As far as I know Asia was open most of last week. That's a bogus deadline.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 3:03PM
Well...hopefully this 350 billion puts LIBOR and the TED spread back to manageable levels.
After that you've got to start to resuscitate all of the small and medium-sized businesses that were funding short-term liabilities with credit before they went brain-dead over the last few weeks.
Those shortfalls spread quickly, think of all the receivables that are going to be written off if these businesses don't get credit.
Unless those credit lines are unfrozen in the next day or two it might be too late.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 3:16PM
It doesn't matter when this thing passes, this is going to take forever to implement.
What matters is having an actual agreement that looks like it *will* eventually pass. We can't take another week of frozen credit markets.
Posted by diablo , Sep 28, 2008 3:24PM
There's no deal. One of the leaders of RSC is against this, and that influences over 100 House Republicans. The Democrats will not vote for this unless the Republicans get on board.
___________________________
Why I Oppose the Bailout
by Rep. Mike Pence
09/28/2008
Dear Colleagues,
Our nation has been confronted by a serious crisis in our financial markets. The President and this Congress were right to act with all deliberate speed in addressing this crisis.
We now have a deal that promises to bring near term stability to our financial turmoil, but at what price?
Economic freedom means the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail.
The decision to give the federal government the ability to nationalize almost every bad mortgage in America interrupts this basic truth of our free market economy.
Republicans improved this bill but it remains the largest corporate bailout in American history, forever changes the relationship between government and the financial sector, and passes the cost along to the American people. I cannot support it.
Before you vote, ask yourself why you came here and vote with courage and integrity to those principals.
If you came here because you believe in limited government and the freedom of the American marketplace, vote in accordance with those convictions.
Duty is ours, outcomes belong to God.
We have fought the good fight. Now we need to finish the race and make sure that posterity and the American people know there were conservatives who opposed the leviathan state in this dark hour.
And if you do this I promise you, I will stand with you and, I believe with all my heart, the American people will stand with you as well.
Mike Pence
Posted by StupidEquityGuy , Sep 28, 2008 3:25PM
lvl 1: Mark-to-Market
lvl 2: Mark-to-Model
lvl 3: Mark-to-Myth
lvl 4: Mark-to-Hank
Yep this sucker is contained alright.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 3:33PM
carney writes: "Also, we're hearing that the initial tranche of bailout bucks for the Treasury will only be $250 billion, not the $350 billion that has been widely reported."
yes, you heard that from the wsj at 10 this morning.
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 4:24PM
Asian markets opening lower saying this plan is worse than the old joke, "what did you order off the Chinese menu, who-flung-poo?"
SPODE
Posted by guest , Sep 28, 2008 6:01PM
What exactly is going to happen if the credit markets remain frozen for another few weeks?
Anybody willing to argue specific scenarious that will unfold?