Overseeing the Bailout...

(Warren Buffett interview points out the need for government intervention and focusing on sound alternatives)

It now looks like the Senate has passed a "better" bailout package for our economic crisis...and sounds like the House is getting ready to fall in behind for the parade. It's sad to observe a Congress that has worked more and produced more ideas in 2 weeks than it has the whole 4 years preceding. I say it's time to vote them ALL to the unemployment lines this November. Where are the fresh, young, realistic LEADERS?

I think their first problem in resolving this crisis is calling this process a "bail out". Most of us who are critical of this mess are primarily putoff by the total mismanagement and lack of oversight by both Wall Street, the SEC, and the federal government overall who are supposed to regulate and legislate over these things. If they called this a "buy out" instead, some of us might be more positive in our perception of what is or needs to be done. "Bail out" sounds like we are keeping these criminals out of prison for some reason...and keeping them in the game when they don't deserve to be. That is what I think "Main Street" is upset about.

Obviously, something major needs to be done to protect and correct our markets and the masses of American's and later the whole world who are and will be affected. The problem most of us have is, this process is being driven by the very people who have benefited from the golden parachutes (including Treasurer Paulsen) and all the "cronies" of Wall Street in the Capitol. And they still arent giving us the details on the plan before passing it. Everyone is in a rush now, after spending a decade asleep at the wheel. I get very skittish when someone tries to put together and spend such immense cash in such a short time. I believe it is likely we will throw a lot of good money of the taxpayers after bad.

As usual, columnist Tom Friedman had a spot-on column called "Rescue the Rescue". In it he calls for strong oversight of whatever funds are committed to this bailout. The last two paragraphs are my favorite quote...

Message to Congress: Don’t get cute. Don’t give us something we don’t need. Don’t give us something designed to solve your political problems. Yes, Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke need to accept strict oversights and the taxpayer must be guaranteed a share in the upside profits from all rescued banks. But other than that, give them the capital and the flexibility to put out this fire.

I always said to myself: Our government is so broken that it can only work in response to a huge crisis. But now we’ve had a huge crisis, and the system still doesn’t seem to work. Our leaders, Republicans and Democrats, have gotten so out of practice of working together that even in the face of this system-threatening meltdown they could not agree on a rescue package, as if they lived on Mars and were just visiting us for the week, with no stake in the outcome.

I also hope they will have public accounting of every dollar this bill provides. I have my doubts we the public will have access...for "national security" reasons or some other excuse. But, if we can watch this, I requote here a comment from my last blog on this issue since it too applies to today's theme...

http://www.rushprnews.com/2008/10/02/the-united-states-public-debt-tops-ten-trillion-dollars-for-the-first-time/ points out the fact that "As of April 2008, Japan, Mainland China and the United Kingdom were the three largest holders of US Treasury Securities. Japan and China own a combined one trillion dollars plus of US debt, with Japan holding $592 billion and China holding $502 billion.

The ten trillion dollar figure works out to $32,895 for every man, woman and child in the United States."

I'm quite convinced that a significant portion of this emergency bailout will go to these foreign holders of our treasury notes. After all, SEc of Treasury Paulsen will have almost carte blanc on using most of these funds with very little oversight. Scary scary...

For all the above reasons, we Americans should demand exacting accountibility for whatever plan these culprits are splicing together...