Absolute Power - A Call for Voter Awareness

[aldtech]

Quote:

I would guess that this has to be one of the biggest peacetime transfers of power from Congress to the Administration in history. (Anyone know?). Certainly one of the most concise.

The Treasury Secretary can buy broadly defined assets, on any terms he wants, he can hire anyone he wants to do it and can appoint private sector companies as financial deputies of the US government. And he can write whatever regulation he thinks are needed.


Most importantly, Davidson points to this passage in the bill:


Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-re-viewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

From Adam Davidson of NPR as quoted by Larisa Alexandrovna on the Huffington Post.Now I know some of you will take exception of the source whether it be the Huffington Post or NPR but the message is clear.

While every politician is now posturing to the public of how Wall Street and the banking system has run amok and needs more regulation and oversight, here we have Paulson and Bernanke trying to ram through a Bill or Act (whatever) that clearly attempts to remove any oversight and/or regulation over the Fed. That is outrageous.

Why aren't we hearing about this in the mainstream media outlets (CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox (well we know why there)). I would think that the articles of this "Act" would be gone over with extreme scrutiny particularly since the Patriot Act and all of its little secrets.

Maybe I'm being a bit of an alarmist here but WTF are they doing in Washington?

/al

[Socalgal]

Anyone who thinks the administration, politicians and Congress care what "The People" think, or that our little peon letters to them, in justifiable outrage, amount to anything more than the paper they are written on, are living in a fool's paradise, imo.

Quote:

Over the years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac showered riches on many winners: their executives, Wall Street bankers and Washington lobbyists. Now the foundering mortgage giants are leaving some losers in their wake, notably their shareholders, rank-and-file employees and, in the worst case, American taxpayers.

[...]

Under the terms of his employment contract, Daniel H. Mudd, the departing head of Fannie Mae, stands to collect $9.3 million in severance pay, retirement benefits and deferred compensation, provided his dismissal is deemed to be “without cause,” according to an analysis by the consulting firm James F. Reda & Associates. Mr. Mudd has already taken home $12.4 million in cash compensation and stock option gains since becoming chief executive in 2004, according to an analysis by Equilar, an executive pay research firm.

[...]

Richard F. Syron, the departing chief executive of Freddie Mac, could receive an exit package of at least $14.1 million, largely because of a clause added to his employment contract in November of last year as his company’s troubles deepened. He has taken home $17.1 million in pay and stock option gains since becoming chief executive in 2003.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/bu...ef=todayspaper

I wish I had payday like that for running a company into the ground. This is a unjustifiable transference of debt from those who created it to us taxpayers, and they will keep finding new ways to sticking it to us as long as we keep taking it.

[Socalgal]

Quote:

WTF are they doing in Washington?

Getting ready to go on vacation, what else? Sept. 26, I believe.

[SiliconJon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naomi Wolf

Increasingly, reputable figures are starting to talk about `a coup.' Jim Hightower notes in an important essay, "Is a Presidential Coup Under Way?," that a coup is defined in the dictionary as a sudden forced change in the form of government. (He also spells out the basis for a rigorously modeled impeachment and criminal prosecution.) Daniel Ellsberg's much-emailed speech on recent events notes that, in his view, a `coup' has already taken place. Ron Rosenbaum speculates in an essay on Slate about the reasons the Bush administration is withholding even from members of Congress its plans for Continuity of Government in an emergency -- noting that those worrying about a coup are no longer so marginal. Frank Rich notes the parallels between ourselves and the Good Germans.

[RobRich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Socalgal

Anyone who thinks the administration, politicians and Congress care what "The People" think, or that our little peon letters to them, in justifiable outrage, amount to anything more than the paper they are written on, are living in a fool's paradise, imo.

They might actually care if/when we decide to vote them out of office. The difficulty is finding politicians any more accountable and responsible to the will of the people than the disturbingly dismal level of those already in office.

Anyway, I still recommend concerned citizens continue with calling and writing their elected representatives. Be sure to clearly indicate that their decisions on these matters will determine how you vote, then actually follow through with the vote accordingly.

[SiliconJon]

Being out of a job and going through the revolving door no longer works, thanks to the long term progress made on the revolving door which has been accomplished by ignorant, apathetic, fearful, and distracted citizens. The corruption has become so lucrative thanks to a loss of checks and justice that a loss of a position is a relief for those with any moral fiber, and a test for new scams for the rest.

Trials for treason are needed.

[aldtech]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckiechan

I will say this: Congress made this mess over the last 20 years and lots of middle class and lower people have benefited from it by getting into homes and doing just fine. I'd hate to see that conservative ideal abandoned. It can be saved with higher mortgage insurance premiums. I hope they go there.

I'm not quite sure I understand what you are advocating here. Are you saying that any expense made in attempt to bail out or prop up the "mortgage industry" as you put it, should be passed along to the people in the form of increased mortgage insurance premiums? Don't you think that would be a little bit overwhelming to the people such as myself who are just barely hanging on. I think such an action would just increase the amount of defaults on mortgages and exasperate the problem even more.

It is very hard to get an accurate read on some of you "conservatives" who advocate letting the banks fail in order to allow for a market/banking correction (would it be fair to say economic as well?) which is something the majority of people (according to some polls) are in agreement with. And yet I can't get past the feeling of contempt some of you have that is clearly displayed by your lack of compassion for the little people who are and continue to pay the price in mortgage defaults and bankruptcy while the corporate class walks away with their finances intact.

/al

[The Real Bingo]

Glad to see one of my senators is skeptical of this bailout.

http://specter.senate.gov/public/ind...f-3c81ebcad568

[The Real Bingo]

Wrote to Senator Casey as well. I'm more worried that he'd vote 'yea' as opposed to Specter. Besides, last time I wrote Specter, I didn't get a response for a couple months.

[RobRich]

I have contacted Bill Nelson, Mel Martinez, and Ginny Brown-Waite. I also contacted the campaign of John Russell, as he is running against Brown-Waite this year.