I Can't Get No, Stimulation

The U.S. government is an absolute disgrace. We've got Republicans calling us to action to help the economy, then they decide they don't want to move forward with it. We've got presidential debates postponed, now it's going to happen. We're getting promises of lower taxes for the middle class, yet we're being expected to bail out big companies with our tax dollars. Democrats didn't trust Paulson on the bail out plan, yet they will move forward on implementing an unpopular plan, yet it is the "responsible" thing to do (Demolition accomplished).
I was watching on C-Span over the weekend, representative after representative, approach the podium with out-right anger at how this economic bail out plan is being managed by a select group of Congress, and then being brought to the floor for approval, without any discussion over it 110 page subject matter, and the laws it outlines. It's an absolute disgrace to America's ideals, and the way government should be run based on our Constitution. It's sad to witness a hand-picked group of Senators, Bush administration figures, and Representatives, go over a resolution, and walk out and tell the American public that this deal is ready to go. It's not a deal if there's no one else to make a deal with.
Here's a solution for you! Why don't you bail me out? Why don't you bail out all those people who are swamped in debt, because of these outrageously high markets. Why don't you bail us out by giving us jobs that give us reasonable pay, that would allow us to keep us afloat? Why don't you give us some reasonable health care, so that we don't have to shovel out thousands of dollars a month, which could be money used to put back into our debt, or put into investing? You don't do this, because it wouldn't make sense to you. Because you don't know what it's like to have empty pockets, and a pain in your body, you can't take care of, because there's no money to go to the doctor. You don't have a clue what it's like. All you know is how to keep those poor suffering CEO's afloat, so that they'll have enough money to pay for their country club dues, get medical coverage for their pet dogs, and mold their aging ugly wives with out-patient surgeries.
I received a letter from my Senator this weekend, after having spent a good 3 hours writing her a well thought out letter, and she had the nerve to send me back a form letter, which was probably sent out to the rest of her constituency, pacifying me, and telling me that everything will be okay, once we pass this bill, and take care of our poor Wall Street. Senator Feinstein said that she "received from Californians more than 50,000 calls and letters, the great bulk of them in opposition to any form of meeting this crisis with financial help from the Federal Government." That's a lot of people, not even considering those who are opposed who didn't write her. She also stated that "this isn't just about Wall Street." I could not agree with her more. It's a crisis at the individual level, where people are swamped with debt from all angles, and the only solution the government has is to bail out those who inflated the American financial system in the first place. Bailing out Wall Street, therefore won't work, because the Fed has decided to place yet another band-aid on a system that is financially, and internally bleeding. There solution is offer more credit to the existing credit, on top of debt. Money has become a ghost.
President Bush keeps hanging this fear over us, that the economy will destroy itself if this plan does not get approved by Congress, yet the fear has been there for a long time. We knew about our problems long before you did, Mr. President. I fear the only threat that exists now, is your administration's dangerous mismanagement of our economy.

Warning! Warning! Warning!

It's a very simple solution that the government and Wall Street fails to put together. The U.S. Treasury expects the American taxpayer to rescue Wall Street at a cost of $2300.00 a taxpayer. This years tax stipend offered up by the Bush administration was a mere $600.00. American homeowners are struggling to pay off their mortgages. All of this, and yet the American people are being asked to rescue Wall Street. The U.S. government has been irresponsible, and Wall Street has been irresponsible, and taxpayers should not have to pay. Several solutions were put in place by the U.S. government, and yet all have failed to help the economy sustain itself. It simply cannot. Everyday in America, Americans are losing more and more money, and while they lose, the U.S. government insists on withdrawing more money from them. The well is dry.
Now back in April of 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were both warned about their accounting practices, having performed the practice of producing "gains when the value of securities declines." Basically these companies were legally cooking the books through accounting standard no. 159, Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The law set aside, it was not regulated and not used with an ounce of prudence, and had inflated the actual value of Fannie and Freddie's assets. Even the director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), stated that "it is important that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac apply fair value in a sound and consistent manner." But no one one was listening. Why not? (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac get accounting warning)
How much warning does this government need, in order to intervene, before it is too late? Even as far back as July 2007, Bear Stearns, ripped a hole in the the global markets, when Bear Stearns admitted that their $20 billion worth of hedge funds, "were now virtually worthless." At the same time, word started to spread throughout the investment markets, that hedge funds of Lehman Brothers were also in trouble (Market is shaken by warning on sub-prime crisis). In October of 2007, the New York Times reported that Bear Stearns, not only was laying off employees to balance out costs due to flailing asset values, it had "written down the value of some assets by 3.4 billion dollars." With this UBS issued a warning, saying "exposure to the United States credit market 'could lead to further write-downs.'" (More Cuts at Bear Stearns as UBS Issues Warning)
It is sickening to know that with these warnings, and the insight offered up by certain companies, that no one, either in government or in the market, stepped up, and had a plan to salvage our markets, in a time when crisis was as present as it is now. If this article doesn't convince you of how many warnings, this government could have paid attention to, go ahead and search Google, for any of the bailed out company's names, and the keyword "warning". Now Congress is asked to not take its time in resolving the issue of financial crisis, and have just a week to implement a plan for the most critical decision to be made in the history of the U.S. The government and lawmakers had plenty of warning, and either ignored warnings, or rushed to place a band-aid on every financial breakdown that came our way. Basically, the U.S. government is planning to shovel more resources into proven failure. This failure is a vacuum, and produces no return to investors, and the more dollars poured into this vacuum, the more bloated it becomes, and the faster it runs away from those in debt, who are already having trouble keeping pace with the markets.
The consumer, and the average investor cannot continue to be financially beaten down, and at the same time be expected to have confidence in the current market. Like Senator Dodd, stated today, in the banking committee's hearing, "it is simply not a cosmetic issue", anymore. It no longer is a matter of market psychology, but rather a matter of reality. There is a real failure evident, and it needs to be regulated in a manner that will allow the government to oversee the investment practices of large firms on Wall Street, without dollar valued rescue, and only guard the U.S. taxpayer from crisis before it happens, by stepping in, and being prepared to enforce the law against those who intentionally abuse the financial system, for selfish profit.
How much warning did the government need? It was evident as far back as at least one year that these investment companies were not only in financial dire, but that they were intentionally massaging the system, so as to falsely preserve not only their own assets, but create pseudo-confidence in the investment markets.