ABC's 'This Week' was on, and had this quote.
Boehner is against anything but the Wall Street Bankers getting aid, Dodd wants aid across the economy.DODD: I think there’s going to be a strong interest to deal with the Main Street aspects of this.
BOEHNER: But we’ve already dealt with that, when we passed the housing bill last summer. I didn’t vote for it because of the $300 billion bailout for scam artists, and speculators, and others around the housing industry. But there are a lot of tools in there to help the Federal Housing Administration deal with the foreclosures problems that’s out there. We need to rise above partisan politics…and deal with this as adults.
Obama shows good leadership after an incomplete early statement. Here's the statement..
And then, according to ABC's 'Political Radar'(Link), he grabs the phone.As of now, the Bush Administration has only offered a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan. Even if the U.S. Treasury recovers some or most of its investment over time, this initial outlay of up to $700 billion is sobering. And in return for their support, the American people must be assured that the deal reflects the basic principles of transparency, fairness, and reform.
First, there must be no blank check when American taxpayers are on the hook for this much money.
Second, taxpayers shouldn't be spending a dime to reward CEOs on Wall Street.
Third, taxpayers should be protected and should be able to recoup this investment.
Fourth, this plan has to help homeowners stay in their homes.
Fifth, this is a global crisis, and the United States must insist that other nations join us in helping secure the financial markets.
Sixth, we need to start putting in place the rules of the road I've been calling for for years to prevent this from ever happening again.
And finally, this plan can't just be a plan for Wall Street, it has to be a plan for Main Street
After the phone call, Time's 'The Page'(Link gets ahold of Pelosi's statement.ABC's Sunlen Miller reports: Since yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama has spoken on the phone with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd, Rep. Barney Frank, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Ralph Emmanuel, former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton about the economic situation and the plan for dealing with it.
Spokesperson Linda Douglass says that the conversations were about devising a "quick, bipartisan solution" to the economic crisis and they touched on the principles that Obama laid out in a speech in Charlotte, N.C., today.
"As of now, the Bush administration has only offered a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan," Obama said. "Even if the U.S. Treasury recovers some or most of its investment over time, this initial outlay of up to $700 billion is sobering. And in return for their support, the American people must be assured that the deal reflects the basic principles of transparency, and fairness, and reform. We can’t allow this to happen again. They have run this government, they have run this economy into the ground. We’ve got to make sure that we lift if back up, but we’ve got to have some rules in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again."
Obama set out seven principles (several of which he has regularly mentioned on the campaign trail) for what he would like to see included in the government's bailout plan.
o No blank check. If we grant the Treasury broad authority to address the immediate crisis, we must insist on independent accountability and oversight. Given the breach of trust we have seen and the magnitude of the taxpayer money involved, there can be no blank check.
o Rescue requires mutual responsibility. As taxpayers are asked to take extraordinary steps to protect our financial system, it is only appropriate to expect those institutions that benefit to help protect American homeowners and the American economy. We cannot underwrite continued irresponsibility, where CEOs cash in and our regulators look the other way. We cannot abet and reward the unconscionable practices that triggered this crisis. We have to end them.
o Taxpayers should be protected. This should not be a handout to Wall Street. It should be structured in a way that maximizes the ability of taxpayers to recoup their investment. Going forward, we need to make sure that the institutions that benefit from financial insurance also bear the cost of that insurance.
o Help homeowners stay in their homes. This crisis started with homeowners and they bear the brunt of the nearly unprecedented collapse in housing prices. We cannot have a plan for Wall Street banks that does not help homeowners stay in their homes and help distressed communities.
o A global response. As I said on Friday, this is a global financial crisis and it requires a global solution. The United States must lead, but we must also insist that other nations, who have a huge stake in the outcome, join us in helping to secure the financial markets.
o Main Street, not just Wall Street. The American people need to know that we feel as great a sense of urgency about the emergency on Main Street as we do the emergency on Wall Street. That is why I call on Senator McCain, President Bush, Republicans and Democrats to join me in supporting an emergency economic plan for working families – a plan that would help folks cope with rising gas and food prices, save one million jobs through rebuilding our schools and roads, help states and cities avoid painful budget cuts and tax increases, help homeowners stay in their homes, and provide retooling assistance to help ensure that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built in America.
o Build a regulatory structure for the 21st Century. While there is not time in a week to remake our regulatory structure to prevent abuses in the future, we should commit ourselves to the kind of reforms I have been advocating for several years. We need new rules of the road for the 21st Century economy, together with the means and willingness to enforce them.
Back to the Political Radar(Link) again, we find the abbreviated bits of Newt Gingrich on this.
Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today as Congress and the White House work to craft legislation to address the crisis in our financial markets:
“Congress will respond to the financial markets crisis by taking action this week in a bipartisan manner that will protect the taxpayers’ interests. The Administration’s $700 billion proposal does not include the necessary safeguards. Democrats believe a responsible solution should include independent oversight, protections for homeowners and constraints on excessive executive compensation.
“We will not simply hand over a $700 billion blank check to Wall Street and hope for a better outcome. Democrats will act responsibly to insulate Main Street from Wall Street.
“As we proceed to deal with this crisis, this is clear recognition that the party is over for the Bush Administration’s anything goes, failed economic policies that have damaged our economy, undermined the middle class and further pointed out the need for a New Direction.”
If you really want to go read the Corner, I hope you didn't like those braincells.Writing on The Corner, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., has some questions about the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion taxpayer bailout of the financial sector.
"We are being reassured that we can trust Secretary Paulson 'because he knows what he is doing.'
"Congress had better ask a lot of questions before it shifts this much burden to the taxpayer and shifts this much power to a Washington bureaucracy.
"Imagine that the political balance of power in Washington were different.
"If this were a Democratic administration, the Republicans in the House and Senate would be demanding answers and would be organizing for a 'no' vote. ... Congress has an obligation to protect the taxpayer.
"Congress has an obligation to limit the executive branch to the rule of law.
"Congress has an obligation to perform oversight.
"Congress was designed by the Founding Fathers to move slowly, precisely to avoid the sudden panic of a one-week solution that becomes a 20-year mess..."
Senator Sanders, Independent from Vermont, says.. Link
Over at the WSJ's online arm, we've got the Financial Industry's giants on the move.. LinkBURLINGTON, Vt.—Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says he'll oppose a Bush administration proposal to bail out troubled financial institutions if the middle class is asked to pay for it.
Sanders on Sunday issued a statement saying middle class Americans shouldn't have to pay for a crisis created by "the Bush administration's deregulatory fever and Wall Street's insatiable greed."
The administration proposal would have the Treasury Department buy $700 billion in nonperforming mortgage assets from banks. Sanders says that should be paid for through an income tax surcharge on individuals with more than $500,000 in annual income and couples earning more than $1 million.
He also wants to break up some of the biggest financial institutions. "If a company is too big to fail, it is too big to exist," Sanders said.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., later issued a less specific statement, saying he wants to "see progress toward a balanced bill that also helps overburdened middle class families."
He added, "It should not include get-out-of-jail-free cards for those whose greed caused this mess, and it should not lessen accountability for those responsible for this crisis in our financial markets.
That's all I can get before the subscription cutoff, but it says it starkly: The people being bailed out can still afford to send lobbyists to insist they never pay a cent.WASHINGTON -- Titans of the financial industry are battling to influence the government's financial rescue plan, a package that will create new winners and losers in the sector.
Democrats in Congress want a rescue package that benefits homeowners at risk for foreclosure, not just Wall Street. Securities houses don't want executive salary limits for banks that participate in the rescue.
Credit unions want any mechanism that is created to buy up bad loans and investments to apply not only to banks but to them also. Banks are fighting Treasury plans to provide federal guarantees for money market mutual funds.
When you're done reading these and noticing that Paulson has recently altered the proposal to allow him to give big bucks to foreign banks even if they don't have much influence here, if he deems it good, you might be mad.
Quench your rage in the bitter tears of the whiny brats in this story. WAH! I'M HAVING TO SELL A PRIVATE JET!
