Text of the Bailout Is Authoritarianism At Its Worst, Would End Congress's Role In Our Republic in One Stroke

Woe!

Yeah, power grab in the most massive way.

Bush did make the statement, "A dictatorship would be much easier."

This is insanity. We are signing off on a 11 trillion dollar national debt. That $700 billion "is outstanding at any given time." That means it is NOT limited to $700 billion. I cannot see how Sec 8 will stand grilling in Congress.

Hey, Sam, got some news for you. It's those Congress guys who are putting this thing together. But you're absolutely right. Insanity it is. We poor stupid taxpayers are stepping up to become the proud owners of the Garbage Debt Corportation of America. Congratulations!

As the saying goes, "Act in haste...."

And to respond to your conservative friend, S-P, haven't you guys been castigating the "Do-Nothing" Congress lately? So, who needs 'em?

Socialist Totalitarianism here we come. And all thanks to those fine, upstanding Bush/Cheney conservatives. The joke's on you Mr. Reagan.

wow, that is pretty heavy wording.

When writing your representatives in congress, you might also suggest that they insist that paragraph be removed from the bill, and that they not sign the bill unless Bush/Cheney resign

Woe - but, maybe it's OK, since it has a section that says "To protect the taxpayer."

Reminds me of the hurry up and sign - patriot act.

Great article and fact finding. Keep up the good work!

When in Crisis Mode, we always give away the farm! Fear sells well. The Brand: Maverick will save us!

We are a Republic. These are our elected leaders appointing good men and good women to jobs that must be done. Perhaps this is a continuation of “The Greatest Robbery of all Times.” Woe be Us.

well, the way Bernanke and Paulson briefed the members of Congress, they described the alternate collapse of global economic conditions as less palatable. Besides, on the face of it, it seems that just because something states that it is unreviewable does not mean that it is. That particular provision seems to be challengable.

Yet until congress acts, it can't really be challenged. Actually, until it gets signed into law, then it will be challengable.

I don't hear more attractive alternatives being floated about.

Marty, I floated a more attractive alternative above: remove that language and insist that Bush/Cheney resign before signing the bill.

We are losing more all the time.

Interesting how the neo-cons accuse Obama being a socialist -- the government takeover of the financial industry, and the redistribution of their debt to the American people (caused by their own deregulation) is the biggest example of socialism, or as you say, dictatorship, in our nation's history.

thanks for the info.

Very astute observation that I agree with wholeheartedly!

Great article Sean-Kelly. You make a very valid point.

Great job!!!!

Prima Donna - I don't agree with the takeover either. But, with Wall Street in dire straits, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE OUR GOVERNMENT TO DO, SIT ON ITS HANDS AND DO NOTHING? THAT WOULD MAKE YOU EXTREMELY HAPPY SO YOU COULD SAY EXACTLY THAT - THAT THEY SAT BACK AND DID NOTHING. If you don't have a better idea, or can't come up with something better with your congressional leaders, as the saying goes, shut up or get out of the kitchen.

Featured in the Triple Name Club.

Andrea, I thought the whole idea of your precious conservative movement was to keep government out of the economy. Where are your precious principles now?

And actually, yes, the government should do nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing to do, as opposed to recklessly scaring people to death and moving ahead with a bailout that is anathema to everything you Conservatives stand for. I'd laugh at you if it weren't so dire.

As for the question of what to do, well, it's pretty simple actually. Read this.

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Gather Broadcasting: Have it your way

Yes! 35

Yes Sean-Paul, great link.

The article is an excellent alternative to simply bailing out the banks. I like the idea of creating a Trust to buy up the bad mortgages, converting them to fixed rate conventional 30 year ones, and tying them to the property so that unscrupulous borrowers and lenders can't scam the system. The proposal would allow people to stay in their homes, but would discount the mortgages being bought by the government. It would give taxpayers some of the profits from a sale in exchange for getting a safe, secure mortgage.

Nota bene: As a Conservative friend of mine just said in an email, "It's not good at all. It's basically a transfer of the unlimited power of the Executive in wartime to spending matters. Taken to its logical extreme, it's the end of Congress." From above , top, author's remarks.

This is tantamount to war and the war must be swift. Paulsen must do the right thing but he damn well better do it very quickly. This is much more than 700 Billon dollars. It will be as I've stated elsewhere in Gather, equal to threading a needle while riding on a roller coaster. Too many cooks and this baby's going to burn -up like a deck of cards in a crematory. Swift, decisive or Depression. Paulsen must keep foreign money to support our enormous debt, save the dollar from further distruction and keep world stock markets calm. That doesn't allow for nickle-dime debates. Reason: the foreign markets are very weary of our financial state. No trade with foreign countries, falling stock prices, no government barrowing from the usual sources and it could get very, very nasty. We need to be able to later review what Paulsen did. And that will be done by surrogate, publically honored responsible advisors. You and I will never see the "deal". Unfortunately a negative imagination will tell you why. I worked for major Wall Street firms for over 25 years as a securites debt specialist. This is huge and complicated. Debate this one and we'll be debating in Hell. I wish it could be done your way. It can't. I understand your anger and anguish - regulation is not a four letter word. Let's make sure this doesn't happen a third time. (2nd time-bank failures - mortgage related early 90s.)

Sean Paul I am sorry to hear you are leaving gather hope your adventures in life continue to bring you worldly adventures...