If it's good enough for Baghdad Avenue, Iraq, will Congress consider it for Main Street, U.S.A., too?
ECONOMIC SURGE
Listening to Secretary Paulson and his merry band of socialist millionaire safety-netters, I keep thinking back to the Bush Administration's $Multi-$Billion Ca$h drop on Iraq.
Sitting on the precedent of using a surge of trickle up cash to revitalize a bombed out economy, Congress must consider recklessly dumping cash on Main Street rather than irresponsibly giving it to Wall Street.
How, why and what for after the flip . . .
With an economy freezing, recessing, depressing, deflating, nose-diving & tanking due to conservative Republican economic incompetence, Mister Bush and his administration are seeking approximately $700 Billion to throw at Wall Street bankers to "fix" the economy.
The first, of many, questions Congress must consider is whether an extremely small set of Wall Street Bankers are the most effective recipients of the equivalent of $5,400 per individual or joint U.S. taxpayer? (plus interest!).
Let's just say, if it is good Baghdad Avenue, maybe Congress should be willing to do it for Main Street too?
Mister Bush sent cargo jets of cash to jump start the distressed Iraqi economy. Remember?
We then learned that another dozen or so $Billion were spread like Onan's seed, dispersed throughout Iraq without oversight, accountability or purpose. One more time, folks; THERE WERE F'ING JETS, MILITARY CARGO PLANES, FULLY LOADED WITH PALLETS OF CASH DROPPED ON IRAQ.
We can hardly say, at this point, that dumping cash on Main Street is a novel idea.
ECONOMIC SURGE
After seven years of Republican middle class to millionaire class wealth transfer, I propose a "Strike-All" bill. The amendment, posted below, to Mister Bush's proposed $700 billion giveaway. The alternative proposal sends the money instead to people who, at long last, deserve to receive some of what they've already paid. It at least sends to working people the borrowed money Congress and Mister Bush intend to borrow from them and then squander. It's only fair, yes?
THE AMOUNT
Recall the U.S., in its exuberance to embrace the U.S. war on Iraq, sent pallets of cash to jump-start the Iraqi economy (even though it was clear that our war on Iraq was a disastrous mistake).
So what, it was only money, right?
So why $700Billion to Main Street, U.S.A.? Why the same amount as the proposed Wall Street bailout?
Well, here's the great (sick?) part and really, who can argue with this (I mean seriously, who CAN argue with the logic of this?).
Consider the relevant demographic facts between Iraq and the U.S. in light of the alleged crises. This is all, purportedly, caused by mortgage defaults and the risk of Americans loosing their houses. It's about households:
IRAQ-U.S. COMPARISONS:
Households: U.S. Approximately 105 Million -- Iraq Approximately 4 Million.
AMOUNT of MONEY DROPPED PER HOUSEHOLD on IRAQ:** $27,000,000,000.00, ** which works out to approximately $6,750.00 per Iraqi household.
By comparison, $6,750.00 dropped on every U.S. household ($6,750.00 x 105 million households) will cost $708.75 billion, which we'll just call $709 Billion.
$709 Billion? Hmmmm? I've heard a number just like that recently, yes?
I think you see where I'm going with this.
So, if Congress decides to drop the same amount of money, per household, on Main Street, U.S.A. that Mister Bush did on Main Street, Iraq, it would cost the exact same $700 billion they are now talking about dropping on Wall Street, New York.
I wish I were making this up.
Soooooooooo . . . . in the meantime . . . . . What's good enough for Iraq, as they say, is good enough for Main Street. After all, Mister Bush did not spend all that $27Billion in one Baghdad market, he spread it all over a country that he had just bombed into pieces. So why spend $700 billion on just one street, Wall Street, in the U.S. when he has economically bombed our entire country into a recession with conservative economic policies?
Seems the Fed & the Treasury already have the money presses rolling. Now all they need are the cargo planes.
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** $27 Billion - This figure is a rounded number taken from a 2008 adjusted value of the money airlifted into the war zone and the dozen or so $Billions that just disappeared after being trucked into the desert and poured into all sorts of alleged projects and random money dumps throughout Iraq.
Of course there are billions and billions more and my figure is an approximation. I mean seriously, do we ever expect to receive an accounting of what really happened? I used the amount the Pentagon has so far been forced to admit that they threw-up into the wind and let fly across the countryside.