So after watching the Sunday morning shows, I have some very grave concerns about this bailout legislation that the government wants to get approved in a matter of days. Particularly, after the last time we gave the Bush administration a blank check, and ended up with the Patriot Act and the Iraq war.
Not to mention that the congress would have to approve raising the national debt ceiling to 11.3 trillion dollars (according to CBS News).
And then to top it all off? I see that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sacs are in trouble as well -- http://www.cnbc.com/...
So I don't like the idea of basically handing over a blank check to an administration who's spending priorities is similar to that of the CEO of Tyco's before it went belly-up (okay, so granted I don't see Bush throwing million dollar parties, but he has got us into what is apparently a $500 billion war).
Not to mention, I don't think it's going to work. Or at least it will be a bandaid for the short-term. I think Paul Krugman said it best on Real Time with Bill Maher -- http://www.youtube.com/...
This bill isn't going fix things. I don't know what we do, but I think a hastily crafted bill that gives Paulson a blank check is the way to go. Particularly, as we are probably only just at the beginning. As Krugman said, "this bill isn't the answer it's avoiding a disaster."
One of the major reasons, in my opinion, we are in this mess is because we over extended ourselves. Individuals, corporations, and the government. I need someone to stand-up and say, look, we've gotten ourselves into this mess. We are going to have new 21st regulations, and even then we have two options, either make more or cut back. Those are options. Our government can't bail out every single corporation on Wall Street. Nor, do I want them to.
So if nothing else more thought needs to go into this bill. We need to develop a strategy to deal with these corporations, but also a bill that has been well thought out.
Oh, and just to add. http://www.cnbc.com/...
A $700 billion financial rescue plan was sent to Congress Saturday, and Democrats moved quickly to propose changes—including possible help for homeowners and a salary cap for CEOs.
All I can say to this is that hell yes there should be a salary cap for any corporation that we, the American people, bailout. But, the very fact that I've seen outrage at the dems online for wanting to include help for homeowners and have a salary cap, just shows me that this bill isn't be thought through properly.
I'd rather see Goldman Sacks and JP Morgan crash and burn, and have a temporary credit freeze, then have congress push through a bailout bill in less than a week. I think our future is too important. I think congress has to start thinking about the fact that we can't borrow ourselves out of this mess. Learn from the homeowners who are now facing foreclosure because they over extended themselves, and then found out that their income wasn't enough to cover their expenses.