Test Pattern #92: The Path We Take
As you know, the House rejected the $700 billion bailout yesterday. You could hear the screams from Chicken Little soon after the vote took place and because of the panic that ensued the Dow dropped 777 points.
We were told things would get worse every day until action was taken. Congress took no action today, they recessed for Rosh Hashanah. The market rebounded 485 points. Was today worse than yesterday? Hardly.
In his comments today, the President shocked me. He said, “it matters little what path a bill takes to become law, what matters is that we get a law”.
Are you kidding me? The path a bill takes to become law does not matter? Is he serious? The path a bill takes to become law matters more than just getting a law irregardless of the consequences.
We don’t need a law for the sake of having a law. What matters is that we get a good law that protects the American people and their wallets. No matter what the President thinks, the path of the law does matter!
Contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them to do it right this time. Our future depends on it.
Posted at Blip.tv, YouTube, and DailyMotion.
More Lead Paint Recalls
Here’s the latest in lead paint recalls.
Harry Potter Bookends Recalled By Giftco Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard
Toy Boats Recalled by Buzz’s Boatyard Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard
Visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website for more information on these and other recalls.
The Blame Game
As you know by now, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the $700 billion bailout yesterday.
In the House, a simple majority rules. Bills can pass by a one vote margin. The Democratic Party has the majority in the House which is comprised of 435 members. 235 are Democrats, 199 are Republican, and 1 seat is vacant. In order to pass this bill today, the Democrats simply needed 218 votes.
Since the vote failed earlier today in a vote of 205-228 (1 member did not vote), I have heard talk from all of the major news outlets that the Republicans were responsible for the failure of this bill.
How did the Republicans kill this bill? That argument just isn’t logical at all.
Sixty-five Republicans voted FOR the measure. Because of those 65 votes, the Democrats simply needed 153 votes from their own party, yet only 140 of them thought voting for the measure was a good idea. Along with 133 Republicans, 95 Democrats voted to kill the bill.
Without any help from Republicans, Nancy Pelosi needed 92.7% of her colleagues to vote for the bill. Because of the number of Republicans that voted for the bill, that number lowered to 65.1%. She ended up with 59.6%. Forty percent of her own caucus voted against her. This vote was an epic fail for the Speaker of the House and it showed the true measure of her leadership.
The American people did not want this bill and I commend the 228 Representatives who stood their ground and actually represented the people.
Visit the U.S. House website to see how your Representative voted. I could never serve in the House. Other members would need self defense products just to make sure they were safe when they did something as stupid as they almost did today.
The BailOut Fiasco: The Speech That Killed The Bill? Part 2
The U.S. House Of Representatives voted on the $700 billion bailout today. 95 Democrats and 133 Republicans voted against it.
There is a rumor going around that some Republicans who had agreed to vote for the measure were taken aback by Nancy Pelosi’s speech on the House floor.
Was that the reason for the failure of the bill? I doubt anyone changed their mind because of that speech, but if they did, I guess you could say that it was the speech that killed the bill.
This is part two of Nanny State Nancy’s speech on the House floor leading up to today’s vote.
Posted on Blip.tv, YouTube, DailyMotion.
The BailOut Fiasco: The Speech That Killed The Bill? Part 1
The U.S. House Of Representatives voted on the $700 billion bailout today. 95 Democrats and 133 Republicans voted against it.
There is a rumor going around that some Republicans who had agreed to vote for the measure were taken aback by Nancy Pelosi’s speech on the House floor.
Was that the reason for the failure of the bill? I doubt anyone changed their mind because of that speech, but if they did, I guess you could say that it was the speech that killed the bill.
This is part one of Nanny State Nancy’s speech on the House floor leading up to today’s vote.
Posted on Blip.tv, YouTube, DailyMotion.
The BailOut Fiasco: The Motion Is Not Adopted
The House voted on the $700 billion bailout today.
Bills pass the House with a simple majority. Democrats hold that majority.
Nancy Pelosi failed to get the Democrat votes needed to pass the bill.
Maybe now she will sit down with Republicans and work on a bill that actually helps everyday people and not just the corporate types on Wall Street.
Poest at Blip.tv, YouTube, and DailyMotion.
The BailOut Fiasco: I’m Not Gunna Eat That Cow Patty
Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) talks about the $700 billion bailout.
Good idea. I’m no expert but I don’t think cow patties taste good, with or without marshmallows.
Posted at Blip.tv, YouTube, and DailyMotion.
The BailOut Fiasco: I Am With Them
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) says more in 3 minutes than any other politician has said in 3 days.
I for one, agree with him. The bailout is a stupid idea.
Posted on Blip.tv, YouTube, and DailyMotion.
All The Wrong Reasons
With Congress and the President ready to toss the pending “Bereft Banker BailOut” at our feet, I thought I would see what Republican House members were saying and doing.
In a closed-door session with House Republicans Sunday evening, Minority Leader John A. Boehner called the $700 billion financial rescue deal a “crap sandwich” — then said he plans to vote for it.
Things are not looking good if the Minority Leader of the House refers to the pending legislation as a “crap sandwich” and then says he’s still willing to vote for it. Shouldn’t our Congressmen be voting for the the right solution rather than the best solution they could come up with before some imaginary deadline?
With support from Cantor and Ryan in hand, party leaders – in conjunction with the White House – were expected to start leaning on other members to back the bill.
When you hear that Republicans need to lean on other Republicans to convince them to back a bill, you know the bill is a bad idea. You lean on people when they want to force them to do something. If it was a good idea, wouldn’t they be backing it willingly?
Minority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.), who negotiated the terms of the tentative agreement for House Republicans, met Sunday afternoon with a bloc of retiring GOP lawmakers in an effort to secure their support for the plan, members familiar with the discussions said.
During that session, Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood, who has battled with party leaders over the years, told his colleagues that they should support the team because none of them would have to face voters in November.
He told his colleagues to support the bill because they are retiring and wouldn’t have to face voters in November. If that isn’t the clearest signal that this bail out bill is still a bad idea, I don’t know what is.
The Bail Out Breakthrough
The ‘bail out’ is no longer a $700 billion blank check.
You can download the draft of the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008″ (PDF). Remember, this is NOT the final version, but simply a first draft.
It’s a lot different now than it was last week. In fact, initially, it is $450 billion smaller. That’s right, after initial passage, it’s only a $250 billion plan, unless Congress votes to allow more in the future. The new plan also requires a mandatory insurance/guarantee program at NO EXPENSE TO TAXPAYERS.
Take a look at this table of changes from The QandO Blog:
| Issue | Paulson Plan | Frank-Dodd | Final Bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| $ | 700B with no strings. | 700B – Delivered in 150B traunches that can be delayed by Congressional disapproval (and a Presidential signature) | 250B – Immediately available to the Secretary.
100B – Available upon report to Congress, certified by the President. 350B – Available ONLY upon Congressional action. |
| Insurance (House Republican Model) | NONE | NONE | Requirement to establish mandatory insurance/guarantee program at no expense to the taxpayer. “Pay to play” for participating companies, based on risk. Outlays reduced by premiums collected. |
| Executive Compensation | Not Specifically Addressed | Far reaching executive compensation standards that would affect companies not even involved in this financial crisis. Additionally, the bill lowered the deduction on executive pay to $400,000 for ALL companies. | Workable prohibitions on executive compensation to ensure bad actors are not rewarded. In a total takeover (like what happened with AIG), there will be no golden parachutes or severance pay. For equity participation, over $300M total ban for top 5 executives on golden parachutes and tax deduction limit on compensation above $500,000. |
| Oversight/Transparency | Onerous, unworkable and repetitive reporting and oversight requirements, hindering proper implementation of program. | Establishment of bipartisan oversight commission, split evenly between minority and majority. Practical reporting requirements to ensure proper reports to Congress and the public. Creation of a Special Inspector General Creates a financial stability oversight board Implements strict conflict of interest and unjust enrichment rules If after 5 years the government has a net loss of taxpayer funds as a consequence of the purchase program, the President will be required to submit a legislative proposal to recoup such funds from program beneficiaries. |
|
| “Say on Pay” Union Take Over of Corporate Boards |
So-called “say on pay” or “proxy access” which propose to mandate a nonbinding shareholder vote on proxy access and other corporate governance issues for all companies in which the Treasury Department buys a direct stake in certain assets. | OUT | |
| Affordable Housing Slush Fund (ACORN Fund) | Included a giveaway that would force taxpayers to bankroll a slush fund for ACORN – an organization fraught with controversy for, among other scandals, its fraudulent voter registration activities on behalf of Democratic candidates. | OUT | |
| Bankruptcy “Cramdown” (aka, trial bar give-away) | Included so-called “cramdown” provisions allowing bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage principal under the guise of helping those at risk of foreclosure. If enacted into law, the provision would be a bonanza for trial lawyers and undercut the effectiveness of any economic recovery effort by making it even harder to value mortgage-backed securities. | OUT | |
| Mark-to-Market Accounting | GAO study on the impacts of mark-to-market accounting standards and effects on the banking crisis. Restatement of existing authority to suspend mark-to-market. | ||
| Equity/Warrants | Mandatory equity interest in all participating firms. | Mandatory equity interests in total takeover scenario. Proportional equity interest based on p
It’s definitely a step in the right direction. Adding more responsibility to the companies involved and removing more burden from the taxpayers is the correct course of action. Along with removing so much taxpayer burden, the best part (as far as I am concerned) was the requirement for insurance, which in itself should reduce much of the taxpayer burden from this bill. Of course the removal of the the ACORN slush funds, the added oversight, and the lowering of executive compensation were all pluses as well. So how did they finally reach this deal? Who came to the table to help negotiate the draft as it stands right now? House Republicans and John McCain. Believe it or not, they are the reason the discussions have come this far and have had such a large change in direction since the original plan was introduced. From The Next Right:
– Posted with Stuffr! –
|