Phil Gramm and John McCain -Longtime proponents of deregulation.
Are you getting the same feeling I've been having - that we've made this awful journey before? I think Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Bush administration highly underestimate the intelligence and memory of the citizens of this country. Do they think we've forgotten all about the rush to war in Iraq? The current scare tactics and another rush to judgment in Washington have exactly the same tone.
Yes, the current financial crisis is extremely serious. But we (I use that term loosely) didn't get into this mess overnight and won't get out of it quickly. I cannot believe Paulson's audacity and presumption in presenting a three-page plan which allows for absolutely no oversight. Asking the taxpayers to bail out private firms to the tune of 700 BILLION dollars is galling enough. What about the little guy - the taxpayer with a sub-prime loan who's already been screwed over once? What happens to him?
I'm glad so many in congress are balking and asking tough questions. I hope they continue. As you know, Paulson left Goldman Sachs with a 40 MILLION dollar golden parachute.
Lastly, does anyone else think it's strange that, after several days of crisis, John McCain suddenly feels he must rush back to Washington to solve the situation? Isn't this the guy who has openly admitted he knows nothing about economics? What could he possibly add to the conversation? Mr. Deregulator himself who voted against regulation for many years, along with his chief economic advisor Phil Gramm* (who wrote the deregulation plan) are amongst those I feel are to blame for this mess.
It's obvious John McCain's move is a desperate ploy to avoid talking about the issues in Friday's scheduled debate - especially with Barack Obama. By now you've all heard about McCain's charade this afternoon saying he was suspending his campaign, returning to Washington due to the crisis and suggesting the debate be postponed. He was going to put "country first." Isn't it strange to have both candidates on the Republican ticket avoiding the issues?
*For a comprehensive article about the role McCain's chief economic advisor played in creating the financial crisis, go to:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/07/foreclosure-phil.html
No comments:
Post a Comment