Milk Your Money

Got Money? Milk the most from it…

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Archives
  • Our Network
  • Links
  • Forums

Subscribe via Email

Insiders Perspective: Embarrassing Congressional Reaction to an Originally Dangerous Bailout Plan

Posted by Frank
October 3, 2008

Stumble it Digg it Add to Mixx! RSS del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Leave a comment

MYM Series: Wall Street Bailout Explanation 4 of 4

We have learned today that the House of Representatives passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 by a vote of 263-171.  Because the Senate passed the same version just days prior, the bill is now ready to be sent to the President for his signature.  So there you have it, a couple of weeks of complete panic, volatile markets, confusion, unhappy voters, and a much anticipated vice presidential debate has come to a exhausting yet satisfying end.

As I have mentioned before, my day job is working in Government Affairs on financial services issues in Washington DC, which has given me a unique perspective on the two-week bailout hoopla.  I Watched as U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox (who was interestingly not invited to testify in front the of the House committee), and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before both the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee—both have jurisdiction over financial services issues in their respective chambers.

My initial reaction after watching ten hours of testimony is how embarrassing our Congressional leaders handled themselves and how dangerous Secretary Paulson’s original piece of legislation was.  I’ll first start with our members of Congress.  As you would expect with 435 member is the House, not all of them are going to be experts on every issues.  However, when a member serves on the committee charged with maintaining our capital markets, I would EXPECT them to know the issues—especially in times of economic crisis. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of the committee members were more than prepared and I commend them for playing such a constructive role.  However, it was evident from the beginning that certain members were not prepared to question our financial leaders on such heavy and important financial topics that we face today.  So I ask, how can they possibly be ready for an informed vote on the issue?

Everyone knows the elections are right around the corner, and don’t think for a second that any member of Congress has forgotten.  With a majority of our public not truly understanding the severity of our credit crisis, and because the legislation was labeled a bailout as opposed to a rescue, Congressional members up for re-election had their best interest in mind rather than what was in the best interest of our nation, economy, and ultimately, for the consumers.  In my opinion, voting against legislation designed to keep people in their homes, ensure that responsible lending continues, and most importantly keeps the United States competitive, is irresponsible and inexcusable.

Back to Secretary Paulson’s original legislation.  Paulson delivered an embarrassing three-page, bill that’s right a three-page bill, to Congress before his testimony.  Worse than what seemed like a rushed piece of legislation is that it included absolutely no oversight.  Basically, Paulson wanted Congress to give him (the Treasury) $700 billion dollars, with no checks and balances.  He later would say his legislation was only meant as a basic template, but even so, it is his job to provide his expertise to Congress, three-pages of expertise in times like this, does not count.

In the end, everything has come together and to the advantage of Americans, the system has worked.  Now, pressure has been put on the next Administratino and those who are appointed into these new financial posts.  Only time will tell if the $700 billion dollars will turn into an investment for taxpayers or a bill.  Only time will tell if this piece of legislation will help us crawl out of our self inflicted subprime hole.  People will forever disagree with this monumental piece of legislation, but everyone, including naysayers, hopes it works.  $


Related articles you might be interested in:
MYM Series: Wall Street Bailout Explanation 1 of 4
Archives
Reaction to Proposed Market Bailout
What Is Actually Included In the Bailout Legislation?
MYM Endorses Presidential Candidate

Bailout



Stumble it Digg it Add to Mixx! RSS del.icio.us Add to Technorati Favorites Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader or email.

Comments
Pingback by Hanks Weekly Hangouts #52 (October 5, 2008) | MiB Smarter Money on October 5, 2008 @ 3:14 am

[...] MilkYourMoney presents Insiders Perspective: Embarrassing Congressional Reaction to an Originally Dangerous Bailout Plan [...]

Leave a comment

(required)

(required)


Search

Archives

  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Categories

  • Annuities
  • ARS
  • auction rate securities
  • Bailout
  • Banking
  • Borrowing
  • Budgeting
  • Credit Cards
  • credit score
  • debt
  • DIY
  • Economy
  • entertainment
  • Fees
  • financial literacy
  • Frugal Things To Do In…
  • Gas
  • General
  • Getting Started
  • Income Replacement Funds
  • Insurance
  • Investing
  • Lunch
  • Mailbag
  • money
  • Rate Cuts
  • real estate
  • Rebates
  • reverse mortgage
  • Saving
  • Scams
  • Shopping
  • stimulus
  • taxes
  • Uncategorized
  • windfall

Featured in Alltop

PerformancingAds

  • Recent Posts

    • Auto Industry Lowers Prices During Hard Times
    • Thanksgiving Expenses
    • Black Friday Deals
    • No More Pricey Pedicures with PedEgg
    • As Gas Prices Fall, Take the Following Actions
  • Recent Comments

    • Can You Find a Used Car That Lasts 10 Years For $3K-$7K? on Auto Industry Lowers Prices During Hard Times
    • Follow Me on Twitter and the QuickHits | Prime Time Money on No More Pricey Pedicures with PedEgg
    • christmas songs silent night on Markets Tumble, Surpassing Records Set During the Depression
    • Seth on 27 Great Tips for Around the House
    • Frank on Thanksgiving Expenses
    • Susy on Thanksgiving Expenses
    • Laura K on Thanksgiving Expenses
  • Tools

    • Become a Millionaire with the Following Saving Tactics
    • Broker Check
    • Guide to House Hunting
    • Light Bulb Comparisons
    • Loan Repayment Calculator
    • Monthly Budget
    • Mutual Fund Expense Analyzer
    • Savings Calculator
  • Most Popular Posts

    • 27 Great Tips for Around the House
    • Why Didn’t I Receive My Economic Stimulus Check?
    • Become a Millionaire in 30 Years with your Current Salary
    • The 8 Worst Habits for Saving Money
    • Five Common Money Mistakes to Avoid
    • Frugal Things To Do In Washington, DC
    • Analysis of The 11 Principles by Money Crashers
  • Tags

    401(k) ARMs Banking bills Borrowing budget Budgeting cars common sense compound interest credit credit card debt Credit Cards credit score debt DIY expenses Fed Fees financial literacy frugal Gas General groceries income Insurance interest rates Investing IRA money mortgage real estate rebate recession retirement Saving savings scam Scams Shopping stimulus stocks student loans taxes windfall





Copyright 2008 | Milk Your Money | All rights reserved

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Archives
  • Forums
  • Our Network
  • Links


A World of Personal Finance Bloggers Personal  Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory Add to Technorati Favorites Top Finance blogs Join My Community at MyBloglog!

PerformancingAds


Affiliate Rank & Review
Advertise Here