Capps, Gallegly Weigh In on Bailout

I've never in my life seen so many Representatives go against the will of so many people.

Capps, and the rest of the brain dead politicians that voted yes, have unwittingly handed over our government to the bankers.

congratulations government, you have pissed off the entire country.

"very reluctant" still votes for this bill. That is the bottom line. Lois did not posses the leadership needed to vote against this bill and so she has participated in the bankrupting of our country. At no time did Secretary Paulson explain how this bill was going to work with the exception of "building investor confidence". To roll over on this vote, which was just as important as the Iraq vote, is truly disappointing. I wish there was something I could do, but since Lois has control over the largest political machine in SB County there is no way to unseat her. Also, she should now have no trouble raising money from the rich now that she has transferred 700 BILLION dollars of your (actually China's) money to them. Unbelievable.

Yes, Capps, who generally aligns very well with my politics, dropped the ball on this one.

I'm thinking we need a new Dem around these parts, with bigger juevos -- if that hasn't already become an extinct species after eight years of capitulation and kow-towing to Bush, et. al.

An congratulations to Mr. Gallegly for a thoughtful, representative vote -- it think it's the second time in 20 years I've had a fond feeling toward the man (I believe his support of implementing the 911 commission recommendations was the last time).

If our anger doesn't turn into constructive action to remove government officials like this then we deserve the corrupt government we have.. Theyneedtogo@aol.com

I am not an economist. But I've been trying to read as much as I can about the subprime/CDO problem since it reared its ugly head in the press well over a year ago. I must admit this was mostly for selfish reasons - I wanted to make sure I understood enough about what was going on so as to be able to make decisions on how to protect my retirement savings if things really headed south.

Based on my understanding, I must disagree with the previous posters. I believe Capps and her fellow members of Congress were faced with a difficult decision but did the right thing to protect the economy and the livelihoods of regular folks like me.

In fact, I believe Capps and her fellow Democrats and Republicans who voted for the rescue plan exhibited some rare leadership for once. Consider that many Americans really haven't a clue as to what the credit crisis is all about. Most folks can't draw a line between their neighbor's mortgage foreclosure and the credit markets freezing up. Worse yet, they can't see how something as abstract as a bank not wanting to loan to another bank might directly affect the safety of their own jobs. So instead, folks focus on more tangible hot-button aspects such as undeserved executive compensation and golden parachutes (which I claim are less urgent issues in the big picture scheme of things, certainly not when the basic functions of the economy, are at stake). Its no wonder Congress has been receiving so much negative feedback. I can imagine a few members of Congress had to weigh between making the right call for what's best for the economy (and ultimately us) and the possibility of losing their own seats in the coming election. To make things worse, Congress likely had their hands tied in making their case because any use of the "D" word (Depression) might have caused additional panic and lack of confidence in the banking system.

Now that both houses and the President have signed off on the rescue package, the devil will be in the details. And I suspect the irony will be that the economy will still be in the dumps for a few years. But if we're lucky, it won't get as bad as things could have been without the rescue plan.

I doubt I could persuade any of the previous posters to see my view of things - that would take so much time we'd go through 5 coffees at Starbucks. But I do offer these links which I think help paint a decent picture:

1. Cartoon shows how bad mortgages came to be and how they turned into leveraged securities that are at the root of today's credit crises:

http://www.businesspundit.com/sub-prime/...

2. Commentary from Pulitzer prize economics writer Steve Pearstein on the bubbles created by Alan Greenspan's loose monetary policy and American consumption:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

3. Hour-long interview of Warren Buffett on the credit crises by Charlie Rose:

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/10...

4. Discussion on the economy with Steve Pearlstein and Princeton economist Alan Blinder by Charlie Rose:

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/09...

5. "Blocked Pipes - When banks find it hard to borrow, so do the rest of us":

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cf...

6. "Fiscal crises is hitting some states hard".

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

Whew! Time for another cup of joe :)

Welcome to the Socialist Republik of Amerika where the will of the people doesn't matter, and the government runs everything. We are now indebted to the government and government has a say in everything you do. If they have to throw away more money why not give $100K back to each TAXPAYING citizen (in proportion to taxes paid) to pay off mortgages, debt, invest instead - that would save the economy and provide direct relief as well. But I guess that sounds too much like a tax cut for the wealthy. That would not make Obama look good. We would rather make Bush look bad so Obama can come to the rescue. And look bad he does...

The worst part is the "pork" that they couldn't help helping themselves to - with no overall interest for everyone, just a select few. I say throw out every single representative, senator, assemblyman regardless of party and send a message.

Have a look at Matt Kokkonen to replace Capps.

Matt Kokkonen? You've got to be kidding. On his site he talks about how the government is the problem. Has he been asleep while this financial mess has happened? His positions are MORE OF THE SAME as we had with the Bush Administration. I didn't see a single substantive disagreement with Bush's policies. He is running your generic Republican gays, guns, and god campaign. Of course, since this is California you have to throw in Immigration... Hardly what I would call change...

One thing that really irritates me about Matt is that he says (direct quote from his site) "We cannot leave the Iraqi people at the mercy of Al-Qaeda." The ignorance contained it that statement is astounding! We did not get rid of Al-Qaeda we BROUGHT Al-Qaeda to Iraq! Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden hated each other because Saddam was secular and Osama was a religious fanatic. Also, Al-Qaeda is being attacked in Iraq by the people of Iraq since they are foreigners (for the most part) residing in the country. Lastly, we are starting to see Iraq calm down a little bit because most areas are being ethnically cleansed. Not exactly a victory.

Responding to East Beach. I am well aware of the problem but my main point still stands. Nobody has said how the 700 Billion was supposed to solve the problem. All of your links show part of the problem (for the most part they leave out the Derivatives market) but none discuss how the 700 Billion Dollar giveaway will fix it. When they do touch upon it, it is so non-specific as to be meaningless. I find it the height of irresponsibility to give away 700 Billion Dollars without some idea of how this is going to fix it. By the way, before Paulson has even cut the first check to one of his cronies you are already hearing about how this is NOT going to fix the problem and that there will be more bailouts to come. The Derivatives market is in the multi-trillions and that is what is coming down...

The $$ will be used to buy foreclosed assets at discount prices. If we don't buy the assets at lower than market prices it is likely we will enter into a depression because home prices will plummet and peoples 401k's and retirements will lose half there value when the stock market crashes. Unemployment will increase because businesses will have to consolidate and cut back.

Do some study about economic history. Pre-depression history is incredibly similar to now. Deregulated financial markets and over leveraged investments caused a crash after the bubble burst, but republicans won out and prevented govt. intervention. It took 12 years of govt. spending to hold the nation together with the new deal. Hoover screwed up by not bailing out all the foreclosures.

If you want to see even more of the nations wealth go in fewer hands, then just let the market decide what to do as Gallegly is suggesting with his "no" vote.

sbvoter2008 wrote:

"All of your links show part of the problem (for the most part they leave out the Derivatives market) but none discuss how the 700 Billion Dollar giveaway will fix it."

********

If you're faulting me for trying to succinctly state how I arrived at my opinion but not covering every detail on such a complex issue, then guilty as charged! Why you didn't complain about the other posters in this regard is a mystery.

But ... if you want a link that discusses credit default swap (CDS) derivatives AND provides info on the bill, then I highly recommend this week's podcast of "This Amercan Life" (episode 365):

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/

This is an EXCELLENT show, required listening, one of the more informative hours I've spent learning about the crisis. It covers:

- The commercial paper / money market "earthquake".
- Explains Credit Default Swaps.
- Why there is no CDS regulation.
- What options does the bill provide?

Of particular interest to you would be the "stock injection" option in addition to the direct purchasing of assets as Georgy described in his response.

The MP3 is available for free download for one week only, but you can always stream to your PC for free after that.

The New York Times also has a nice writeup on swaps here:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/...

but the podcast is much more entertaining.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081003/ap_o...

"NEW YORK - The credit markets finally got a bailout bill, but the stranglehold hasn't let up — a troubling sign that lenders and investors believe the package will only be a baby step in the long road to economic recovery."

EastBeach, you should learn how our monetary system works, because that is the problem here. Try watching "Money As Debt" at video.google.com. It is a 30-40 minute video explaining how our banking system destroys the poor and middle class while artificially inflating our currency for the benefit of large corporations and politicians. The Federal Reserve caused this mess by setting the interest rate and artificially low levels, making money "cheaper" than it would normally be.

Thomas Jefferson was a visionary, and understood the problems our country faced against England were in fact due to the banks. Little has changed.

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

—Thomas Jefferson, 1802

Ron Paul was right on the money. He wanted to bring our troops home, end our overseas empire, and he is the only one who understands our economy. We screwed up by not electing him and now we will pay for it.

"Ron Paul was right on the money. He wanted to bring our troops home, end our overseas empire, and he is the only one who understands our economy. We screwed up by not electing him and now we will pay for it." -loonpt-

As I recall loonpt, you had always supported Ron Paul. Why blame yourself?

The American electorate keeps running back to the same platitudes election after election. They talk about how angry they are with our politicians but do nothing about improving and changing the course of their political parties but instead attack the other party.

I don't know what Darrelln's ideas are, but I'm going to pay this person a visit at the address they provided and check out what grassroots ideas they have.

By the way, Barack Obama voted for reauthorization of the Patriot Act back in 2006, has a sixteen-month plan for Afghanistan, and from what I know, supports the bailout.

What was this about "Hope and Change"?

If you want "more of the same" it is Capps.

McCain and Obama are for this bill. They know that the American people don't have the will to vote for a third party, or form a third party and the "representatives" know this as well.

It's really simple: Both parties keep screwing us, and their supporters argue among themselves about side issues. It's a classic case of conquer and divide, and is enabled by the American voters.