Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Democrats Sucked In Again

In the midst of the Presidential Election season the White House and the Treasury Department announced to the Nation with panic that the Banking System was about to collapse and that immediate action was needed in the form a $700 Billion Bailout which the Treasury Secretary would Administer without Congressional Oversight. The Bill that was presented by the White House and Treasury department was a one page bill that gave unrestricted judgment to the Treasury Secretary as to how the money would be disbursed. When they were trying to sell the Bill to the public they proclaimed that a bulk of the money would be used to buy up bad mortgages that were the cause of the crisis.

At least Congress didn't bite on the one page Bill, but they did pass a similar Bill with an additional few hundred pages most of which dealt with adding earmarks to the White House's original proposal. So basically the White House got what they wanted again, just like the vote authorizing the Iraq War, Congress fell for the fear that the Republican BushCheney Administration was peddling. This time the Congressional Members felt vindicated because they turned a 1 page Bill in a Bill comprised of hundreds of pages. The Result, however, was the same. The Treasury Secretary has almost total control of how the money will be used and to which Corporations it will be disbursed among. So, what did Congress accomplish? They got to add a few billion dollars in pork barrel initiatives to the Bill in exchange for acquiescence to the White House.

Now the Treasury Secretary using the power that the Congress has bestowed upon him has decided that buying the bad mortgages wasn't such a good idea and they have decided that it was not such an emergency after all. So what does the Treasury Secretary think is a better way to spend the money, no not on the people but rather rescuing more financial institutions who have pilfered all the assets of their Corporations, now he thinks the money would be better spent bailing out the Credit Card Companies.

The Democratic Congress had better wake up immediately and stop the Bail Out of the Credit Card Industry. Here is an Industry that has been gauging the American Public since their existence with interest rates as high as 43%. An industry that changes 43% can not make a profit, then the Government of the United States has no business bailing them out. Before anything is done to help the Credit Card Industry in any way, the Congress should pass a law limiting the amount of interest that can be charges to no more than 5% above prime, a law modeled after the Credit Card Laws of Arkansas, one of the few States that has seen fit to protect her Citizens from the loan sharking of the Credit Card Industry.

If the Credit Card Companies are in trouble it has to be because of excessive Executive Compensation, and bad business practices. If the Credit Card Companies are in trouble than the disbursement of funds should be to the People who have been robbed, lied to and used by the unsavory business practices of this industry. The average family has in excesses of $8,000 in credit card debt with interest rates hoovering beyond loan sharking rates, plus late fees, over limit fess and annual fees. Congress should halt any disbursement to the Credit Card Industry until usury laws can be reacted, and regulations put in place to stop the unsavory practices of Credit Card Companies.

When the laws are changed to protect the consumer and regulate the Credit Card Industry, then and only then should the Credit Card Banks receive money from the United States Treasury, no foreign owned corporations should be eligible. The Bail Out Money should only be disbursed to the Industry if they agree to reimburse every Credit Card Account from 2000 until the date of disbursement for all excessive fees, and interest above 12%. Each account should be credited accordingly thus reducing the unbearable debt load of the American Worker and saving the Credit Card Companies at the same time, or in the alternative each American should receive a proportional share of rescue money. The Economy will recover almost immediately if spendable money were disbursed to the People instead of the Corporate thieves of the Banking and Credit Card Industry. If American Families received thousands of dollars each instead of the paltry $600 that the Bush Administration thought would buy another election, debt would paid down by the consumer, thus stabilizing the Banks ands the Credit Card Industry. Those that don't use the money to pay debt will spend the money and create economic demand for gods and services will will create the need for more workers, which will rebuild the Economy from the bottom up as it should be.

Congress and President Elect Obama should remember that they were elected to facilitate change. Giving more money to financial institutions is not change, it is a reaffirmation of the failed Republican Policies of the Bush Cheney Administration and should not be tolerated. In fact the entire $700 Billion Dollar Bailout package should be placed on hold by an Act of Congress or an Executive Order of president Obama until it is understood exactly what the money is being used for and why. The Credit Card Industry hardly seems to be a worthy recipient, here is an industry that borrows the people's money from the Federal Reserve at a minuscule interest rate and then loans it back to the People at Interest Rates exceeding 10 Times the amount at which they borrowed it from the People's Treasury.

We need real Change now President Obama and the U.S. Congress, if nothing is accomplished in 2009, then the People will revolt against a second do nothing Congress and not re-elect a Democratic Majority. Feed the People not the Corporations!
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