Brother could you spare $3553.38? Each American's Portion of the Bailout

by Albert Milliron | October 1, 2008 at 09:39 am

445 views | 39 Recommendations | 15 comments

Brother could you spare $3553.38? Each American's Portion of the Bailout

By Albert N. Milliron, Editor, Politisite.com, Iron Mill Interactive Media

Based on the United States Census Figures from the year 2000, there are 281,421,906 people living in America. A bit of Math reveals that the Wall Street Bail out which has been framed by our Congress as the Economic Rescue Plan will cost each American $3553.38. That includes our children.

The reason this piece has the heading as Opinion is that this plan has caused some real strange bedfellows. On NowPublic Alone I am in agreement with a writer who I rarely agree with. When was the last time you read that Politisite and Moonwolf were in total agreement on any issue. The same has occurred in Congress as Georgia Congressman Lewis the Here of the Civil Rights Movement who nearly lost his life fighting for freedom of Black Americans in the South and John Culberson, R-Texas. Folks that would usually vote opposite each other in any other legislation presented on the floor.

I will speak in the first person here. I disagree with President Bush, Sen. McCain, Sen Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Sen Reid on this measure.

Business fail in the United States all of the time. There is no bail out for these folks. The socialization of wall street is a slippery slope that will cause America to fall into the abyss of intervening into the inter workings of the economics.

The rational that is being floated is that if we do nothing, there will be no money for loans for the American people. I say good! America has become a debtor nation because of our, Have it now pay for it later mentality. So what if one cant get a loan for a new car? Drive that 5 year old car for a few more years. no loans for new houses. How about be happy with what one has. No student loans. The private sector can give scholarships to those who kept their grades up and are good prospects for eduction. Most folks who use the student loan system end up paying back tens of thousands of dollars for 10 years after they graduate.

America has become addicted to money they don't have. Wall street wants to continue the electronic slavery that has occurred due to credit.

America used to provide credit at the gas station in which you lived. They new you and you paid them back on pay day. The grocery stories did the same. Loans were given at the bank because you did business with them and they knew you.

The decentralization of credit has caused this problem and ones name and reputation means nothing. I could also go on about the push for every American to have a home of their own. Previous presidents gloated in the statistics that said home ownership was up under their administration. The problem was that the push was to put people in home that had no assets, no real ability to pay over the long term, and debt to equity ratios way above what was considered appropriate for one to get a loan.

If you notice, your small local banks are not in trouble. The reason? The give loans to folks who have a relationship with them. They will not give a loan to someone who does not have disposable income that a payment would be more then 1/4 of their over all income.

My Bank, Georgia Bank and Trust, is not in trouble because they do not underwrite loans were folks cant pay them back. They also know the folks who apply. The decentralization of mortgages etc. has caused the who process to be impersonal thus the break down.

No what would be the good reason for Americans to reward poor economic behavior? So folks can get loans? Maybe it is time for Americans to learn how to buy with cash and save for items. Maybe even put 20% down on a house so they have an interest in keeping the property.

The bottom line for me is that this break down on wall street will help Americans rethink before they sign away for an item they cant afford.

I am sorry, I am not willing to pay $3553.38 for the failures of Wall Street executives. I am willing to suffer the consequences of doing nothing.

Here is a link to the Plan: Economic Rescue Plan

President Bush Makes New Plea for Congress to Pass Economic Rescue

President Bush warned Congress today that the country's economy was at a "very critical moment" and that failure to quickly pass a Wall Street bailout would create "painful and lasting" economic hardship.

The president pleads for "decisive action from the government."
It was the second time in two days that Bush made appearances before the Wall Street markets opened to assure business leaders the government was urgently trying to fashion a rescue plan.

Today's appearance came a day after Congress shocked the Bush administration and Wall Street by rejecting a $700 billion bailout, and traders -- as well as much of the nation and leaders around the world -- held their breath to see what drama today's markets would bring.

Bush said he wanted to assure "our citizens and citizens around the world that this is not the end of the legislative process."

The president called this week "a very critical moment for our economy," and he pointed out to Congress that Monday's stock plunge had cost Americans more than $1 trillion.

SC senators split over economic bailout plan

Even though they’re from the same party, South Carolina’s two U.S. senators don’t agree on the $700 billion economic bailout plan being debated in Washington. Sen. Lindsey Graham says the bailout is a bad choice, but not passing it would be catastrophic to our economy. Sen. Jim DeMint says passing the bailout will worsen our debt and weaken the dollar.

Sen. DeMint says government meddling is at least partly to blame for the crisis it’s now trying to solve. “This is a failure because government injected itself into the free market, created this easy credit, these guaranteed loans, and these loans are what have turned into the bad paper that are bringing all these financial institutions down,” he says.

He says the natural risk that comes with investing built accountability into the system. “But the government has come in and removed that accountability with taxpayer guaranteed loans, and now they’re talking about a trillion dollars more money that we’re going to throw at this problem. And with the debt that we already have as a country, I’m afraid the rest of the world will lose confidence in the dollar,” Sen. DeMint says.

But Sen. Lindsey Graham says he’s got to opt for the bad choice, the bailout, over the catastrophic choice of doing nothing. He says allowing these financial corporations to fail would cause “a catastrophic financial meltdown throughout the nation and eventually the world.”

Not passing the bailout, he says, would have a big impact on South Carolinians. “If we don’t get these bad debts out of the system, then we’re not going to have availability of credit to the average person. That means people are going to lose their jobs because companies are going to fold,” he says.

“So if you’re a South Carolinian in business and you need to borrow money to expand your business, there will be no money available. If you’re trying to get a student loan in the private sector, you may not be able to get any money to go to school. If you’re trying to buy a house, there’ll be no bank able to lend you money. That’s what it means,” he says.

Related NowPublic Stories

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 - See Full Text
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"Fundamental Agreement" Reached On Bailout

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Rachel Nixon

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:02 on October 1st, 2008

politisite, I like this story. It's good stuff. That's a lot of money per person. I wonder if it would be better if they simply gave a check to everyone?

René

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:08 on October 1st, 2008

I like DeMint. Is there a way to let McCain know that he shouldn't vote for this? I tried on his website.

Albert Milliron

at 15:58 on October 2nd, 2008

Demint Voted no last night. One of the very few. McCain and Obama both voted yes.

René

at 10:12 on October 1st, 2008

See that some analyst's are 'channeling' dead Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to advise us. See the media is determined to help the Democrats to force this BailOut down our throats. And why do they deep tacking on other stuff? Like banning oil shale development and this mental health issue?

Uwe Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:17 on October 1st, 2008

politisite, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Is that each and every American or just the Working and tax paying Americans?

Fairbanks

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:20 on October 1st, 2008

What is Buffett's share? He just dropped $3 billion on GE pref shares. That must be 5% of his net worth.

René

at 12:10 on October 1st, 2008

Did you catch the Treasury Conference call with analysts on the Bailout Bill Sunday night (behind the scene-but caught)? got onto it from Catherine Austin Fitts Solari blog.

Fairbanks

at 12:20 on October 1st, 2008

Catherine Austin Fitts

Nobody has a better grasp of what is going on.

Nick Alanen (not verified)

at 14:50 on October 1st, 2008

I am sorry, I am not willing to pay $3553.38 for the failures of Wall Street executives. I am willing to suffer the conscequences of doing nothing.

I agree completely.

Amy Judd

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 16:01 on October 1st, 2008

politisite, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Great job!

zrants (not verified)

at 16:16 on October 1st, 2008

FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE - I am amazed at how inarticulate many Congressmen and women are. Here are some of the better ideas I’ve gathered from various sources for protecting both Main Street and Wall Street, where most of our retirement funds are invested.

TAKE THE TIME - The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is an improvement over the original Paulson plan. We have time to perfect the plan further.

LOAN THE MONEY - Buying questionable properties requires setting values on unknown properties, and means taking on unknown debt as well. Given the choice between loaning cash or bailing out, loaning seems the best, least risky choice. Congress can determine what to do with the profits when they materialize.

HOUSING VALUES - As a California resident who watched housing prices spiral out of reach for years, I have mixed feelings of relief that real estate prices are falling, and sympathy for owners of the over-priced property stuck with bad loans. We need control on both prices and interest rates. Surely someone in Congress can figure out how to protect the interests of both Main Street and Wall Street.

REGULATE - We need to re-install the regulatory systems that have been dismantled. Laying off large numbers of regulators to make government smaller and cheaper has resulted in unsafe products and a financial system out of control. We need a regulatory system that protects the rights of US citizens, not corporations.