Express Your Support for the Bailout

 

Just got done writing both senators and (one) federal representative.
(let the flames begin)



Street Bailout.

betting housing prices

their wagers,

of money available

responsible financial

rise.

those who risked

financial markets

deepens.

 



I agree that they oughta bear the consequences of their wagers.

These are the guys living on the lake in a 800,000 house driving who knows
what with a mountain house and probably a beach home.

What would be the ramifications to us the uninvolved if there is no bail
out.

We will be victimized another way.

 


You have a right to be heard.

Write to your federal senators:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Write your state representative:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

 

On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:33:04 -0700 (PDT), "Whelan - '02 200exc (x2) &


I have written my my worthless senators.  It's a waste of my time as
my voice will be ignored by both of these people as evidenced by the
return letters that show they did not read my letters.

I vote to remove them, but I will have to leave this state to get my
voice heard.  

Mike Baxter

 


"Whelan - '02 200exc (x2) & '04 MTD 38"

snip

Wellen,

I wrote Diane Feinstein that this was a public credit market bailing out a
private credit market and would subtract available credit from the public
market.

I mentioned disgorgement was the only solution.

I failed to say this was like kiting checks.  Here is her response:

Dear Mr. Rooney:



           Thank you for your letter expressing concern about Congress'
consideration of a plan to meet our Nation's credit crisis with financial
help from the Federal Government. This is a difficult situation for which
there are no perfect solutions, and I would like to share my thoughts and
concerns about this issue with you.



           On September 19, 2008, Secretary of the Treasury Henry M.
Paulson, Jr. announced a legislative proposal to use $700 billion to
purchase illiquid mortgage-related assets from ailing financial
institutions. Secretary Paulson's three-page proposal was a non-starter, and
without critical changes it has no chance of approval from Congress.



           This proposal would have given a blank check to an economic czar
who would have been empowered to spend it without administrative oversight,
legal requirements, or legislative review. Decisions made by the Treasury
Secretary would be non-reviewable by any court, agency, or Congress. The
proposal also lacked a requirement for regular reports to Congress on the
status of the program. This was simply untenable.



            Since this announcement, my offices have received thousands of
comments from Californians like you concerned about how this action will
affect them. Yet, I believe prudent action must be taken. The bill should
include the following principles: a phase-in of funding; oversight,
accountability and transparency; a mechanism allowing the Secretary of the
Treasury to modify mortgages to prevent additional foreclosures; and a
precise cap on executive compensation.



           The current credit crisis affects all Americans. If action is not
taken to stem the crisis, Americans risk losing their homes, jobs, personal
savings, life insurance and more. Banks will cease to lend to businesses and
homeowners, and credit will be increasingly difficult to come by for average
Americans. I strongly believe that the consequences of failing to act now
would be greater than not acting at all.



           Attached please find a statement I recently made on the floor of
the Senate expressing my feelings on this issue. Please know that I will
keep your thoughts in mind as this situation unfolds.



           Once again, thank you for writing.  If you have any additional
questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C.
office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.







U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

Floor Statement on the Economic

Rescue Proposal

September 26, 2008



           "Mr. President, to date I have received from Californians more
than 50,000 calls and letters, the great bulk of them in opposition to any
form of meeting this crisis with financial help from the Federal Government.
I wanted to come to the floor to very simply state how I see this and some
of the principles that I hope will be forthcoming in this draft. Before I do
so, I wish to pay particular commendation to Senator Dodd, Senator Schumer,
Senator Bennett, and others who have been working so hard on this issue. I
have tried to keep in touch -- I am not a negotiator; I am not on the
committee -- but California is the biggest State, the largest economic
engine, and people are really concerned.



           We face the most significant economic crisis in 75 years right
now. Swift and comprehensive action is crucial to the overall health of our
economy. None of us wants to be in this position, and there are no good
options here. Nobody likes the idea of spending massive sums of Government
money to rescue major corporations from their bad financial decisions. But
no one also should be fooled into thinking this problem only belongs to the
banks and that it is a good idea to let them fail. The pain felt by Wall
Street one day is felt there, and then 2,3,4 weeks down the pike, it is felt
on Main Street.



           The turbulence in our financial sector has already resulted in
thousands of layoffs in the banking and finance sectors, and that number
will skyrocket if there is a full collapse. The shock waves of failure will
extend far beyond the banking and finance sectors. A shrinking pool of
credit would affect the home loans, credit card limits, auto loans, and
insurance policies of average Americans. I am receiving calls from people
who tell me they want to buy a house, but they can't get the credit or the
mortgage to do so. Why? Because that market of credit is drying up more
rapidly one day after the other. It would have a major impact on State and
local governments which would lose tens of millions of dollars, if not
hundreds of millions of dollars.



           Hurricane Ike shut down refineries on the gulf coast 2 weeks ago,
and now, today, people are waiting hours in lines for gasoline in the South.
Similarly, the collapse of the financial sector would have severe
consequences for Americans all across the economic spectrum: for the person
who owns the grocery store, the laundry, the bank, the insurance company.
Then, if the worst happens, layoffs. And even more than that, somebody shows
up for work and finds their business has closed because the owner of that
business can't get credit to buy the goods he hopes to sell that week or
that month. Wages and employment rates have already fallen even as the cost
of basic necessities has skyrocketed. Our Nation is facing the highest
unemployment rate in 5 years, at 6.1 percent. Over 605,000 jobs have been
lost nationwide this year. My own State of California, a state of 38 million
people, has the third highest unemployment rate in the Nation at 7.7
percent. That is 1.4 million people out of work today. One and a half
million people -- that is bigger than some States. We have 1.5 million
people out of work, and one-half million have had their unemployment
insurance expire and have nothing today.



           Congress is faced with a situation where we have to act and we
have to do two things. We have to provide some reform in the system of
regulation and oversight that is supposed to protect our economy. We also
have to find a permanent and effective solution to keep liquidity and credit
functioning so that markets can recover and make profit. The situation, I
believe, is grave, and timely, prudent action is needed.



           Just last night, the sixth largest bank in America -- Washington
Mutual-- was seized by government regulators and most of its assets will be
sold to JPMorgan Chase. This follows on the heels of bankruptcies and
takeovers of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie
Mac. If nothing is done, the crisis will continue to spread and one by one
the dominos will fall.



           Now, this isn't just about Wall Street. Because we are this
credit society, the financial troubles facing major economic institutions
will ricochet throughout this Nation and affect everyone. So I believe the
need for action is clear. But that doesn't mean Congress should simply be a
rubberstamp for an unprecedented and unbridled program.



           My constituents by the thousands have made their views clear. I
believe they are responding to the original 3-page proposal by the Secretary
of the Treasury. It is clear by now that that 3-page proposal is a
nonstarter. It is dead on arrival and that is good. Secretary Paulson's
proposal asked Congress to write a $700 billion check to an economic czar
who would have been empowered to spend it without any administrative
oversight, legal requirements, or legislative review. Decisions made by the
Treasury Secretary would be nonreviewable by any court or agency, and the
fate of our entire economy would be committed to the sole discretion of one
man alone -- the man we know today, and the man whom we don't know after
January.



           Additionally, the lack of governance or oversight in this plan
was matched by the lack of a requirement for regular reports to Congress.
This proposal stipulated that the economic czar, newly created, would report
to Congress after the first three months with reports once every 6 months
after that. This was untenable. Six months is an eternity when you are
spending billions a week. The Treasury Secretary asked Congress to approve
this massive program without delay or interference. It is hard to think of
any other time in our history when Congress has been asked for so much money
and so much power to be concentrated in the hands of one person. It is a
nonstarter.



           Yesterday, shortly before we met for the Democratic Policy
Committee lunch, we were told there had been a bipartisan agreement on
principles of a possible solution, and many of us rejoiced. We know that our
Members, both Republican and Democrat, have been working hard to try to
produce something that was positive. Then, all of a sudden, it changed. One
Presidential candidate parachuted into town which proved to be enormously
destructive to the process. Now, negotiations are back on the table, and as
I say, we have just received a draft bill of certain principles.



           I would like to outline quickly those principles that I think are
important. First is a phase-in. No one wants to put $700 billion immediately
at the discretion of one person or even a group of a very few people, no
matter how bright, how skilled, how informed they might be on banking or
finance principles. The funding should come in phases and Congress should
have the opportunity to make its voice heard if the program isn't working or
needs to be adjusted.



           The second point: Oversight, accountability, and governance. The
Treasury Secretary should not and must not have unbridled authority to
determine winners and losers, essentially choosing which struggling
financial institution will survive and which will not. The original plan
placed all authority in the hands of this one man, and this is why I say it
was DOA -- dead on arrival -- at the Congress. We must assure that controls
are in place to watch taxpayer dollars and make sure they are well-spent
fixing the problem, and that oversight by a governance committee and the
Banking Committees are strong, and that they give the best opportunity for
the American people to recover their investment and, yes, even eventually
make a profit from that investment. That can be done and it has been done in
the past.



           I believe that frequent reporting to Congress is critical.
Transparency, sunlight on this, is critical. So Congress should receive
regular, timely briefings, perhaps weekly for the first quarter, on a
program of this magnitude. A proposal should mandate frequent reporting and
the public should be ensured of transparency to the maximum extent possible.



           I also believe that within the first quarter -- and this, to me,
is key -- a comprehensive legislative proposal for reform must be put
forward. We must reform those speculative practices that impact price
function of markets. We must deal with the unregulated practices that have
furthered this crisis. Look. I represent a State that was cost $40 billion
in the Enron episode during 1999 and 2000 by speculation, by manipulation,
and by fraud. There still is inadequate regulation of energy commodities
sold on the futures market. And that is just one point in all of this. We
must prevent these things from happening. The only way to do it is to
improve the transparency of all markets. No hidden deals. Swaps, in my view,
should be ended. The London loophole should be ended.



           We have to outline rules for increasing regulation of the
mortgage-backed securities market, along with comprehensive oversight of the
mortgage industry and lending practices for both prime and subprime lending.



           Senator Martinez of Florida and I had a part in the earlier
housing bill, which included our legislation entitled the SAFE Mortgage
Licensing Act. We found that the market was rife with fraud. We found there
was one company that hired hairdressers and others who sold mortgages in
their spare time. We found there were unscrupulous mortgage brokers out
there unlicensed, preying upon people, walking off with tens of thousands of
dollars of cash. This has to end. It has to be controlled. It has to be
regulated.



           So I believe the crisis of 2008 stems from the failure of Federal
regulators to rein in this Wild West mentality of those Wall Street
executives who led those firms and who thought that nothing was out of
bounds. Every quick scheme was worth the time, and worth a try. Congress
cannot ignore this as the root cause of the crisis. It was inherent in the
subprime marketplace, and it has now spread to the prime mortgage
marketplace.



           It is also critical that accurate assessments of the value of
these illiquid mortgage-related assets be performed to limit the taxpayers'
exposure to risk and structure purchases to ensure the greatest possible
return on investment.



           Taxpayer money must be shielded at all costs from risk to the
greatest extent possible.



           Reciprocity is not a bad concept if you can carry it out. The
Government must not simply act as a repository for risky investments that
have gone bad. An economic rescue effort that serves taxpayers well must
allow them to benefit from the potential profits of rescued entities. So a
model -- and it may well be in these new principles -- must be developed to
ensure the taxpayers are not only the first paid back but have an
opportunity to share in future profits through warrants and/or stocks.



           As to executive compensation limits, simply put, Californians are
frosted by the absence of controls on executive compensation. Virtually all
of the 50,000 phone calls and letters mentioned this one way or another.
There must be limits. I am told that the reason the Treasury Secretary does
not want limits on executive compensation is because he believes that an
executive then will not bring his company in to partake in any program that
is set up. Here is my response to that: We can put that executive on his
boat, take that boat out in the ocean, and set it on fire. If that is how he
feels, that is what should happen, or his company doesn't come in. But to
say that the Federal Government is going to be responsible for tens of
millions of dollars of executive salaries, golden parachutes, whether they
are a matter of contract right or not, is not acceptable to the average
person whose taxpayer dollars are used in this bailout. That is just fact.



           The one proposal that was made by one of the Presidential
candidates that I agree with is that there should be a limit of $400,000 on
executive compensation. If they don't like it, too bad, don't participate in
the program. As I have talked with people on Wall Street and otherwise, they
don't believe it is true that an executive, if his pay is tailored down,
will not bring a company in that needs help. I hope that is true. I believe
there should be precise limits set on executive pay.



           Finally, as to tangible benefits for Main Street in the form of
mortgage relief, there have been more than 500,000 foreclosures in my home
State of California so far this year. In the second quarter of this year,
foreclosures were up 300 percent over the second quarter of 2007. More than
800,000 are predicted before this year is over.



           I have a city in California where one out of every 25 homes is in
foreclosure. This is new housing in subdivisions. As you look at it, you
will see garage doors kicked in. You will see houses vandalized. You will
see the grass and grounds dry. You will see the street sprinkled with "For
Sale" signs, and nobody buys because the market has become so depressed.



           This crisis has roots in the subprime housing boom that went
bust, and it would be unconscionable for us to simply bailout Wall Street
while leaving these homeowners to fend for themselves.



           Everything I have been told, and I have talked to people in this
business, here is what they tell me: It is more cost-effective to
renegotiate a subprime loan and keep a family in a house than it is to
foreclose and run the risks of what happens to that home on a depressed
market as credit is drying up, as vandals loot it, as landscaping dries up,
as more homes in the area become foreclosed upon; the way to go is to
renegotiate these mortgages with the exiting homeowner wherever possible. I
feel very strongly that should be the case.



           I don't know what I or any of us will do if we authorize this
kind of expenditure and we find down the pike in my State that the rest of
the year, 800,000 to 1 million Americans are being thrown out of their homes
despite this form of rescue effort. Think of what it means, Mr. President,
in your State. You vote for this, any other Senator votes for it, and these
foreclosures continue to take place and individual families continue to be
thrown out of their homes. It is not a tenable situation.



           I hope, if anybody is listening at all, that in the negotiating
team, they will make a real effort to mandate in some way that subprime
foreclosures be renegotiated, that families, wherever possible, who have an
ability to pay, have that ability to pay met with a renegotiated loan. I
have done this now in cases with families who were taken advantage of. We
called the CEO of the bank, and the bank has seen that the loan was
renegotiated, in one case in Los Angeles down to 2 percent. That is better
than foreclosing and running the uncertainty of the sale of the asset in a
very depressed housing market.



           These are my thoughts. Again, it is easy to come to the floor and
give your thoughts. It is much more difficult to sit at that negotiating
table.



           I once again thank those Senators on both sides of the aisle who
really understand the nature of this crisis -- that it isn't only Wall
Street, that it does involve Main Street, and if there is a serious crash,
it will hurt tens of millions of Americans, many of them in irreparable
ways. So we must do what we must do, and we must do it prudently and
carefully.


           I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of quorum."




Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein
        United States Senator


Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and
the Nation are available at my website http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/ .
You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail
list at
http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ENewsletterSignup.Signup .


What a boatload of crap!

Joe

XL600R