DISQUS

AMERICAblog: Congress approves bail-out, Bush signs it, Krugman says all not well

  • potegavscina · 1 year ago
    Changing of the Minds *(Washington Post)

    According to House records, the following is the list of Representatives who changed their votes to YES on the bailout package. An (R) denotes members of the Republican party.


    Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii
    Rodney Alexander (R), Louisiana
    Joe Baca, California
    J. Gresham Barrett (R), South Carolina
    Shelley Berkley, Nevada
    Judy Biggert (R), Illinois
    Charle Boustany Jr. (R), Louisiana
    Bruce Braley, Iowa
    Vern Buchanan (R), Florida
    Andre Carson, Indiana
    Emmanuel Cleaver, Missouri
    Howard Coble (R), North Carolina
    K. Michael Conaway (R), Texas
    Henry Cuellar, Texas
    Elijah Cummings, Maryland
    Charles W. Dent (R), Pennsylvania
    Donna F. Edwards, Maryland
    Mary Fallin (R), Oklahoma
    Rodney Frelinghuysen (R), New Jersey
    Jim Gerlach (R), Pennsylvania
    Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona
    Al Green, Texas
    Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii
    Pete Hoekstra (R), Michigan
    Jesse L. Jackson Jr., Illinois
    Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
    Carolyn Kilpatrick, Michigan
    Joseph Knollenberg (R), Michigan
    John R. Kuhl Jr. (R), New York
    Barbara Lee, California
    John Lewis, Georgia
    Harry E. Mitchell, Arizona
    Sue Myrick (R), North Carolina
    Solomon Ortiz, Texas
    Bill Pascrell Jr., New Jersey
    Ed Pastor, Arizona
    Jim Ramstad (R), Minnesota
    Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), Florida
    Bobby L. Rush, Illinois
    Adam Schiff, California
    Jean Schmidt (R), Ohio
    David Scott (GA), Georgia
    John Shadegg (R), Arizona
    Hilda Solis, California
    John Sullivan (R), Oklahoma
    Betty Sutton, Ohio
    Lee Terry (R), Nebraska
    Mike Thompson, California
    Mac Thornberry (R), Texas
    Pat Tiberi (R), Ohio
    John Tierney, Massachusetts
    Zach Wamp (R), Tennessee
    Diane E. Watson, California
    Peter Welch (VT), Vermont
    Lynn Woolsey, California
    David Wu, Oregon
    John A Yarmuth, Kentucky

    Jerry Weller (R), Illinois. (Did not vote the first time.)


    -- Michael S. Rosenwald and Sara Goo
  • OlderButWiser · 1 year ago
    In a word, yes.

    Watch the layoffs increase...4 companies in NC are laying off this month and next, including 700 at Hanes. It's going to be a blue, blue xmas, not to mention that Obama will inherit a depression.

    I always felt Bush would bankrupt the country. He set up the Dems to inherit his criminal mess.
  • hawkseye · 1 year ago
    Yes, I predicted that he would take us over the financial cliff in 2003. I wish I had been wrong. Lots of people have been hurt.
  • Webster · 1 year ago
    This is just the new equivalent to the Iraq War only lasting a few days and costing only a few million dollars.

    Fasten your seat belts.
  • nsr · 1 year ago
    So now you're saying it was a bad idea?
  • Wild_Weasel · 1 year ago
    In the beginning there was a massive meltdown of America’s financial system.

    Then came Wall Street’s plea for the federal government to help . . . the same federal government that they once decried and said they wanted to shrink to the size where it could be drowned in a bathtub.

    Then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson--a former Wall Street CEO--came up with a Bailout Plan for his Wall Street buddies.

    But the Bailout Plan was without substance, except for a proposal that asked America’s taxpayers to fork over $700 trillion to Paulson with no strings attached.

    But Paulson’s assumptions were without form. Darkness was upon the face of the career civil service workers at Treasury.

    And the workers at Treasury spoke amongst themselves saying: "It is a crock of shit and it stinketh!"

    And the workers at Treasury went unto their Supervisors and said: "It is a pail of dung and none may abide the odour thereof!"

    And the Supervisors at Treasury went unto their bosses—who were political appointees—and said: "It is a container of excrement and it is very strong, Such that none may abide by it!"

    And the political appointees went unto Treasury Secretary Paulson, saying: "It is a vessel of fertilizer and none may abide its strength!"

    And then Paulson and his inner circle of Treasury staff and Wall Street insiders spoke amongst themselves saying unto one another:

    "It contains that which aids plant growth and it is very strong!"

    And Paulson gave counsel unto the U.S. Congress saying unto them: "It promotes growth and it is very powerful!"

    And the Congress went unto the President of the United States saying unto him:

    "This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of America with powerful effects!"

    And President Bush looked upon the Bailout plan and saw that it was good. And so the Bailout plan became policy.


    And that's how shit happens.
  • hawkseye · 1 year ago
    What's the matter with Krugman. He was for it in a sort of lukewarm way, and now he's against it?
  • maudegonne · 1 year ago
    After Enron's implosion, everyone talked about how important it was to be able to understand how a company makes money. Now raise your hand if you understand how a modern financial services firm makes money. No hands? The truth is, there is no way to understand. These companies are as opaque as Enron. Just as Enron had off balance-sheet vehicles - SIVs - that allowed it to book earnings and hide debt, Citigroup and other financial institutions had structured investment vehicles that did the same. Indeed, Citigroup had to take almost $50bn of SIVs back on to its balance sheet after they ran into trouble. It would be nice if the accounting rule-makers would grasp this basic tenet: if they want to hide it, we want to know about it.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oc...
  • maudegonne · 1 year ago
    Presidents get credit here for the job growth from the month they took office (January for those who were elected) to the month they leave office. The George W. Bush figures will of course change during the remainder of his term, but given the current recession and the probability that next year’s benchmark revision will also be negative, the final figures are likely to be even lower.

    1. Johnson +3.6%
    2. Carter +3.3%
    3. Truman +2.7%
    4. Clinton +2.6%
    5. Reagan +2.3%
    6. Nixon +2.1%
    7. Kennedy +2.0%
    8. Ford +0.9%
    9. Eisenhower +0.5%
    10. George H.W. Bush +0.41%
    11. George W. Bush +0.35%
    http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/one-... ents
  • Andrew · 1 year ago
    If as Congress says this is the best we can do, then here’s something to ponder ladies and gentlemen……

    The bail out is a done deal and the president signed it within 12 minutes. But?!?!
    Looking at market reactions over the last few days ( and I’m just thinking out loud here ) the U.S. Senate negotiated the bill Wednesday evening. Word gets out around the world and the Asian markets nose dive on the news as does Europe and then the DOW bombs 355 points on Thursday.
    The bill hasn’t changed much from the Senate to passage in the Congress. This time the announcement was made before the markets closed and the DOW was up just over 300 points. The news comes out, and bang, we see a 460 point turn around to close down about 160. So, I ask all of you great minds, what do the US and International markets see which would cause them to drop first after the Senate passes this garbage and then the same thing happens after the Congress passes the bill? The opening of the markets in Asia this Sunday evening may give us a clue. Something tells me we’re in for a bumpy ride. Something just smells in the market place and it must be stinking things up pretty bad if the markets are reacting the way they have been for the last few days every time this bill advanced. Something wicked this way comes?