Obama on the failure of the Financial bill

[Fallakin Kuvari]

"To the Democrats and Republicans who opposed this plan yesterday, I say: Step up to the plate and do what's right for this country," he said. "And to all Americans, I say this: If I am president of the United States, this rescue plan will not be the end of what we do to strengthen this economy. It will only be the beginning."

Scary quote, imo.

[Harlowe]

Sure if you live in partisan imaginationland.

Where did you even get that, so we can see his entire message?

[Fallakin Kuvari]

Sure, lets just hand more power to the federal government... better yet lets get the american taxpayers to pay for the takeover... sounds like an awesome idea for everyone involved...

Harlowe: http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/30 ... an-crisis/

[Harlowe]

Yaaaah, that's exactly what is in the bill. You aren't really following this at all, you sound like someone just listening to news bites and talk radio.

Anyway here is the full article to put the quote into perspective. BTW both McCain & Obama are supporting a bill. Maybe you can look into Barr. I can't for the life of me figure out why wanting to do more than just bail out failing companies to shore up the economy is a scary thing. You'd have to read a world of fantasy into that remark.

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday called for Americans to get behind attempts to salvage a $700 billion rescue plan for the financial sector, saying that if Wall Street fails ordinary people will also be hurt.

"This is no longer just a Wall Street crisis. It's an American crisis, and it's the American economy that needs this rescue plan," Obama told about 12,000 people at a rally at the University of Nevada at Reno.

Obama said Congress should put aside politics _ he didn't mention GOP rival John McCain by name during his remarks _ and should act on the legislation quickly.

"To the Democrats and Republicans who opposed this plan yesterday, I say: Step up to the plate and do what's right for this country," he said. "And to all Americans, I say this: If I am president of the United States, this rescue plan will not be the end of what we do to strengthen this economy. It will only be the beginning."

The House on Monday balked at approving the Bush administration's $700 billion proposal, its 228-205 vote sparking the largest sell-off on Wall Street since the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Obama, McCain and President Bush all indicated support for the plan, but the legislation was highly unpopular with the public, as well as ideological groups on the left and the right.

Obama called for bipartisanship in a time of financial crisis.

"While there is plenty of blame to go around and many in Washington and on Wall Street who deserve it, all of us now have a responsibility to solve this crisis because it affects the financial well-being of every single American," he said. "There will be time to punish those who set this fire, but now is the moment for us to come together and put the fire out."

Obama said he had talked with Bush, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other leaders Tuesday about resurrecting the recovery plan. He also sought to reassure the public, saying the plan had been "misunderstood and poorly communicated."

"This is not a plan to just hand over $700 billion of your money to a few banks on Wall Street," the Illinois senator said.

Without a rescue for the financial sector, ordinary people will soon begin to suffer, Obama said.

"If we do not act, it will be harder for you to get a mortgage for your home or the loans you need to go to college or a loan you need to buy a car to get to work," Obama said.

"What it means is that businesses won't be able to get the loans they need to open new factories, or hire more workers, or make payroll for the workers they have. What it means is that thousands of businesses could close around the country. Millions of jobs could be lost," he said.

Obama and McCain announced separately their backing for a plan that some House Republicans had pushed earlier: raising the federal deposit insurance limit from $100,000 to $250,000. The aim would be to reassure nervous Americans and to shore up the economy while helping small businesses.

[Harlowe]

Politicians, bloggers, and pundits celebrating the bill’s failure don’t seem to get just how much trouble we’re still in.

http://www.stephenbainbridge.com/index. ... s_failure/

Also from Bainbridge:

Too big to fail is bad public policy. But I’m persuaded that the very real prospect of too many to fail presents an entirely different question. We are faced with a situation in which a systemic credit freeze will take down not just one or two banks, but many, including not just Wall Street but also local and regional banks. In turn, as more banks fail, it will become increasingly difficult for non-financial businesses to borrow. The ripple effect could be disastrous.

[Lurker]

Wow. That's one scary quote! What does he mean it's just the beginning?

(brace yourself for elipses generated drama)

What.... could..... he..... mean?!?!?

Here's Obama's full prepared remarks if you want to find out. And the part in question...

To the Democrats and Republicans who opposed this plan yesterday, I say – step up to the plate and do what’s right for this country. And to all Americans, I say this – if I am President of the United States, this rescue plan will not be the end of what we do to strengthen this economy – it will only be the beginning.

People have asked whether the size of this plan, together with the weakening economy, means that the next President will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals. The answer is both yes and no. With less money flowing into the Treasury, it is likely that some useful programs or policies that I’ve proposed on the campaign trail may need to be delayed. And I’ve said that as President, I will go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less.

But there are certain investments in our future that we cannot delay precisely because our economy is in turmoil. You can always put off giving your house a new paint job or renovating your kitchen, but when your roof is crumbling or your heater goes, you realize that these are long-term investments you need to make right away.

The same is true of our economy. We cannot wait to help Americans keep up with rising costs and shrinking paychecks by giving our workers a middle-class tax cut. We cannot wait to relieve the burden of crushing health care costs on families, businesses, and our entire economy. We cannot wait to create millions of new jobs by rebuilding our roads and our bridges and investing in the renewable sources of energy that will stop us from sending $700 billion a year to tyrants and dictators for their oil. And we cannot wait to educate the next generation of Americans with the skills and knowledge they need to compete with any workers, anywhere in the world. Those are the priorities we cannot delay.

[Harlowe]

Again from Bainbridge (because I've been quoting a few things from his site - in case you aren't familiar with this conservative blogger, he's a professor at UCLA and prolific scholar - with a strong emphasis on the law and economics of public corporations)

In sum, there are some principles worth fighting and dying for. But the “freedom to fail” damn sure isn’t one of them. I’m as much a limited government guy as the next fellow, but let’s not pretend that we live in some libertarian utopia in which the state has no role in the market. As Edmund Burke once observed, albeit in a radically different context, there is “a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.” At that limit, the state properly steps in. When the risk of the entire economy going down the tubes is as high as it is at the moment, preservation of ordered liberty requires state intervention.

I thought this was an interesting idea, think it would help?
http://burketokirk.blogspot.com/2008/09 ... -plan.html

[Harlowe]

I don't recall if someone linked this already...

From UK - Western world will become significantly less wealthy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... althy.html