There is no crisis

[whosinpower]

The GOP just recently announce that they have considerable leverage and are using it to derail the bailout package.

Stands to reason - that there is no crisis to begin with. They would use politics ahead of the health of the entire world economy to get their way. I can't help feeling the whole thing has been manufactured at this juncture in time to bankrupt the government and hand over the mess for the dem's to clean up.

Their primary goal is to break government so it is small enough to drown in a toilet after all.

Who will blink now???

[TwilightGardener]

1. They use words like "financial panic" and pretend the sky is falling, and then

they play games when it comes time to solve the actual problem.

[whosinpower]

3. yes, we've seen this game before

The Iraq war - weapons of mass destruction, visions of a mushroom cloud........

CALL THEIR BLUFF and call the whole thing off.

[unblock]

4. "they" are not acting as one, for a change

shrub and the gang are at odds with those in the gop who are hoping to get re-elected.

[whosinpower]

7. I don't believe that

The trap is being set right now to either bankrupt the nation with the 700 billion bailout and blame the democrats for voting for it, or allow the nation to plunge into a depression, and blame the democrats for it, because they would be in power.
These guys are not looking at the elections of 2008 - they are looking to 2012.

[CJCRANE]

2. Yes, conservative Republicans seem to be gaining

a lot of political capital out of this.

[holiday]

5. I have heard "financial Pearl Harbor" several times now

gag

[CJCRANE]

8. ..but the House Republicans

seem to be AGAINST stopping the "financial Pearl Harbor" that Shrub has promised if the bill isn't passed. So either the Bushies are lying and there is no crisis or...

On edit: So the rebellious Republicans obviously don't believe Bush, Paulson, Bernanke etc

[mmonk]

6. Actually there is a problem.

If banks up the lending charges to each other, credit dries up, and there is a huge asset sale, especially in the battered housing market, you will be looking at disaster. There is even the possibilty municipal bonds and such won't get issued and/or credit ratings on them drop. It doesn't mean we have to go along with the Paulson plan though.

[whosinpower]

11. yes, but is it a crisis?

If a person was a true believer in the free market model - then allow the market to correct itself. Solving the problem by infusing more money into the system will not cure the economic trouble. Stronger regulations, refinancing, and growing the economy from the ground up, with more jobs, investing in domestic infrastructure would stabilize the situation.

[mmonk]

13. Whenever you talk about credit drying up, I think it is a crisis.

Do I think we should rush through it just to get a package through? No. Should we start working on it right away? Yes. I would start with a refinance system of some sort of home loans instead of a fire sale which will drive this thing down the tubes. Then there needs to be a redivision of services. Banks need to get out of the stock brokerage business or a new regulatory structure should be put into place.

[anigbrowl]

9. You have no idea what you are atalking about

I've been following this financial meltdown closely for over a year. It is not 'manufactured' by the GOP; to assert that it is suggests that you don't really know what is going on. Anyone with a serious interest in economics could have seen it coming and many in fact did so.

[whosinpower]

16. It certainly was not averted by the GOP

You saw it coming and many others did - and the GOP did what....cut taxes, reduce regulations and ignored key indicators that all was not right in the world.

And a person cannot deny that they are using this as leverage - they said it themselves.

I don't believe the crisis is as bad as they insist - or else they would be more accomodating. I beleive it is a significant problem - but not a crisis. Same as Saddam Hussien was a serious problem - but not worthy of invading a sovereign nation over. This whole thing is smelling like a trap.

[KayLaw]

18. I know.

But they're sure treating it like a game now. Which is it? So bad that McCain and others can attend debates and run campaigns? Or so unimportant the situation can be toyed with? Is it urgent or not?

[abumbyanyothername]

21. I did.

August 14, 2007.

[msallied]

10. If our only other recourse was the Paulson plan, then it shouldn't go through! Fuck them!

The plan for this bailout was beyond fucked up in the first place. If Republicans want to let the ball drop on this and let the chips fall where they may, then it will give the Democrats even MORE political capital. They'll be the ones to say that there was a deal on the table but none of the Republicans wanted to take it. John McCain is in a bigger pickle than anyone right now, because he was pushing for a plan that is being defeated by his OWN party!

[avaistheone1]

12. True, there isn't a crisis. At the Paulsen hearing before the Senate Paulsen balked when asked to

give the U.S. taxpayers an equity stake in the companies we are bailing out. One of the Senators asked Paulsen: - "so these corporations would rather fail than give Americans an equity stake?" Paulsen replied it would be more difficult to sell the solution to the corporations if they had to do so - which tells me they really don't need this money at all.

[LooseWilly]

14. There is no spoon...

well, easy enough for me to say. I live without credit... so I couldn't care less if credit dries up. And I have no 401k, so ... ehh, whatever.

There is no spoon.

[Life Long Dem]

15. Bush is robbing us and the only judge is history.

[depakid]

17. The events of the past 10 days have been unprecedented

any credible observer anywhere in the world will tell you that.

[whosinpower]

23. How convenient

That these events are - 40 odd days before a general election.

[depakid]

24. Every banker and banking system in the world

isn't part of some grand conspiracy to keep Republicans in power.

[cynatnite]

19. I think there is a crisis, but the repukes are milking it for all it's worth n/t

[demo dutch]

20. It reminds me of Iran Contra they're trying to slide the election somehow

[asdf1234]

22. How much could we get if we sell Alaska?

Would that cover the losses?