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Edited on Sun Sep-28-08 05:19 PM by redstate_democrat
The Democrats didn't have to listen to Paulson or any Republican regarding this bailout. They could have shot it down in midair. They didn't because they understand that not doing something would cause a cataclysmic reaction throughout our economy. They could have, for political purposes, allowed the catastrophe to occur and then run against that. Instead, the Democrats, the moral conscious of this country, showed true leadership and tried to work with this very unpopular president to do something before the house burned down.
Think of it this way: Republicans abused this country for 8 long years. They abused Democrats. They abused the average taxpayer and worker. They abused their positions and responsibilities. Then, as soon as the shit hit the fan, an act that threatened to destroy our very way of life, who did they run to, to fix it? The Democrats. Democrats always have to fix it. The Republicans are sociopaths. They are arsonists. They burn down houses and Democrats have to come along and put out the fire and rebuild. And Democrats get no thanks for it. We are demonized again and again.
It has never been "Country First" with Republicans. They are purely "me first". This is a perfect example. Democrats could have easily made this a campaign issue and let the whole damn thing blowup with massive foreclosures, massive layoffs, skyrocketing unemployment rates, lost pension plans and 401ks, massive business closures, massive bank failures, students would have been kicked out of college for failure to pay and as a result, hundreds of colleges would have had to literally close its doors, world-wide pandemonium. This action would have guaranteed Democratic rule for decades. Yet, they didn't.
If Republicans would have been in the position Democrats are in (unpopular Democratic president, massive failures by Democrats for 8 years, etc.) they would have used this as a campaign issue and let the whole country fall into a deep depression just to win a single election.
This is what would have happened if Congress did not do something:
Within weeks, at least 3 million jobs would have been lost. We would have experienced the highest unemployment rate on record. Millions of people would have lost their 401ks and pension plans. The entire car industry would come to a screeching halt. People would have literally been thrown out on the street under the weight of lack of credit in the market and foreclosures. College students would not have had their student loans for the spring semester. Small business owners would have had to shut their doors because their credit lines would disappear. Retail sales would plummet. Multiple industries would feel the effect of the dominoes collapsing- airline industry, consumer goods, not to mention the bank failures which would have occurred, putting a tremendous strain on the federal government with FDIC, and many insurance companies would not have been able to meet its obligations.
This is the deal. This is what Republicans have done to us. Hopefully, the American people aren't crazy enough to put another out of touch Republican in office.
What led to this?
-Massive deregulation with the belief that the "market" could police and "correct itself".
-Lobbyists who set the agenda in Washington.
-Greed, selfishness, and irresponsibility
-unchecked and reckless speculation in the commodities and financial markets, spurred by deregulation
-An economic philosophy that demands that all of the nation's wealth be concentrated with a few multimillionaires in the top 1%
-Tax cuts for the wealthy in a time of war, while we borrow billions from China and other foreign nations
-a broken health care system that forces people into bankruptcy and constructively taxes people's health, driving down take home pay making it harder for people to keep up with their bills and way of life
-trade policies that shortchange and undercut the average worker, creating an environment that keeps wages and benefits FLAT
-trickle down economic policies that DON'T promote economic growth, but instead merely concentrates economic power in the hands of a few millionaires/billionaires
-a foreign policy that does not keep us more safe, but makes us less safe by damaging our economy at home, our reputation around the world, and requiring that we, the taxpayer, spend upwards of 20 billion a month on wars and occupations around the world in pursuit of ghosts.
-the idea that workers should just be happy to have a job, even if that job is crap with no benefits
-policies that are aimed at diluting the power of the worker to collectively bargain with companies for better wages and benefits
-an educational system that doesn't teach our kids, but sets them up for failure because the schools aren't adequately funded to achieve the demands placed on them
We must fix these things before the system can even pretend to be somewhere in the realm of fair. These principles are what Democrats have been working towards all along. Democrats don't want to spoil the fun or punish the rich, we just think the rich shouldn't be given a free license to do as these please at the expense of the middle class, working poor, and the impoverished.
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