If it's good enough for Baghdad Avenue, Iraq, will Congress consider it for Main Street, U.S.A., too?
ECONOMIC SURGE
Listening to Secretary Paulson and his merry band of socialist millionaire safety-netters, I keep thinking back to the Bush Administration's $Multi-$Billion Ca$h drop on Iraq.
Sitting on the precedent of using a surge of trickle up cash to revitalize a bombed out economy, Congress must consider recklessly dumping cash on Main Street rather than irresponsibly giving it to Wall Street.
How, why and what for after the flip . . .
With an economy freezing, recessing, depressing, deflating, nose-diving & tanking due to conservative Republican economic incompetence, Mister Bush and his administration are seeking approximately $700 Billion to throw at Wall Street bankers to “fix” the economy.
The first, of many, questions Congress must consider is whether an extremely small set of Wall Street Bankers are the most effective recipients of the equivalent of $5,400 per individual or joint U.S. taxpayer? (plus interest!).
Let's just say, if it is good Baghdad Avenue, maybe Congress should be willing to do it for Main Street too?
Mister Bush sent cargo jets of cash to jump start the distressed Iraqi economy. Remember?
We then learned that another dozen or so $Billion were spread like Onan's seed, dispersed throughout Iraq without oversight, accountability or purpose. One more time, folks; THERE WERE F'ING JETS, MILITARY CARGO PLANES, FULLY LOADED WITH PALLETS OF CASH DROPPED ON IRAQ.
We can hardly say, at this point, that dumping cash on Main Street is a novel idea.
ECONOMIC SURGE
After seven years of Republican middle class to millionaire class wealth transfer, I propose a “Strike-All” bill. The amendment, posted below, to Mister Bush's proposed $700 billion giveaway. The alternative proposal sends the money instead to people who, at long last, deserve to receive some of what they've already paid. It at least sends to working people the borrowed money Congress and Mister Bush intend to borrow from them and then squander. It's only fair, yes?
THE AMOUNT
Recall the U.S., in its exuberance to embrace the U.S. war on Iraq, sent pallets of cash to jump-start the Iraqi economy (even though it was clear that our war on Iraq was a disastrous mistake).
So what, it was only money, right?
So why $700Billion to Main Street, U.S.A.? Why the same amount as the proposed Wall Street bailout?
Well, here's the great (sick?) part and really, who can argue with this (I mean seriously, who CAN argue with the logic of this?).
Consider the relevant demographic facts between Iraq and the U.S. in light of the alleged crises. This is all, purportedly, caused by mortgage defaults and the risk of Americans loosing their houses. It's about households:
IRAQ-U.S. COMPARISONS:
Households: U.S. Approximately 105 Million — Iraq Approximately 4 Million.
AMOUNT of MONEY DROPPED PER HOUSEHOLD on IRAQ:** $27,000,000,000.00, ** which works out to approximately $6,750.00 per Iraqi household.
By comparison, $6,750.00 dropped on every U.S. household ($6,750.00 x 105 million households) will cost $708.75 billion, which we'll just call $709 Billion.
$709 Billion? Hmmmm? I've heard a number just like that recently, yes?
I think you see where I'm going with this.
So, if Congress decides to drop the same amount of money, per household, on Main Street, U.S.A. that Mister Bush did on Main Street, Iraq, it would cost the exact same $700 billion they are now talking about dropping on Wall Street, New York.
I wish I were making this up.
Soooooooooo . . . . in the meantime . . . . . What's good enough for Iraq, as they say, is good enough for Main Street. After all, Mister Bush did not spend all that $27Billion in one Baghdad market, he spread it all over a country that he had just bombed into pieces. So why spend $700 billion on just one street, Wall Street, in the U.S. when he has economically bombed our entire country into a recession with conservative economic policies?
Seems the Fed & the Treasury already have the money presses rolling. Now all they need are the cargo planes.
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Addendum:
The original GOP proposal was a complete giveaway with no oversight, no accountablity, it changed banking/accounting regulations to make the system less stable and less transparent and basically added to the problem while ripping off the taxpayers. Our feckless Democratic leaders in Congress Paulson's original proposal, which was not hard to do, went to the drafting board and (sigh) came back with multiple drafts and “compromises” that do basically the same harm in a slightly different form.
No matter how much better a terrible bill Congress ultimately passes, if Congress must give $700 billion away for no meaningfully fair, just and effective purpose, then here is an equally and possibly more reasonable alternative for them to consider. It is far fairer and more likely to help the economy — not that it matters to the people in D.C. who are doing this to us — but for what it's worth.
The Main Street $700 billion pallets of money Strike-All Amendment
STRIKE-ALL Amendment proposed by the “congressional.give.a.crap.coalition” to be inserted in lieu of S___ and H.R.____ relating to The Treasury Authority to Swallow Mortgage Backed Securities Act.
It is hereby proposed that all language contained in of S.___ and all H.R.___, after the bill introduction, be stricken in its entirety. In place of the language now under consideration, the following langue shall be inserted —
Sec. 1. TITLE:
LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TRICKLE-UP AUTHORITY AND FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY TO BOMB MAIN STREET AMERICA WITH CASH AND TO SECURE MIDDLE AMERICA'S DEFAULTING MORTGAGES ON WHICH WALL STREET DECEPTIVELY BET ITS OWN HOUSE (of cards)
Sec. 2. FINDINGS:
WHEREAS: The economy is not “fundamentally sound” as has been repeatedly represented by Mister Bush and Mister McCain. We are in a recession. Hello! America can thank the Republican party and its regressive taxes, its billionaire give-a-ways, its deficits and its inability to run government, or an economy, or a war, or domestic policy, or foreign policy, or to plan for the future, or to understand history or to govern without resorting to extreme corruption and criminality for our current economic crises; and
WHEREAS: Whereas Mister Bush and his deficit-inflating, class-warrioring, fiscal demolition-derby Republican economic policy genius advisors did deliver C-5 cargo jets stuffed with pallets of money into Iraqi warzones; and
WHEREAS: The pallets of money Mister Bush, the Federal Reserve and the Air Force delivered to the streets of Iraq just happened to go into neighborhoods experiencing a distressed and bombed out housing market; and
WHEREAS: Republican-Americans in Congress voted in lock-step with Mister Bush for seven years to loot the treasury, rape the middle class, engage in vicious class warfare and sell our children's future to a lifetime of economic decline; and
WHEREAS: It is the intent of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, the Bush administration and the criminals who have supported seven years of robbing working Americans blind to pull Just.One.Last.BIG-Time.Heist.Before.January.20th before they sneak out of D.C; and
WHEREAS: Tens of thousands of criminally rich Wall Street bankers have, in just 7 short years, paid themselves far in excess of $700 Billion in the form of
extreme bonuses and exorbinate and frequently unearned executive pay, and
extreme compensation for fraudulent activity against stockholders; and
extreme compensation for fraudulent conduct against consumers; and
extreme compensation for fraudulent conduct against the IRS; and
extreme compensation for violating fiduciary duties to their own banking institutions; and
these same bankers retain billions of dollars of wealth and shall remain wealthy beyond Main Street's imagination regardless of whether they receive a $Trillion advance to cover their bad bets to be paid from our children's future toil and regressive payroll taxes; and
WHEREAS: Trickle Down economic theory has a proven track record of failure. It is a guaranteed approach for transferring wealth generated by the hard work, sacrifice and toil of working Americans straight to the gated communities of monopolized wealth. Republican “Trickle Down” economics is class warfare intended to transfer resources from working Americans to an insulated handful of billionaires, multi-millionaires and to government favored & subsidized corporations, all of whom are legally shielded from the burden of supporting the United State's fiscal and infrastructure commitments; and
WHEREAS: Every DNA fiber of the Wall Street bailout is another example of Republican and Bush Administration regressive fiscal class violence and Democratic capitulation —
BE IT NOW THEREFORE ENACTED by Congress to address the current economic crises caused by Wall Street gambling, Republican deregulation and corruption and unmasked predatory behavior against the dignity of working Americans that:
Section 3. Short Title.
This Act may be cited as “We Did it to Iraq So Let's Do It to Main Street Money Bomb Act of 2008.”
Sec. 4. Appropriations:
(a) Authority to $pend$.–The Secretary is authorized to summon the Air Force and load cargo jets to the gills with pallets of money. The Secretary shall make sound and reasonable payments up to $6,750.00 to middle America with NO terms and conditions determined by the Secretary.
(b) Necessary Actions.–The Secretary is authorized to take the following actions, as the Secretary deems necessary, to carry out the expeditious delivery of unaccounted for cash, up to $700 billion, to Main St., U.S.A.:
(1) ordering pallets;
(2) commandeering jets;
(3) stacking the pallets full of money;
(4) Attaching parachutes to pallets of money;
(5) Commandeering pizza delivery cars/trucks and their drivers to quickly and accurately make sure Middle America receives the case as soon as they ask for it;
(6) paying money to “Any American” including taxpayers, homeowners, working Americans and anyone generating economic activity in the United States as designated by this Act; and
(7) issuing regulations and guidance as necessary or appropriate to carry out the delivery of cash to Main Street, U.S.A. as authorized under the authority of this Act.
Sec. 4. Designated Recipients of Pallets of Cash.
In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall pay money, up to $6750.00 to Any American. For purposes of this Act, “Any American” shall person with an adjusted gross income of $75,000.00 or less who lives in a household anywhere in the United States, other than on Wall Street, who is threatened by conservative economic policies and who —
(1) Works, has worked, will work, has a home, wants a home or has lost a home to the vagaries of the Republican economy; and
(2) Faces or fears the possibility of foreclosure; and
(3) For purposes of this Act “any American” shall also include a family with an adjusted gross income of $125,000.00 per annum or less or a married/civil-unioned couple (even if their state refuses to recognize their marriage) and who together have an adjusted gross income of $100,000.00 or less; and
(4) For purposes of this Act, “any American” also means any sick, disabled, veteran or family facing foreclosure due to Republican economic, social, tax, war or health care policy, and who has already received the maximum benefit, may petition for another benefit.
Sec. 5. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are reviewable by a coupla' hard, pipe-hittin' **economists** who'll go to work on the trickle-down Republicans with a pair of pliers and a blow torch and get medieval on his ass” if the Secretary doesn't show Main Street the money the way the Bush administration has shown the money to American's monopolized wealth class.
Sec. 6. Definitions.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Secretary.–The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.
(2) United States.–The term “United States” means the everywhere in the U.S. except Wall Street.
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** $27 Billion – This figure is a rounded number taken from a 2008 adjusted value of the money airlifted into the war zone and the dozen or so $Billions that just disappeared after being trucked into the desert and poured into all sorts of alleged projects and random money dumps throughout Iraq.
[NOTE: This post was revised from the earlier version]
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