way to go.

Yesterday, the Bush administration and congressional leaders "said they had struck an accord," agreeing to spend "up to $700 billion to relieve Wall Street of troubled assets backed by faltering home mortgages." The bailout legislation, titled the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, was discussed by both congressional chambers throughout the weekend, and is expected to come to the House floor for a vote today. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that the Senate will vote on the bill by Oct. 1. The final legislation, which President Bush praised as a "very good bill," is necessary to prevent a wider financial meltdown that would cause more job losses. Also, the bill charges the Treasury Department with attempting "to prevent avoidable foreclosures." That said, the legislation still falls short, and does not give adequate coverage to taxpayers and homeowners struggling to stay in their homes.

haven't been around lately.

the bailout is a mess. my bank wachovia just went under. after they called me two weeks ago telling me all was well.

friggen wachovia.

my god.

take the money and run.

good job

http://onthehillblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/left-right-continue-assault-on-bailout.html

DAVID SIROTA Top 5 Reasons to Vote Against Wall Street's $700 Billion Bailout

There's news of a congressional deal to bailout Wall Street fat cats with $700 billion of taxpayer cash. Though it is better than what Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson originally proposed, it remains an insulting atrocity, having omitted even basic aid to homeowners, bankruptcy reforms and any modicum of future financial industry regulation. Now, The New York Times reports that the Democratic leadership may not have the votes to pass this bailout. So without further ado, here are the top 5 reasons should vote against this bailout deal.

House defeats $700 bailout plan

The House has defeated the $700 billion bailout legislation for the financial industry.  Read More

I do not know how this blog works--where is the "main thread" ?  In terms of bail out, wow, I want to discuss--where is everyone. been a long time since I was around so i am confussed.

You guys did a great job. Keep it up!!

HOUSE VOTE: The Uprising Comes to Wall Street and Washington

 

BY David Sirota

I'm scheduled to appear on CNN at 3:30pm EST to discuss the House's  extraordinary vote just moments ago to reject the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. What I'm going to say is pretty simple: the Left-Right make up of the "no" vote in Congress proves that Washington is facing a full on transpartisan revolt - the very revolt that I predicted in my book, The Uprising. No longer is this a populist revolt merely scaring Wall Street and Washington - this is a populist revolt that has, to quote Markos, crashed the gate, and it represents a real victory for the progressive movement and voices who said Hell No. For once - and hopefully not for only a fleeting moment - democracy made an appearance in the halls of power.

So you all won a moral 'victory.'  Great.  But, what next?  Are you going to demand to turn back the evils of this administration all in one bill?  

The immediate crisis is the freeze in credit.  In several days, you will start to see Main Street fail as businesses' lines of credit fail, they miss payroll, and cannot pay for shipments or loans.  

As unpaid workers are squeezed, consumer spending will contract, further damaging Main Street.  If bickering over ideology extends into weeks, layoffs will begin to occur.  Just as we run up to the holiday buying season, consumer spending will contract further as people hunker down.  

The longer the freeze in credit lasts, the more banks will fail, and the farther the stock market will fall. Depositors and investors will cut back spending as they watch their life savings disappear before their eyes.

This is what an economic depression looks like, and it is happening right now, right before your eyes.  There is no time to waste.

Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, voted against the $700 billion bailout bill before he voted for it.

Radanovich's mid-stream switch was not enough to change the outcome of the closely watched vote, which more than one House member called "historic" today. Radanovich's flip, though, did suggest the kind of roiling political cross-currents that left the San Joaquin Valley congressional delegation sharply divided.

"This is a bill that no one wanted to vote for," Radanovich said afterward. "I would have loved to vote against it, but in the end we couldn't afford not to do something."

[...]

Radanovich's switch occurred during a tumultuous period on the House floor, after the standard 17-minute voting period had expired and congressional leaders from both sides were furiously trying to find last-minute converts. Several GOP members, who were opposed to the bill, described the one-on-one lobbying as extraordinarily intense.

Today, the Obama-Biden campaign released a new two minute TV ad, Same Path, which includes Senator Obama telling America he knows we can steer ourselves out of this crisis, but not by driving down the very same path and how that’s what this election’s all about.

In the ad, Obama details how his plan to jump-start our economy, create millions of jobs, and bring back our Main Streets all across America differs with John McCain’s plan to continue the same failed policies. Obama specifically lays out how his tax plan which offers three times as much tax relief to the middle class and cuts taxes for small and startup businesses differs from McCain’s which will continue giving hundreds of billions in new tax breaks to big corporations and oil companies and extends the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest.

History was made yesterday. The American people demanded an economic bailout strategy that helped Main Street as well as Wall Street. When congressional leaders came up short, fierce public pressure forced the House to vote "No."

But, with the financial crisis deepening, saying "no" is not enough. It’s time to act.

Tremendous pressure is already mounting from the White House and Wall Street to exploit people's anxiety, dress up the same weak bill and ram it through this week! Congress needs to hear from you NOW, to resist this pressure and take a stand to rebuild Main Street and reign in Wall Street.

Tell Congress: Resist Wall Street. Stand up for Main Street. Deliver a new "New Deal."

The defeated bailout package promised more failed trickle-down logic -- bailout the financiers at the top and prosperity would trickle-down. To get the economy back on track, we need a new "New Deal" that rebuilds the economy from the bottom up.

Invest In Main Street: On Main Street, jobs are disappearing, infrastructure is crumbling and local budgets are straining. A $200 billion economic rescue package for Main Street would generate clean American energy, extend unemployment benefits, aid states and localities to avoid debilitating cuts and modernize our crumbling infrastructure.

Save The Homeowners: Defaulting mortgages are at the heart of the crisis. Keeping deserving people in their homes is critical to shore up Main Street and Wall Street. The bankruptcy courts need to have the power to renegotiate mortgages and reduce foreclosures.

Hold Wall Street Accountable: Instead of simply propping up reckless firms, we should establish a Reconstruction Finance Corporation that can take over financial firms, sort out the solvent from the insolvent, close down some and merge others. We also need modern regulation that cracks down on the abuse. And taxpayers deserve preferred shares in any bank or investment house that we are forced to rescue.
This sort of new "New Deal" economic rescue plan puts Main St. first. It's what Congress should have done from the start. Tell Congress now: Resist Wall Street. Stand up for Main Street. Deliver a new "New Deal."

Make no mistake, the financial crisis is serious and severe. Big problems require bold solutions. And problems caused by conservative policies need progressive answers.

Conservatives are regrouping now. They'll try to put progressives on their heels, and pander to Wall Street with more deregulation and top end tax cuts -- the same conservative policies that derailed the economy and ravaged the markets in the first place.

You beat back Wall Street once, but their pressure will not let up. Congress needs to hear your voice again NOW to build on this stunning victory. Your voice already stopped a bad bill, now it can pass a good one.

Tell Congress: Resist Wall Street. Stand up for Main Street. Deliver a new "New Deal."

Sincerely,

Robert L. Borosage, Co-Director
Campaign for America’s Future

by AGIT-POP