03 October 2008

This is a sham.

(Originally posted 9/23/08.)
This bail out is a sham folks.  The boy who cried wolf is telling us the sky is falling.  Maybe the sky is falling but 700 billion to re-build the sky over Wall street in the hopes that people who should not have taken or given the loans that got us in this mess will have confidence to take more loans is a joke.   This is empowering fools to gamble on our dollar in hopes of covering their bad gambling debt.  They want to tell us that it is about saving homes from foreclosure.  700 billion would pay for a lot of homes.  Paid in full.  
I'm no expert but I've been right about every hunch I've had about these goons since 2000.  If you think the whole thing is confusing you are not alone.  I've watched enough of the hearings to realize no one understands this thing.  The legislators are asking the same questions I have.  If Bush's bogeyman speech has you scared then call your lenders.  Ask them.  Is my mortgage safe?  Are my loans safe?  The FDIC is still in business folks.  If you have not been gambling on Wall street or investment banking then you may just be A-Okay.  If you have been gambling on Wall street or Investment banking then yeah, you might have some risk but hey, you knew it was gambling right?  
This bail out will not prevent a crash.  This bail out only helps the rich goons pad their pockets before the money is gone and we the taxpayers get left holding the bill.  We the taxpayers owe Wall street nothing.  We owe the stockholders nothing.  It is gambling.  It has always been a gamble.  We do not owe it insurance or protection or a bail out.  Our government backs up home loans and commercial loans.  If we need a new bill to help out legitimate mortgage lenders and homeowners then they should get to work on that bill.  Not one penny for investment banking.  Not one penny for Wall street.  Not one penny for gamblers.  The bluff has been called.  
We are not on the brink of a crisis.  We are on the brink of a golden opportunity to free ourselves from the whims of the greedy rich who have asked us to mortgage our future so that they may live like gods.  Shore up legitimate mortgage banking and help pay off the home loans.   Not one penny for investment banking.  Not one penny for Wall street.  Not one penny for gamblers.
Let it crash.  Let it burn. 

I've emailed my senators and representatives.  You might consider taking a moment to share your own thought with yours.  It's pretty easy.  These links should help you find them.  Senate.  House.    

Your best pal ever,
Shannon Smith

UPDATE 10/3/08

6 comments:

Paul F. McDonald said...

Very well said. And naturally, the visual was picture perfect.

Let it burn, indeed.

I'll bring the marshmellows.

Shano said...

This week is even funnier than last week. (Not funny hah hah but funny enraging.) How do you cover up a sham? With a bigger sham. The House Republicans want us to think they are champions of the common man trying to save our $700 billion when all they really want to do is tag on tax reductions for the rich and eliminate regulations that might have helped prevent this "crisis". This is not a baliout. This is one last big grab before the rats jump off the ship. A pox on all their houses!

Adam said...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it critically important for the state of the whole economy for both Wall Street and the major banks to stay afloat?

This really seems like something that affects everything. If these major institutions fail, then loans are significantly reduced. If businesses can't get loans, then many of them can't hire new people. People can't get jobs, or for that matter, loans either, and everything spirals.

Yes - the banks acted irresponsibly. But I don't see any reason why so many of us should sink with them.

Shano said...

Well. Yes. If you want to maintain a status quo where the insanely rich and insanely greedy maintain control of the wealth of this nation then yes, it is critical for wall street and investment banks to be bailed out. Folks like me that are not rich and don't gamble are already backed by the FDIC. I don't want to pay for the greedy gamblers. I also don't plan on sinking. I'm already swimming in the poor folks pool. I'm an excellent swimmer.

Like I've said, if you are afraid of sinking call your bank. Ask if your money is backed. Ask your employer if payroll is safe or if they are taking loans to make payroll. Ask questions before you panic and you will officially be smarter than most of the people involved in this "crisis". (You have a good blog going there by the way. Thanks for visiting mine.)

Adam said...

Thank you for the compliment! I've liked reading your blog as well. I just found out about it on Occasional Superheroine. She mentioned the mini-comics you created - have you put them up online? I'm interested in reading them.

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As for the political issue, I think you may have misunderstood my point about how this crisis can affect the whole country. It's not just a matter of the money CURRENTLY in the banks.

And sure, you and I may have stable jobs at the moment, but that doesn't mean that the creation of new jobs will be considerably impended by the crippling of Wall Street.

Sure, in terms of the direct impact, it mostly hurts the big fatcats at Wall Street. We'd all love to see them fall on their faces. Maybe even grovel a little bit.

But that doesn't mean the indirect impact can't hurt millions and really stagnate the economy. Loans allow people to buy houses. Loans allow small businesses to start and develop, which in turn hire people and create new jobs.

I confess that I'm not an economics geek. I don't follow the Financial Times and I don't read The Economist. So I could be completely wrong about the particulars in my argument, in which case, point out where I'm wrong and I'll happily concede as well as educate myself in the process.

But in the meantime, the bailout doesn't seem like a bad idea. Hell, both Obama and McCain agree about the bailout. And both of them are even agreeing with Bush on this. Obviously name credibility doens't win an argument, but people like Obama, and ESPECIALLY Joe Biden (who was ranked as one of the 5 poorest senators in the country), don't sway easily to corporate interest.

Shano said...

I just don't believe in trickle down economics. The bailout won't even fix the problem. The bailout will just help to maintain the illusion that it is okay to buy what you don't have the money for. Fixing the problem would be to help those that actually need the money. This is feeding the fat royalty at the table in the hopes that their scraps fall off and feed the starving servants. I'd rather just feed the servants. This is the way it has always been. I'm ready for a change.
But hey. I'm a) crazy and b) poor enough to not have much to lose. If you hit the STORE link on the right you can see some stuff I have for sale. If you hit the WEB COMIX link you can see some older random comics. SMALL BIBLE is there as a webcomic but Brush and Pen is not.