barney frank

Barney Frank thinks that companies are people too:

"No, we're not propping up companies," Frank insists. "That's your mistake. We're propping up individuals. The world doesn't consist of companies. The world are people. The country is people. And yes, it is possible to argue that the government..."

So next time we try to cut corporate taxes to help our competitiveness, don't let him tell you that you are just trying to help companies.

Reports indicate that there is less confidence that the auto indusrty bailout will be passed. Many Republicans and some Democrats question whether the bailout bill will use taxpayer's dollars effectively. The Bloomberg article Democrats Back Off Prediction of Automaker Bailout Approval describes the latest version of the bill.

The Democratic proposal would let the president appoint a so-called car czar to oversee industry restructuring, and give taxpayers stock warrants equal to 20 percent of the loans. It would prohibit the automakers from paying dividends and owning or leasing corporate jets, and pay and bonuses would be limited.

This, however, does not address the inherent problems with these businesses. Preventing the "paying dividends and owning or leasing corporate jets, and pay and bonuses" addresses none of the major problems. A limit on excesses misses the basic fact that these are failed companies, who can't garner loans from anyone other than Congress. The only check or change that this bill implements is 'a car czar'; the powers of which Chairman Barney Frank tried to explain...

‘Head-Knocking’

Frank told reporters today the bill would give the car czar “a great deal of head-knocking ability” with “a lot of the powers that you would get in bankruptcy.”

The official would have the power to veto participating automakers’ plans to invest abroad, Frank said. Lawmakers want to ensure the companies don’t “take American taxpayer dollars and expand in other countries rather than here, or shut down a plant in America while expanding a plant elsewhere,” he said.

Because Bush and President-elect Barack Obama are unlikely to agree on a czar, Obama will likely replace Bush’s pick as soon as he takes office, Frank said. The Bush administration has said the official should come from the Commerce Department.

So this 'car czar' a likely member of the Commerce Department will be apparently appointed by President Bush then replaced by the future President Obama, and he shall be granted 'head knocking abilities'.

Chairman Frank went on to state that the auto industry will likely need to be granted more money in the future, something Speaker Pelosi has also stated. This does not instill confidence that this bailout will be anything but a waste of money.

A few basic questions for lawmakers...

How will this money fix the failed business policies of the auto industry?

How many bailouts and/or how much money will be paid to the automakers total?

What's wrong with bankruptcy?

What are the requirements for being granted a government bailout?

This is still not an rational soution. Ask your representatives not to support this bailout bill, and make them at least answer the basic question, 'how will this money fix the problems that the auto industry faces?'

Contact Your Senator

Contact Your Congressman

Continued Problems with the Automaker Bailout

The racebaiting has turned from tragedy to farce.  Barney Frank...

Rep. Barney Frank said Monday that Republican criticism of Democrats over the nation's housing crisis is a veiled attack on the poor that's racially motivated. [...] "They get to take things out on poor people," Frank said at a mortgage foreclosure symposium in Boston. "Let's be honest: The fact that some of the poor people are black doesn't hurt them either, from their standpoint. This is an effort, I believe, to appeal to a kind of anger in people."

 I hardly know where to begin.

• Yes, "subprime mortgage crisis" is obviously just code for "minorities".
• Yes, it's obviously inappropriate to suggest that extending mortgages to people who can't afford them is somehow responsible for this financial crisis of people unable to afford their mortgages.
• No, it's not at all ridiculous for Rep. Barney Frank to say these things just weeks after he had praised Bernanke's new rules that restricted mortgages that were "inappropriate" for unqualified borrowers.
• No, it's not at all hypocritical for Barney Frank to say it's racist to point out the problems with loans made to poor/underqualified people just weeks after he had said we need regulation that says "Do not lend money to people who can't pay it back."
• No, it's not at all contradictory for Barney Frank to say "They get to take things out on poor people" just weeks after he had said "we have made a mistake in this society" by "push[ing] and encourag[ing] people into home ownership - people who, in some cases, weren't ready for it."

I keep thinking these people are going to get called out on this obvious, laughable crap, but they keep saying it and - with a few noteworthy exceptions that do "fact check their ass" about the mortgage crisis - the media keeps transcribing it. 

Is this the first volley in the October Surprise? 

David Asman of Fox News has put together a scathing, devastating documentary which completely exposes the Democrats' responsibility for destroying our economy including FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and yes - Barack Obama, our favorite community organizer who was single-handedly responsible for ACORN forcing banks to lend to unqualified buyers which has now mushroomed into today's economic disaster. 

It's called Saving Our Economy: What'$ Next?   It airs in about 15 minutes, and will air again tonight. Check the link for local time. 

UPDATE:  These videos were taken down from YouTube.  If you didn't have an opportunity to watch this program in its entirety, you'll be able to to see it this coming Saturday, October 11, at 9 pm EST.

Saving Our Economy: What'$ Next?  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

The bottom line is it may be impossible for 150 Republicans in the House and 40 in the senate to vote "No" on this bizarre bailout bill.

Evidently Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are making clear: No bipartisan cover, no bailout.

As we learned from the 1995 government shutdown, the press can and will blame Republicans for bad consequences, and provide no credit at all for showing any principles. (indeed, a lack of principles is how a Republican tends to get good press).

It's still a miserable deal, since we can be damm sure the Democrats will hang this on any Republican "aye" vote for years, while their people skulk away. and why not--no one on their side took any responsibility for the mess

So, my suggestions is we ask for our own cover.

Some prominent Democrats must demonstrate a level of responsibility for this disaster before Republicans allow themselves to be roped into looking like die hard Dubya loyalists.

The quid: The chairman of the Senate and House Banking Committees---Chris Dodd and Barney Frank--must relinquish their chairmanships as a condition for Republican yes votes on the bailouts.    

And there's a completely nonpartisan reason for demanding this. In 2009 we will have a new President and a new Secretary of the Treasury. The executive branch will have fresh blood who did not create this debacle (perhaps they ignored it, but...whatever) 

The people who are hopelessly compromised by their roles in Congress must step aside as well to demonstrate to America that people on Capitol Hill get the same message 

Everyone---both parties---both branches of government---is going out the door who "managed" the banking system.

For equity's sake, we can have the ranking Republicans on each committee quit too.

America needs a fresh set of folks who will have the responsiblity for getting ourselves out of this mess. It can;t be the same people who created the mess. They now have zero credibility.

And America deserves both parties accepting a share of the blame for what went wrong.

Are the egos of Chris Dodd and Barney Frank more important than our economy's future?

As Spike Lee said, Do the Right Thing