Lawmakers Reach Tentative Bailout Deal
I don’t have a handle on all the details, but from what little I know at this point, it looks like we are going to get at least some of the protections I had hoped for. There will be warrants in place, ( first dibs for the beleaguered taxpayer ) executive compensation limits, no multi-million dollar golden parachutes and, surprise of surprises, they are going to get a wheel barrow out and haul back the gigantic and totally unearned bonuses that the pirates tried to sail away with!! Yeeesssss!!
~~John Cronin~~
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122257682963083173.html
Top U.S. policy makers emerged from hours of tense negotiations with a clear message just after midnight Sunday morning: A deal to bailout U.S. financial markets has been agreed on and all that remains to be done is to commit the legislation to paper.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.), were flanked by key negotiators in the Capitol as they announced that a $700 billion plan to have Treasury buy up toxic assets had been all but finalized after hours of exhausting negotiations.
“I think we’re there,” an exhausted Mr. Paulson said, a sentiment echoed in the statements of negotiators such as House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) and Senate Banking Committee head Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.).
A House Democratic aide said the government would be able to receive warrants it could hold until maturity from financial firms on assets received either through auctions or through direct purchases.
The summary also said the legislation would institute new executive-compensation requirements for participating companies, including “no multi million dollar golden parachutes,” limits on compensation generally, and the ability to recover “bonuses paid based on promised gains that later turn out to be false or inaccurate.”
September 28th, 2008 at 8:57 am
I do not believe it is possible to go back to the table and negotiate a different agreement, ” he said. Banking Details
September 28th, 2008 at 8:58 am
THANKS, JOHN!!!!!! TV NEWS TODAY MAKING HISTORY! JIM CRAMMER SAYS: THIS WAS WELL DONE! HE IS A FINANCIAL GENIUS AND THOUGHT MITT ROMNEY WAS ONE, AS WELL. I TRUST CRAMMER. I UNDERSTAND WHEN PENCIL TO PAPER IS FINISHED, THIS PLAN WILL BE ON THE INTERNET. LOTS OF WORK FOR YOU, JOHN. I TRUST YOU WILL SHARE YOUR FEELINGS WITH US, BE WATCHING FOR YOUR ASSESSMENT. THANKS FOR ALL THAT YOU FOLKS DO HERE, ONCE AGAIN. WE KNOW EVERYONE WILL NOT BE HAPPY, BUT LET’S PRAY WE GET BACK ON TRACK, GET MAC ELECTED AND HAVE NO NEW TAXES, NO EARMARKS, NO PORK, AND NO NEW SPENDING. TIGHTEN THIS SHIP UP AND SAIL BACK TO THE AMERICA WE ALL AND OTHERS HAVE BEEN SO PROUD OF. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!
September 28th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Thank God for the conservative House Reps.
I also hear that any of the profits recouped by the re-selling of the assets will go towards paying down the federal debt.
September 28th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Presidential Poll update.
Gallup now has Obama up by 8 points!!!
McCain had better come with guns a blazing at the townhall debate.
Here is the article:
Gallup
Poll: McCain slips three more points, now trails by eight
These results, from Sept. 25-27, span the time period since John McCain made the announcement that he was temporarily suspending his campaign and returning to Washington to work for a bipartisan solution to the financial crisis, and since Congressional leaders first announced progress towards the resolution of a financial bailout bill. The results also include one complete day (Saturday) after the first presidential debate on Friday night. McCain had reached a point where he was tied with Obama earlier in the week, but Obama has gained steadily in each of the last three days’ reports.
September 28th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
SED,
The Dems are predictably asking for 20% of any profits to be directed to one of their constituent groups. They are asking for a provision in the bill that would direct money into “affordable housing.” OMG, where have we heard that one before!!
Let’s make ourselves an iron-clad promise right now. Let’s agree to pressure our Congressional delegations to vote down any proposals for “affordable housing.”
Tell them we see through the scam. “Affordable housing” means nothing more than unqualified buyers using the tax money of hard working middle class Americans who PAY THEIR MORTGAGES ON TIME AND PAID “FAIR VALUE” for their homes.
No more subsidies. It leads to corruption and massive losses that the taxpayer ultimately pays for.
September 28th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I absolutely agree John.
We have to hold these people accountable in the polls.
I believe that the kickbacks for ACORN was pulled in the final deal. However, that is not going to stop a liberal congress and white house next year.
John what are your plans after we lose this election? I know many disagree with my assessment of a blow out loss in November. However, I’d like us to be prepared for that eventuality and come up with some plans or thoughts as to what direction we’ll ask the party leaders to take for a come back 2010.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
SED,
As I wrote about in my post “Are We At an Inflection Point?”
The next few months possibly could determine which way we head over the course of the next half century. If the markets eventually melt down ( God forbid )we will, as a nation, have to make a judgment. Did the markets collapse BECAUSE of free markets or because we allowed so much political influence in the markets ( artificially low interest rates, failure to balance the budget, “Community Re-Investment Act”, “Liar” loans, SEC failure to enforce existing regs, committee chairmen bought off by lobbyists, “affordable housing,” ACORN pressure group being caved to, etc,. etc. )…….
If the country decides that markets still work, but it was the craven political class that allowed the pirates to sail the high seas without the interference of old-fashioned regulators and silly old things like laws and risk management, then we have a chance to work our way out of this mess.
Obama may win, but if he does so with the consensus that he is employed by the voters to enforce the law, to prevent fraud in the marketplace, to return to common sense practices in mortgage lending, bank capital requirements, regulatory oversight and above all, a resumption of the market mechanisms that make the U.S.A. the best and brightest hope of the world, then I think we will survive an Obama presidency.
If we decide that markets don’t work, but big government does, we are in for a very rough ride. Take a look at a long term price chart for the Dow Jones Industrial Averages and you will see a very flat chart from 1940-1970. With a surging China, India, S.E. Asia and a re-arming Russia, we can’t afford three decades of no growth.
No matter how the election turns out, IMHO, the events of the last 6 months have clearly proven to even the most trusting souls, that Washington and Wall Street need adult supervision. If the voters don’t provide it, I assure you, as soon as this mess gets out of the headlines for a few years, we will return to the same practices that got us buried in a mountain of debt!
I have decided that all of us together must act as watch dogs over the entire process. We all have other jobs, so we can’t know all the details, but we can follow the general principles that guide the legislation being proposed in Congress. That is the only way, between elections, that we have to influence our law makers and to try to make sure that we never have a repeat of this shameful and completely avoidable situation.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Isn’t odd that after all the mess the government on both sides of the isle have made of things, the American people want Obama who is all about more government control.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Pelosi says the bill has been put on the internet.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Financialservices.house.gov for the bill info,
September 28th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
John,
I think the inflection point happened about a year ago. It is just that not many people were paying attention.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
If Palin tanks this week in her debate, will she be on the ticket come Monday? I think now it’s time to re-think his bold move, and get someone on the ticket who understands the economy, and is more than just a ‘pretty face’.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
It’s funny that you should mention Palin dropping out. I literally just read the third article in 3 days asking for Sarah Palin to drop out of the election. This one suggests that she do so before the debate; this way Romney can go against Biden.
Here’s the link:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/jewschoose2008/item/can_mccain_fix_his_palin_problem_20080927/