Excellent!

Mainstreet!!!

Scrap it. Now we are talking.

We should save our pennies for when the real crisis hits. When millions of people are jobless and homeless.

It’s got my support. Clean and simple.

3) Take it to a vote, let the Republicans kill it or veto it

Yep! Force the Rs to own their votes against the American middle-class. Let the Rs show once again that the only thing they can do is play WATB.

Sorry, I tried to DIGG but got a fatal error msg … I will leave the digging to the pros.

You’d get my vote, Ian. Too bad about that Canadian snafu. If McCain was spawned in the Panama Canal and is still eligible… just sayin’.

Much too simple and eaqsy to understand. You are right of course!

Shareholders and bondholders must be wiped out or this will happen again.

I think part of the solution needs to be increased transparency. No one knows where the toxic stuff is. Without changing that, the fundamental problem is one of trust. No bank knows who to trust and thus who to lend to.

Lay it all out on the table and let the chips fall. LIBOR is way up today with banks hoarding the liquidity that they were given by the FED and others.

http://calculatedrisk.blogspot…..f-688.html

This proves that the bailout is ill-advised. Paulson’s plan does nothing to change the fact that no one knows who is solvent and who isn’t. Who knows, maybe time is the only thing that can change that.

Your Digg went through, looks ok from here.

There is something to be said for making Bush veto a bill he’s spent the past few days begging to be given to sign.

“2) Start from scratch and write a good bill that is a main street bailout”

OK, what’s the 3 page legislative outline?

Let’s take that to congress.

The Dems should scrap the Paulson trick bill, based on Paulson’s conference call.

It worked. I was able to be the third one on your Digg on the button at the top of the post.

Ian: Can we please add restoration of significant oversight? I really think that has to be part of the package. Now is the best time to get that through in a bit of reverse shock doctrine.

Hey Ian have you seen this link and video
http://www.fedupusa.com/

per daily kos diary, progressive caucus will introduce their package at 3pm

This could get us a Veto proof majority!

At this point I think the Democrats have no choice but to pass a progressive rescue package that benefits the homeowners.

Let Wall St impose a transaction fee on every stock transaction and bail themselves out.

Ian,

Wow you have such a grasp of fantasy.

How many years have you been drafting legislation?

Better yet have you ever had to meet a payroll, second time I’ve asked that question.

Sorry, but generational means shifting from Pelosi to Hoyer to Emanuel, a gang of status quo. Where is a progressive anywhere near the top to pull a coup against these entrenched DINO’s? Sure having weak kneed DINO’s is marginally better than Rethugs, but not by much.

Two steps to ensure people’s control of the media: put paint on cardboard, put cardboard by freeway.:

http://freewayblogger.blogspot…..ounty.html

Repeat.

Someone should live blog that progressive caucus package introduction…

Unfortunately, the powers that be don’t want to scrap the bill, including Obama:”“Given the progress we have made, I believe we are unlikely to succeed if we start from scratch or reopen negotiations about the core elements of the agreement,” Obama said. “But in order to pass this plan, we must do more.”

So I wrote and faxed this in today(though John Kerry’s fax machine doesn’t seem to want to take my fax):
Dear Senators and Representatives;

I am writing this to you -as well as the Senators and Representative for
whom I am a constituent(Senators Boxer and Feinstein, Representative
Susan Davis-who I am very disappointed in for voting ‘yea’ when an
overwhelming majority of her constiuents indicated via her poll that they
were against the legislation-) to indicate that:
Senator Obama’s statement “Given the progress we have made, I believe
we are unlikely to succeed if we start from scratch or reopen negotiations
about the core elements of the agreement,” Obama said. “But in order to
pass this plan, we must do more.” is complete bovine excrement. All the
current legislation does is ‘push down the road’ the real actions that need to be taken.

Yes, something must be done BUT when the bill includes gifts to Wall Street such as this section: “(e) PREVENTING UNJUST ENRICHMENT.—This
subsection does not apply to troubled assets acquired in a merger or
acquisition, or a purchase of assets from a financial institution in
conservatorship or receivership, or that has initiated bankruptcy
proceedings under title 11, United States Code.” , which exempts
JPMorgan, BofA, Citi, Goldman, and Barclay’s from ‘unjust enrichment’,
then it DOES NOT do what is being sold to the public.

Mickey Edwards, Princeton lecturer and former Republican congressman,
has the perspective that SHOULD be carried out:
The most common question in the aftermath of the House’s failure to pass a
Wall Street bailout bill has been how to persuade the oafs in the house to
see their duty and pass the legislation their leaders and the White House
have so expertly crafted. BUT IT’S THE WRONG QUESTION. The
Congress was ABSOLUTELY RIGHT not to be stampeded into passing
legislation that would not only strain the nation’s economic health but
fundamentally change the government’s role in the private marketplace. The
focus should not be on persuading the public — and the Congress — to
accept this plan, but to recognize that it’s a BAD plan and come up with
something different, with much more oversight and control over the
treasury’s decisions (and not just by the executive branch); with more
emphasis on loans; with more effort to encourage private acquisitions; with a greater public ownership share in exchange for cash infusion; with more control over management and compensation (they’re not private enterprises if they’re operating with taxpayer funds), etc.

Quoting Charles W. Calomiris, Professor of Financial Institutions,
Columbia:”It may sound strange, but the answer is that it is high time to
hear a day of independent testimony from experts on the management of
financial crises. This could lead quickly to a far better outcome for the
financial system and the economy, by setting the stage for a better plan to address the financial crisis.
The right approach to dealing with the crisis, which the vast majority of
economists who have studied such matters have supported, is government
preferred stock investments (essentially, a type of loan) into financial firms.
This would protect taxpayers by making sure that banks retain the first tier of any losses associated with their investments, while helping the whole financial system by injecting capital and cash to support new lending and to protect banks against liquidity problems. This approach, which was used with great effect in the US in the 1930s and by Finland in the 1990s, was rejected without a hearing by Congress. Not only would it provide the capital and liquidity necessary to end the panic and avoid a severe credit crunch, it would avoid the need for complex interventions into the financial sector — such as limits on executive pay, stock warrant transfers to taxpayers, and ex post assessments on financial firms to pay for losses — all of which were reactions to the huge risks resulting from asset purchases. And it would avoid the pricing of asset purchases at ill-defined prices (and the lack of accountability such a plan would entail).

We are NOT dummies out here in voter land and ARE sick and tired of a
Congress that acts like governance is a ‘father/mother knows best’ mode of
operation.

Sincerely,
XXXXX XXXX
To:
Senator Feinstein
Senator Boxer
Representative Susan Davis
Senator Obama
House Speaker Pelosi
Senate Majority Leader Reid
Senator Dodd
Senator Sherrod Brown
Representative Hensarling
Representative Issa
Senator Sanders
Representative Franks
Representative Waters
Senator Schumer
Senator Kerry

The intent of copying the ‘conservatives’ was to have them hold firm against the current legislation.

I feel like I’m pissing in the wind when the Dem leadership is so unwilling to put forth an alternative plan but given global warming, it is somewhat cooling.

~~~ModNote: Edited for content to hide personal identity.~~~

Thank you for the heads up, Ambassador Egy!

How CAN we get this in front of the Democratic Leadership (Or, even better, someone who will DO something with it?)

amen ian, now your talking!

your’re your

i can’t spell or type. but i know a good plan when i see one. this is one good plan.

More worthwhile reading about why we need to keep calling/faxing/emailing Congress to try and change this legislation:
Another case of collusion?
http://www.marketwatch.com/new…..aspx?guid={3879C1C1-54F4-4317-B885-CBC6C819F983}

http://www.rgemonitor.com/roub…..gh_as_ever

http://www.investorsinsight.co…..waste.aspx
“There is one practical problem that will plague the Paulson Plan and any plan that involves the government purchasing distressed assets from financial institutions. These assets are NOT(!!!) accurately valued on the books of financial institutions.5 Accordingly, these institutions are not in a position to sell them to the government at current fair market value.”
“The mentality that led two of our best and brightest public officials to attempt to defend the kind of avaricious conduct that played a central role in the current crisis is something that must be changed if we are to avoid future market crises.”

Excellent Ian — that’s what I have been thinking for the past two days! It’s time to take care of the people on Main Street — and they will love th Dems for doing that.

Marcy Kaptur for President !!

Why not get 12 more Democrats to vote for it? 97 voted no.

I do think shrub will veto it. If, after all this, he does, and the economy seriously goes south, its all over, for him, for his anointed successor and probably for his party. He’d probably have to go to Paraguay. Nah, he’d do much better to sign it and then try to get McInsane to blame any adverse consequences of public flack on us Dems. If he vetos the measure on ideological grounds after saying that it was this important to get it done, it’ll be a game-ender for rethugs anywhere.

We should jst write the bill we want and pass it… and make it clear that if it gets vetoed, we will play it until heck freezes over, and the rethugs might reemerge as a political force in, oh, about a century or so.

“We should jst write the bill we want and pass it… and make it clear that if it gets vetoed, we will play it until heck freezes over, and the rethugs might reemerge as a political force in, oh, about a century or so”.

Great plan….do it, that’s one of the advantages of controlling the house.

THat last part would make it all worthwhile.

Darn, I cannot get the press conference up.

Anyone else having luck?

Special Book Salon upstairs with looseheadprop “Count My Vote”

Of course he will veto it. He will not do anything that paints Dems in a good light, no matter the effect on the country. He is a lame duck, his legacy has been written. From here on out, his goal is to enrich himself and his friends.

That said, the Dems should absolutely submit a great bill that would actually help people. Make the Republicans in Congress and McCain own the coming collapse.

no one is expecting them to act out of the goodness of their hearts. that’s why ian didn’t write his post’s title about saving the economy, or people’s homes – he wrote it to show the nitwits we have “leading” our party that doing the right thing is in their interest.

that a case that can be made, and it’s up to us to make it.

REmember, folks – we’ve got the actually WIN the election…and to do that, we need to make sure that everyone that wants to vote is registered, goes to the correct polling place AND that their vote gets counted corrected. THAT is the biggest nut in this election.

South America’s take on this:
“Lula blames rich nations for crisis”
http://english.aljazeera.net/n…..18621.html

nope not yet

GOP Computer Expert Spoonamore Predicts The 2008 Election Will Be Stolen

VR conducted an explosive new interview with GOP cyber security expert Stephen Spoonamore last week in which he predicted that the 2008 presidential electi on will be stolen in favor of McCain/Palin with a win at 51.2 percent, unless the people involved are exposed and brought to justice. He also states that the optical scan voting systems at the tabulator level constitute a national security threat because now the “genie is out of the bottle” and foreign countries can compete on the best election hack in order to decide who is the next U.S. president. You can watch this extraordinary interview on http://www.rovecybergate.com and http://www.velvetrevolution.us

I was wondering when he was going to rear his head and say something

oh of course he will. And when he does, we just have to make sure that he, McInsane and his party reap the consequences forever. Remember, unlike some Dems, I’m convinced that this bailout is necessary, and therefore I’m also convinced that the person or party that stops it will eventually have to pay an almost unimagineable political price. We will all suffer before this is over, and I want to make darn sure that the rethugs suffer more than the rest of us.

Dow has now gained over half the losses of yesterday; what does that tell you? And who is doing this buying and selling? It sure isn’t the average American.

giving people something to vote for will help too.

CNBC reporting that Congress wants to change the accounting rules for banks. Banks wants Congress to void “mark-to-market” accounting of mortgage back securities.

nah.. regulations and policies for pensions and stuff… basically, required profit taking. The bloodletting will continue every other day or so until good news comes, with the marketing regaining between 25%-50% of the previous day’s loss. It’s just the way the mechanics of the market work.

It’s up on MSNBC now

was up on msnbc. didn’t feed into their fear meme so only a sound clip

I hope they try to steal it and get caught. I want to see rethugs in jail.

Bailout backers wouldn’t have been swayed by Wall Street money, would they?
http://www.marketwatch.com/new…..aspx?guid={2FDA203D-92AB-46B9-B5C4-42822062D1C0}&dist=hplatest

As an ex commodity broker I’m very familiar with ‘back and fill’ trading but what is going on is beyond that.

anything about what folks in congress are saying?

Hey wanna talk about election procedures? Come on up to Book Salon, hosted by Loosehead. Good stuff.

I caught a couple of minutes of it on MSNBC. DeFazio says that it will be paid for via a securities-transaction tax that is half the rate of that in Brittain. Kaptur had a lot of other stuff, including an office of financial-crimes investigation inside of the Justice Department to bring to justice those who perpetrated the crimes that led to this mess. Then Noron cut everthing off. Shit!

Anyway it looks like this bill has some real potential.

From ‘Naked Capitalism’:
Why The Bailout Bill Will Not Solve the Credit Crunch (And What Could)
Listen to this article.
This message comes from a savvy reader/investor/economist, and is refreshingly succinct:
At this stage, I think the bailout complicates matters enormously, because the immediate problem is
1) Preventing further runs on banks and money market funds by extending deposit insurance & mmmf insurance
2) Reviving the interbank market by placing the Fed as counterparty and paying interest on loans
3) Keep working capital loans rolling over until solvency can be assessed and workout recaps can be facilitated.
That’s much more important at this stage.
The biggest problem with this bailout package it that it addresses the wrong problem with unspecified consequences.
It has be sold as protecting the people from the financial meltdown.
If it is posed as first the need to protect transaction deposits, and second to protect lending for current business operations and thus employment, then there are clear solutions that do not require a great deal of congressional for action.
The first problem is resolved by removing the deposits insurance cap and support for money market funds — now done.
The second is to restore interbank lending by introducing now the interest on gross reserves (Bernanke has already requested this) and unifying the discount and Funds rate to have the Fed become guarantor of the market.
To restore short term lending to business, restore real bills lending at the discount window, increase the insurance fund to allow FDIC to agressively resolve troubled insolvent banks, rather than fixing troubled assets
This should prevent the meltdown that Paulson is worried about.
Then the problem of the overall capitalisation of the system can be approached later, hopefully with a Swedish style rescue.

However, Doing Something is clearly taking precedence over Doing Something That Might Actually Work.

LIBOR at 7%; think credit card rates.

I agree with Ian on this. The Democrats should go for the jugular on this(after consulting economists to make sure they don’t slit their and our throats). If Obama goes for this strategy, we will know the stuff he’s made of. This is a hydrogen bomb dropped on the Republiks. The financial community that supports them will either have to eat the bill or get nothing except Bernanke’s paper promises. They will put the heat on the Pres to sign. Pres and Republik Senators have to explain to Joe Public why it’s necessary to bail out people making 7 figure salaries, but not necessary to help them out with medical emergencies. Win-win.

may be up on CNN

nope LOL

try cnn live stream

How come they haven’t posted it on their website? And would you believe that Barney Frank is a member of the caucus?
He’s still pushing the legislation that was defeated.

All I can track down right now is that it is based on the Isaac plan I post bits of yesterday.

Evidently Bloomberg LOVES it and thinks it’s smart legislation as long as it keeps the focus on the taxpayer.

I’m wrong that comment @ 62. Scratch that.

The right approach to dealing with the crisis, which the vast majority of
economists who have studied such matters have supported, is government
preferred stock investments (essentially, a type of loan) into financial firms.
This would protect taxpayers by making sure that banks retain the first tier of any losses associated with their investments, while helping the whole financial system by injecting capital and cash to support new lending and to protect banks against liquidity problems. This approach, which was used with great effect in the US in the 1930s and by Finland in the 1990s, was rejected without a hearing by Congress. Not only would it provide the capital and liquidity necessary to end the panic and avoid a severe credit crunch, it would avoid the need for complex interventions into the financial sector — such as limits on executive pay, stock warrant transfers to taxpayers, and ex post assessments on financial firms to pay for losses — all of which were reactions to the huge risks resulting from asset purchases. And it would avoid the pricing of asset purchases at ill-defined prices (and the lack of accountability such a plan would entail).

I might add that Princeton Economics Professor Paul Krugman also favors this preferred-stock approach in preference to purchase of toxic assets, which Paulson recommends. Also, IIRC, this approach was used in Sweden in 1992, as well as in Finland. I’ve also heard that the Finns prohibited dividends and bonuses until the government recouped its outlay.

7) Control Congress for a Generation

or until you break your promise, break our trust, trash the consitution, steal our money

power corrupts and we are now keepers of this gate, we will not allow your corruption, be weary of our wrath

This has been a sound approach to use in the past. Our country would be wise to consider it.

according to think progress, bloomberg is trying to re-write the term limit so he can run again

power corrupts, did I say that yet?

The move represents an about-face for Mr. Bloomberg, who has repeatedly said he supports term limits and once called an effort to revise the law “disgusting.” He will apparently try to do so through legislation in the City Council, rather than the ballot box.

Mr. Bloomberg’s gambit carries significant political risk. The city’s term limits law was passed twice by voters, in 1993 and 1996, and several polls show widespread popular support for keeping it in place. Under the plan Mr. Bloomberg has outlined to associates, those voters will have no say in the matter, raising the possibility of a backlash.

it’s on CSPAN 1 now

will be available here later

House Dems. Alternative Financial Markets Bill

power corrupts, did I say that yet?

yes, but not loud enough or frequently enough. *g*

agreed. that is one of the reasons why i think mechanisms of transparency and accountability are so important. for anyone with any power over others.

thanks! watching it.

If Bush and the Republican leadership can’t get the even a third of their own party behind THEIR basic bill, then obviously the Democrats need to put one together that brings in the progressives in their party. Make it contain strong protections for the taxpayers. Direct it toward aiding the homeowners at threat from foreclosure, roll-back interest rates to pre-crisis levels, and compel lenders to negotiate under supervision of a bankruptcy court…or lose the property to the home-owner at the “fire-sale” property value (with a Federal agency managing payments back to the lender at the new value of the home).

Any money that is allocated to the Treasury to assist corporations should be in tranches and have heavy strings attached (executive salary levels, no “golden parachutes”, voting shareholder interest in the firm). The Secretary of Treasury needs to be directed as to precisely where and when these outlays are to be allocated. And a whole new set of regulations to prevent similar excesses needs to be established.

Republicans won’t like this…but

After what he has done to education in NY, I am NOT a fan!

Cspan live feed

I cannot get it to load.

All I know is that it is inspired by the Isaac’s plan.

Kaptur’s office said it should be posted on her website under press conferences sometime but that the tubes ARE SLOW so they do not know how soon it will post.

Thanks for that. I’m getting an error response though.

hmmm here try again

i can try to make a you tube of some of it, if it’s not made availble.

really good thinking, imo.

i don’t agree with everything i’ve heard, but i like their approach. and they are trying to think it through and explain their thinking. wow.

kaptur and defazio for president and vp (and i don’t care which is which). they are doing a great job. woo hoo!

It will be up on archive later (maybe it will load from there). If not, Selise offered her services and I am sure it will be posted elsewhere as well

I’m proud of the whole caucus

Stiglitz predicts Obama win and long recession
http://www.breitbart.com/artic….._article=1

my congressmember is jim mcgovern. he voted for the bailout (bad congressmember!) and was not present at the press conference. i just called to ask why – apparently he has headed back up here to his district.

This is what I have been saying all along; pass a DEMOCRATIC bill that suits us; let Bush sign it or veto it and take the consequences.