tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027130156490692935.post374914704180159465..comments2023-08-07T08:07:30.467-07:00Comments on America Magazine's Election Blog: Playing To & Against Type: Economics and ElitesWriters and Friends of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02748572944669280357noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027130156490692935.post-2890930229283570472008-09-24T19:08:00.000-07:002008-09-24T19:08:00.000-07:00In relation to the idea of proposed federal bailou...In relation to the idea of proposed federal bailouts, they may be necessary for the sake of preserving our economy and staving off another Great Depression. However, such bailouts create a federalized economy bordering on socialism, which is contradictory to our free market economy. The government is mortgaging the future of generations of taxpayers in order to counteract the greed of politicians and Wall Street, which resulted in the contamination of the markets due to the bundling of mortgage backed securities that resulted from mortgage loans to unqualified buyers who had no means to repay them. As such, these fundamentals created an environment where many executives got rich and many politicians benefited from the existence of these unscrupulous companies.<BR/><BR/>In order to preserve our entrepreneurial way of life where risk can be greatly rewarded, the federal government should not be overly liberal in issuing bailouts. Such bailouts should only be issued to those companies that are truly vital to our economy. Knowing that sound companies will continue to succeed and flourish, the government must show restraint in issuing economic bailouts and should let corrupt companies fail. Taxpayers should not be called upon to rescue companies that fail due to their own poor management and operation.Tom Martishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11577070328723211850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027130156490692935.post-46837416207213362322008-09-17T19:27:00.000-07:002008-09-17T19:27:00.000-07:00John McCain, May 25, 2005, addressing the US Senat...John McCain, May 25, 2005, addressing the US Senate:<BR/><BR/>"Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were “illusions deliberately and systematically created” by the company’s senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal. . . .I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole. I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation."<BR/><BR/>The bill was killed in committee (by both Democrats and Republicans); Senator Obama was not on the committee, so we won't hold that against him. I will note, however, that the immediate past chairmen of Fannie Mae that were responsible for the accounting scandal, not to mention the eventual failure of Fannie Mae itself - James Johnson(1991-1998) and Franklin Raines (1998-2004) - are both on Obama's staff as economic advisors.Jim Belnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13893773836658344438noreply@blogger.com