Debating the Issues : The Blog

Federal Reserve Buys U.S. Treasuries

2009-04-22T07:49:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, the Fox Business Network printed this on their website:

NEW YORK -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York bought $7 billion in Treasurys on Tuesday, part of a program aimed at improving conditions in private credit markets and spurring lending. The debt bought included notes maturing between 2016 and 2019. Dealers submitted $26.8 billion in debt to be purchased. The Fed will continue its buybacks with another operation on Thursday, heading towards purchasing $300 billion in Treasury securities over the next six months. Ten-year note yields stayed down by 2 basis points to 2.82%.

Copyright © 2009 MarketWatch, Inc.

Isn’t this just moving debt from one pocket to another? I am not a financial guy or an economist but having to buy your own treasuries I wouldn’t think is a good idea. If anybody has any thoughts on this that are smarter than me it would be great it hear them.

Fed Buys $7 Billion In Treasurys

Source: Fox Business Network

Earth Day Tomorrow!

2009-04-21T14:21:00.001-06:00

Here is a great quote from Glenn Beck’s free Newsletter that I thought we would all appreciate:

“Earth Day is tomorrow! Celebrate by cutting down a tree with a chainsaw or leaving your lights on while you are gone or anything else that would hack off an environmentalist --- and tune in to Glenn on radio tomorrow to celebrate the most useless day of the year.”

I tend to agree with Glenn. I’m not big on the once a year days to show how much you care (kind of like Valentine’s Day). If you really cared about the environment, you would show it in your daily actions not just once a year.

By the way, for all those people who are worried about the ice caps melting and flooding everything, they might be interested in knowing that they aren’t melting, they are actually growing. Too bad! Those so called environmentalists are going to have to find something to use to try and increase their control and power over the rest of us.

Report: Antarctic Ice Growing, Not Shrinking

Sources: Glenn Beck Free Newsletter, Foxnews.com

Budget Cuts by Obama Not Worth Much

2009-04-21T11:16:00.001-06:00

When you have a budget of $3.5 trillion, $100 million in budget cuts is like taking one drop of water out of an Olympic size swimming pool because it was too full.

As is stated in an article on Hot Air, “This is an insult to the intelligence of fiscal conservatives.” We complain that you are spending too much in Washington and that is the best you can do? Give me a break. If that was all you, Barak Obama, are willing to do, then you might well have done no budget cuts. Maybe you should start with stopping all of this TARP nonsense and bailing out businesses that are “too large to fail.” How about this radical idea: cut all the wasteful spending on Washington on useless departments and programs that don’t work.

Enough of my rant. Read the articles below if you want to know more about these budget cuts.

Obama demands 0.0029% budget cut after running up spending
SPIN METER: Saving federal money the easy way

Sources: BreitBart.com, Hot Air

The Problem With Big Government

2009-04-21T10:12:00.001-06:00

There are so much information that I could write about everyday I have a hard time determining what would be the most important. I could spend all day writing posts if I had the time. Today’s post is a story I received from a friend of mine. I don’t know if it is true or not but it makes a very valid point.

Wild Pigs

A chemistry professor in a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?'
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in The last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America . The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc.. While we continually lose our freedoms -- just a little at a time.

One should always remember: There is no such thing as a free lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

So, if you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America , you might want to send this on to your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will probably delete this email, but God help you when the gate slams shut!

Keep your eyes on the newly elected politicians who are about to slam the gate on America .

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have."

Green Jobs…Not What We Need

2009-04-18T07:20:00.001-06:00

Barak Obama is pushing green jobs, similar to what they have in Spain. The problem is, it will have a negative effect on an already reeling economy. According to study done by a university in Madrid, for every green job created, at least 2.2 non-green job will be lost. That doesn’t sound like a good return on investment.

Why can’t we just push to grow already existing industries? Again, just as I mentioned in a previous post, this is not about protecting the environment, this is about control and power. What are we going to do to make Washington listen us? Go to The 9/12 Project to see what we can do.

Job Losses From Obama Green Stimulus Foreseen in Spanish Study

Source: Bloomberg

EPA concludes carbon dioxide bad for humans… well duh!

2009-04-17T16:28:00.001-06:00

Do we really need a study to determine this? It is obvious to me that carbon dioxide is bad for us considering we exhale carbon dioxide out of our bodies to get rid of it. Guess what? There is something else out there that likes carbon dioxide. Anybody now what it is? Any guesses? Has anybody heard of trees, plants, grass, etc? This lovely creations love carbon dioxide. Guess what else? These things, commonly known as plant life, go through something called photosynthesis in which they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Humans need oxygen to survive. Hmmm…

How about instead of regulating CO2 (another name for carbon dioxide) we grow more plant life. You might be surprised the growth of your plants when they have a lot of CO2. I am tired of more and more government regulation that limits our freedom and makes everything in our life more expensive.

EPA Takes First Step Toward Regulating Pollution Linked to Climate Change

Source: Fox News Politics

Additional Drilling in Alaska? “No!” Says Appeals Court

2009-04-17T12:47:00.001-06:00

Today an appeals court shot us in the food again when it comes to energy independence.

Forget that the caribou are flourishing in the area of Alaska that has the oil pipelines.
Forget that were we are drilling is a barren wasteland.
Forget that we should be more concerned about American citizens then we are about the environment in Alaska.

This is more about control then it is about protecting the environment. It just goes to show that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Appeals Court Cancels Drilling Program Off Alaska Coast

Source: Fox News Politics

Korea Expels U.S. Nuclear Experts

2009-04-17T09:07:00.001-06:00

U.S. monitors of North Korea's nuclear program pulled out of the communist nation Friday after the regime expelled them and vowed to restart its reactor in anger over U.N. criticism of its recent rocket launch.

U.S. Nuclear Experts Leave North Korea

Sounds like they are pulling the same trick that Saddam Hussein did in Iraq. We still have the same ‘do nothing’ U.N. but we now also have the ‘do nothing’ U.S. government to. We will through out threats and pass U.N. resolutions but ultimately will do nothing. We cannot even bankrupt them like with did the USSR doing the cold war because we have no money. Barak Obama wouldn’t do that anyways. He is already cutting spending in the Defense Department, the only department he is cutting spending in.

This will have dire consequences. Soon we will have nuclear weapons in the hands of North Korea and Iran. Not a good thing.

Source: Fox News

Collapse of the two-party system

2009-04-17T08:54:00.001-06:00

I was listening to Glenn Beck yesterday and he discussed something that I had kind of talked about a while ago in a previous post on another blog. Glenn Beck took it a bit further and talked about the collapse of the two-party system and not the rise of a third-party.

With all the disenfranchisement in the country against both parties, I could see that collapse happening. What will happen after that, I don’t know. I still believe a third-party will emerge out of the ashes of the Republican and Democrat parties. I was under the impression that it would be for several years but I’m beginning to wonder if it won’t be sooner.

Time will tell and I will keep you posted.

Beginning of end for 2 party system?

Source: GlennBeck.com

China Switching it’s Foreign Reserves

2009-04-16T09:44:00.001-06:00

In the Telegraph today, there is a report that China is now starting to switch it’s foreign reserves from U.S. Treasuries and the dollar to copper. That doesn’t bode well for the U.S. Washington is continuing to bet on the Chi-Coms to purchase our Treasuries (even though they are worthless) and continue to let us borrow money from them. It looks like that is going to stop very soon. Then what will we do in here in the U.S.? Print more money. I would suggest that we stop spending money but I don’t think Washington knows the meaning of the word ‘STOP’. Hopefully not, but it seems we are headed for a crash of the U.S. dollar and when that happens the only way to go to is to create a new global currency. Not a good idea but the Chi-Coms will be set up perfectly if it is a copper backed currency.

What does the future hold for the dollar? Only time will tell.

A 'Copper Standard' for the world's currency system?

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Rightwing Extremist… and Proud of it!!!

2009-04-15T16:41:00.001-06:00

According to a new DHS report, put out by none other than the great Janet Napalitanto, any true conservative is now being labeled as a “rightwing extremist.” If I’m a rightwing extremist, so be it. You might be as well. If you stand for these things, then be prepared to be labeled a rightwing extremist:

Limited Government
Lower Taxes
Freedom to Bear Arms
Ex-Military
Against Illegal Immigration
Against a welfare state
Support of the U.S. Constitution
Support of States’ Rights
Against a New Global Currency
Believe the Federal Reserve is Unconstitutional
Against Unhindered Government Spending
Attending a Tea Party

I would like to welcome all of you rightwing extremists to the ranks. Have a great day at the tea parties!

Report: Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment

Source: Napolitano stands by 'extremism' report

WAKE UP CALL: TEXAS GOV. BACK RESOLUTION AFFIRMING SOVEREIGNTY

2009-04-14T09:15:00.000-06:00

Gov. Rick Perry joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”

Perry continued: "Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, DC trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas."

A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.

It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.

WAKE UP CALL: TEXAS GOV. BACK RESOLUTION AFFIRMING SOVEREIGNTY

Source: The Drudge Report

Reagan's Legacy: Our 25-Year Boom

2009-04-13T12:43:00.001-06:00

After 25 years of record-setting economic performance around the world, set off by President Reagan's free-market policies, the world has fallen into a recession. Is this the inevitable end of an era?

Reagan's Legacy: Our 25-Year Boom

Source: IBD Editorials

Tea Party Protests Create Online Sales Boom

2009-04-13T08:20:00.002-06:00

Here is some stimulus for you, all created by the private sector, as it should be.

Grassroots organizations have produced a cottage industry of Tea Party-themed products that are funding nationwide protests of government spending and bailouts -- and generating their own mini-stimulus to boot.

Tea Party Protests Create Online Sales Boom

Source: Fox News

WE Surround Them

2009-02-05T10:17:00.005-07:00

Do any of you ever feel that you are not being heard by our politicians? Well, here is something that you can do. This was taken from the Glenn Beck show, the third most listened to radio show in all of America. If you believe in the principles that this country was founded on follow the instructions listed and let's see if we can make a difference and help us all realize that we are not alone.

WE Surround Them

Do you watch the direction that America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it?

Do you believe that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard above the noise anymore?

Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach…as if you’re completely alone?

If so, then you’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull the curtain away you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.

We surround them.

So, how do we show America what’s really behind the curtain? Below are nine simple principles. If you believe in at least seven of them, then we have something in common. I urge you to read the instructions at the end for how to help make your voice heard.

The Nine Principles

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

You Are Not Alone

If you agree with at least seven of those principles, then you are not alone. Please send a digital version of your picture to: wesurroundthem@foxnews.com and then stay tuned to the radio and television shows over the coming weeks to see how we intend to pull back the curtain.

(Source: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/21018/)

If you want to share this with your friends, family, associates, acquaintances, or anyone, click on the link below to download a word document that you can print out and share with them.

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/557107/You%20Are%20Not%20Alone.doc

Also, here is the video of Glenn Beck on his new show on Fox News talking about this very thing:

Looking forward to 2012

2008-11-06T10:12:00.005-07:00

This country now has 'hope' and 'change' from our charismatic new President-elect Barack Obama. It just goes to show that having a moderate running on a conservative ticket doesn't work. We have not had a true-blue conservative on the Republican ticket since Ronald Reagan ran in '80 and '84. I just don't understand the Republican Leadership. They continue every election to try and put a moderate in the White House. Their conservative base is tired of it. We need real conservatives like Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty, and Charlie Crist. When we shore up our conservative base like Reagan did, we could see another of the same landslide victories that Reagan saw in both of his bids for the presidency.

One can always hope, right?

NOTE: The Palin / Jindal '12 image is brought to you by none other than Glenn Beck.

'Black Panthers' Block Access to polling station

2008-11-04T16:36:00.002-07:00

What is this? Talk about voter intimidation. I know Barack Obama had nothing do to with this. The interesting thing is that at the beginning of Barack Obama's campaign (maybe even still) one of the endorsements listed on his campaign website was The Black Panther Party.

This video has also been added to the Sean Hannity website and the Drudge Report.

Voting Locations: Where do I go to vote?

2008-11-03T14:22:00.004-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the big day. No matter who you vote for, go vote! The important thing is to educate yourself on the candidates and the issues and then use your new found knowledge and prayerfully decide who you and what you are going to vote for.

I found a cool tool today that might help anybody that is needing to find where they are supposed to cast their ballot. It was put together by Google. All you have to do is type in your address and it tells you where you polling location is.

Voting is an important right for a free nation. It gives us the opportunity to make our voice heard. According to the United States Election Project, put together by Dr. Michael McDonald, an Associate Professor at George Mason University, the last General Election in 2004 had a voter turnout of about 60% but the interim election in 2006 had a voter turn out of only about 40%. We need to get out and vote!

See you at the polls!

Get Out The Vote!

Same-sex marriage in California

2008-10-31T15:22:00.004-06:00

I would like to post about a very heated issue that is going on this election: the issue of same-sex marriage in California. Proposition 8 is on the ballot. If it passes, the California state constitution will be changed to include these words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman will be recognized in the state of California." If this proposition does not pass there will be dire consequences. Some people may say: "What does it matter? It doesn't affect me, does it?" I have news for you. It will affect you in more ways that you might realize. Take a look at some information on another blog that I have. Check out this post as well as this post if you are interested.

Today, I just found some videos my young adults in the state of California. These videos address many of the questions people may have on this issue and can explain it better than I can. These videos can be found on this website. Let me share one of these videos with you:

I hope that Californians vote loud and clear and they do not want to change the definition of marriage!

Success: How is it achieved?

2008-10-24T23:16:00.009-06:00

That is a question I ask myself frequently. How do we, as individuals or as a group, achieve success? How do we know if we have achieved success? In order to better understand these questions lets go back to the beginning of time. I am a Christian and very religious. I believe that what is recorded in the Holy Bible is literal and actually happened. In the beginning, after everything was created, God created Adam and Eve. Then God gave Adam and Eve commandments, one of them being not to eat of the forbidden fruit. Then Satan (the serpent) tempted Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit. In the words of the Bible, this is what he said, "Ye shall not surely die...your eyes shall be opened...knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5) Another verse of scripture helps clarify this in these words: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad...corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility." (2 Nephi 2:11) I would add also to that, neither failure or success. In other words, in order to achieve success and know that we have achieved success we must have first failed. The old adage comes to mind, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

At this point you are probably wondering what this has to do with a political discussion. Let me clarify it for you. If you don't let people (or businesses) fail they will never become stronger and achieve success. People will never learn from their own mistakes or the mistakes of others to be able to finally succeed in what they want to achieve. As the government continues to bailout companies because they are "too big to fail" greater more successful businesses will never have the opportunity to come about. People are more likely to take on more risk then they should if they believe that they are going to be bailed out in the end if something goes wrong. Also, if individuals are bailed out of their mortgages (or anything for that matter) they don't understand what is necessary to achieve success and will rely on someone else, namely the government for everything. If our government continues to do this it will be the start of the welfare state.

Replies

2008-10-14T23:21:00.002-06:00

Back in September I posted an email that I sent out to "the President, our Congressman and Senators expressing my concern over the planned $700 billion bailout and how it should not happen." I have also recently emailed some of the same individuals expressing my disdain because they voted for the bailout, especially after all the pork and earmarks that were added to the bill. I also, emailed several senators and thank those that voted against the bailout. I should send a thank you to the members of the House that voted against the bailout twice, there is just a lot more of them then there are Senators. Here are the replies I have received back via email from some of these "so called" leaders of of the free world:

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (FL) after sending the email to him thanking him for voting against the bailout:

Thank you for contacting me about the $700 billion to bail out Wall Street. I voted against it because I believed it lacked meaningful relief for homeowners facing foreclosure, and it left taxpayers with the short end of the stick.

Still, make no mistake: I understand the severity of this financial crisis. The bottom line is that until we stem the record number of home foreclosures, this crisis will continue to worsen.

That’s why I’ve proposed a three-part plan to address the financial crisis, including help for homeowners.

First, I’m working on legislation to create new ways for homeowners to refinance their mortgages and stay in their homes. My proposal will require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to retool mortgages that they hold on their books. It will also establish a direct loan facility within the Federal government to require lenders and other financial institutions that benefit from the bailout to refinance or modify mortgages in danger of default or foreclosure.

Second, I am calling for an investigation into the business practices of major credit rating agencies that helped foster the enormous growth of the mortgage-backed securities industry. Investors relied on and trusted in those credit ratings, and the public deserves to know how these rating agencies concluded that such risky investments could receive high credit ratings.

And finally, we must better regulate all aspects of the financial markets. Today’s financial crisis results from years of inadequate oversight that has been far too tolerant of excessive risk taking.

Meantime, I’ll continue to press Congress to act quickly to keep people in their homes and put our economy back on track.

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (UT) on my disdain for his vote for the bailout:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the current crisis in our financial markets and the state of the economy. I appreciate hearing from you.

As you well know, our financial markets have become increasingly volatile over the past weeks. The collapse of major financial institutions and a giant insurance company sent a clear signal that we were on the brink of a major financial catastrophe. Something had to be done in order to prevent the problems of our financial markets from leaking into other sectors of our economy. Secretary Paulson and President Bush offered the first solution to the exacerbating economic decline as an attempt to get the dialogue flowing. However, many, including myself, believed that this plan was not sufficient. The House amended the original plan in an attempt to protect taxpayer's interest, prevent exuberant executive packages for participating entities, and provide more oversight. Even with these additions, the plan failed to pass the House, and that day the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 778 points, the biggest single-day point loss in history.

As you, I am deeply troubled by the financial situation we are facing. We did not get here because of any one decision or policy - these problems were years in the making. For example, in the late 1990s, the Clinton Administration began pressuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase loans to subprime borrowers. We are seeing the consequences of a long series of policy errors, both in private and public sectors, which have combined to create a "perfect storm" of financial problems. In my view, one thing was for certain, inaction was not an option. We had to provide relief quickly because the consequences of inaction far outweighed the cost of the provisions in the legislation.

If we had not addressed this problem, we would be ignoring a much greater danger. For everyone who has a savings account, retirement savings, or a job, inaction placed these lifelines in jeopardy. For anyone who needs a mortgage loan, to borrow for a car, or to finance an education, the prospects had significantly worsened. With business expansion and job creation, there is a need for credit in order to make our economy work.

The Senate version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, HR.1424, which ultimately passed the Senate and the House and was signed into law on October 3rd, broadened the ability of the federal government to revitalize our economy. The legislation is designed to help secure retirement savings, help small-business owners meet payroll and help restore the American people's confidence in their own financial well being. Furthermore, the Senate added specific provisions to curtail the jobless rate and promote investment. Among the added provisions was a set of extensions to expired and expiring tax provisions, including the research tax credit and the Alternative Minimum tax (AMT). While it is estimated that 70 percent research tax credit dollars are used for wages of R&D employees, the AMT relief will free 23 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Utahns from having to pay the unfair AMT.

This legislation, while not perfect, will have a greater impact beyond Wall Street into Main Street. I believe that one reason why the financial rescue legislation failed to pass in the House the first time was because the American people were not convinced that the bill would help them personally. Along with this, I believe that many Americans failed to see the connection with the current crisis with our financial markets and their own future economic well being.

While the Economic Stabilization Act may hold off an impending economic meltdown, it must now be followed up with decisive action on our part. Foremost, we need to change the way the financial sector works. The Federal Reserve needs to rethink its definition of good monetary policy and determine whether its existing policy tools -- such as reserve requirements, oversight capabilities, and reporting rules -- are adequate. In addition, Congress must reconsider what it has charged the Federal Reserve to do. The Fed has been charged with two goals: 1) providing a sound currency with stable purchasing power, and 2) maintaining steady economic growth with low unemployment. At this point, it is obvious that an aggressive, excessively easy monetary policy in pursuit of short-term growth is self-destructive in the long-run. It leads only to inflation and speculative excesses in the credit markets that harm the economy. Only by focusing on a stable currency can the Federal Reserve achieve both its objectives.

We also need to completely rethink Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As we've heard countless times over the last few weeks, in creating these two government-sponsored enterprises, we have made sure that the benefits of their investments are private while all the risks are public. Put simply, this is bad policy, with considerable moral hazard. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together represent an immense government-created and government-coddled duopoly. In the years since their creation, they have focused mainly on their own expansion, recklessly urged on by many in Congress who believed this was a way to make home ownership more affordable for lower income families. However, as a recent Fed study has demonstrated, most of the benefit of the previously implicit - now explicit -- federal guarantee of their debt has gone to their shareholders as higher earnings, not to reducing costs for new homeowners. In their efforts to expand, Fannie and Freddie took too many unwarranted risks. They needed an ever-expanding supply of new mortgages to package and resell and to hold for income. Others fed this expansion effort with unsound lending. The recent Federal rescue package of these institutions requires an immediate step: Congressional oversight. It is a little late in coming, but, as of right now, it is essential.

The regulatory and rating agencies also need to be reviewed. We need to ask whether they have enough resources for adequate supervision and whether they've failed to recognize the evolutionary changes in the credit markets and the new business arrangements that reduced transparency in financing. These and other questions will have to be explored as we move forward.

I believe that we clearly need to reform our financial markets and refine the powers of the Federal Reserve in order to ensure crises like this don't happen again. And, though I hesitated to support the idea, it is not unreasonable to conclude that government intervention can provide immediate relief and prevent any more catastrophic losses in the near future and give the financial market time to sort out the mess. But, if we don't adopt policies that are pro-growth, pro-business, and pro-job creation, we won't be able to ensure long-term economic security for our country, no matter how many bad mortgages we purchase with taxpayers' money.

In order to address these concerns, Congress must be very careful as we work to solve this crisis. We must meet the demands of taxpayers and restore confidence in our financial markets.

Again, thanks for writing.

Sincerely,
Orrin G. Hatch
United States Senator

Who caused this financial problem?

2008-10-11T09:38:00.002-06:00

If you would like to know who caused this problem and how it happened. Check out this video. It's about ten minutes but it says it all.

The Truth about the Bailout

2008-10-02T16:28:00.004-06:00

I listen to talk radio a lot and today I was listening to Glen Beck and what he said made me so angry. I have now discovered why the Senate passed this bailout bill 74-25. This passed it by this margin by adding as much port, earmarks and pet projects for each of the Senators in the Senate to get most of them on board to approve the bill. Did you know that the bill was 435 pages long. When President Bush gave it to Congress it was 4 pages! Here is what I found has been added to the bailout bill:

Section 325 provides essential tax breaks for the wool research fund.
Section 503 gives tax breaks for the manufacturer of wooden arrows used in toys for children. ($6 million)
Puerto Rican and Virgin Island rum producers get money so they can make more booze! ($192 million)
Section 309, tax credit for economic development in American Samoa
Section 316, a tax break for railroad track maintenance.
Section 317, a tax break for racetracks.
Section 502, qualified television and film productions given an extension of favorable expensing rules. ($10 million)
Section 111 provides for the expansion and modification of advanced coal project investment credits.
Section 112, expansion and modification of the coal gasification project.
Section 113, increased funding for black lung disability fund.

I'm sure this is not all but this is the most rediculous thing I have ever seen. What is this government coming to when they have to bought off to sign off on this bill. If you have to bought off then this bill should not pass.

I hope pray something can be done and they will start listening to the people and I hope that congress again rejects this bill as they should!

Bi-Partisan: What does that mean?

2008-10-02T10:11:00.002-06:00

According to my view, whatever that is worth, the term bi-partisan that is used by politicians is just a way for them to say, "I don't want to take a stand because I don't want to held responsible for the consequences of my actions." The American people want someone who will take a stand on and issue and stick up for it and support it. They also want someone who will stand with the American people. I read a quote from someone once that said "It mattereth not whether the principle is popular or unpopular, I will always maintain a true principle, even if I stand alone in it.” We need people in government who stand on principles, morals, and values. This stand would resonate with the majority of Americans and we would once again restore the values setup from the founding fathers in the Constitution of the Unites States of America!

The majority of the current members in Congress do not reflect that. I think the American people are starting to realize this and they are sick and tired of these people in Washington doing whatever they want and only looking at what they can do to benefit themselves and not the American people. Hopefully this November we will be surprised how many of the American people will vote for someone other than the incumbent running for re-election.

Questions to ask Congress

2008-10-01T16:04:00.004-06:00

I think it is important that we really understand what this $700 billion bailout is all about. I receive an email from Laura Ingraham everyday that provides a lot of good information and today's email I would like to share with you...

Laura's E-Blast
http://www.LauraIngraham.com
October 1, 2008

Eight Bailout Questions

How many times over the last few days have we heard politicians, talking heads and other self-proclaimed "experts" tell us the reason the $700 billion bailout is so wildly unpopular is that we just don't understand it. The economy is complicated. Just trust Congress, President Bush and his royal highness, Hank Paulson. They'll fix it. Don't worry about that $700 billion number. It only sounds high.

Well. If that's the case - if we're really too dumb to understand what's happening - perhaps Congress can show us how much they know. To start, here are some questions I'd like answered.

1) Since the White House introduced the bailout last week, a number of alternative ideas have been proposed. For one, Michigan Republican Thaddeus McCotter wrote a 10-point plan that carries no cost to taxpayers. Others, like George Soros', are significantly less expensive and, in his estimation, likelier to be effective. Can you explain why this bill is the best option, despite being the most expensive?

2) We're told the bailout could actually turn a profit for taxpayers. Assuming that's true, how can we be sure the money actually ends up back in taxpayers' hands? For years the Social Security system took in more money than it paid out, yet instead of putting the surplus revenue toward future benefits, Congress snatched that extra cash for general expenditures. Likewise, Fannie and Freddie's "profits," were used for congressional pet projects. With this track record, how can we trust that this program will be any different?

3) The McCain campaign yesterday pointed out that the most recent housing bill gave the government nearly $1 trillion to purchase mortgages. If this is true, why exactly does Congress need to pass this monstrous legislation?

4) Does the latest version of this bill still "allow the government to purchase troubled assets from pension plans, local governments, and small banks that serve low- and middle-income families"? Americans are having a hard enough time swallowing the idea of a bailout for irresponsible home, car, and student lending. The notion that we'll be on the hook for insolvent pension plans administered by awful, union-controlled lawmakers in cities like Detroit and New York is simply insane.

5) Does the bill's preamble still proclaim that the law "provides authority to the treasury secretary to ... ensure the economic well-being of Americans?" Does anyone know if there are limitations to this seemingly unbridled authority? Otherwise, what prevents the Treasury secretary from becoming a de-facto dictator? This strikes me as especially worth discussion.

6) Are there still no meaningful curtailments of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Does the bill contain anything even hinting at accountability?

7) What concrete assurances do taxpayers have that the turmoil's provenance - Carter and Clinton-era social-engineering dictums that upended safe-lending practices in favor of higher minority home ownership - will forever be outlawed? How do we know taxpayers won't be asked to finance another $700 billion bailout in 10 years? What has Congress learned from its past mistakes?

8) After Enron's collapse, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, then-CEO Ken Lay, and then-CFO Andrew Fastow, were called to testify before Congress. According to the Business and Media Institute, Fannie's and Freddie's overstated earnings were 19 times larger than Enron's fake numbers. So when can we expect Congress to call Jim Johnson, Franklin Raines, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and the rest of Fannie's and Freddie's enablers to testify before Congress?

At the end of the day, we're not being asked to bailout Wall St. so much as we are the Democratic Party. For $700 billion, answers to the questions above are the least Congress can do in return.