Maine Owl

Why is urgency justified?

The narrative we're hearing is that over the last few days, key lawmakers in Washington were given briefings where Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury offered "starkly grave assessments of the economic cost of inaction." Some accounts refer to a "gasp" in the room during one Bernanke session when he laid out the facts of the true situation

On ABC's This Week, House Republican Leader John A. Boehner, evidently concerned about resistance from his own conservative caucus, drew this flatly grim picture for those thinking about delaying the breakneck pace of the bailout:

Boehner: This is not a time for ideological purity. ... This is about our way of life, our society, our economy. ... This isn't about Wall Street.

Wow, that's pretty grave. Our whole house comes crashing down if we don't hand virtually unlimited fiscal authority over to Paulson, the former head investment banker at Goldman Sachs where he pulled down tens of millions in excess compensation.

My grave questions concern what is missing. Why is no one except Barney Frank and, perhaps gingerly, Joe Biden, talking about how revenues will be raised for the bailout? Who will pay how much extra in taxes to pay for the bailout? Or, Will they just try to hang paper and send the bill to our grandchildren?

And then this question: If this situation is in fact a threat to "our way of life," as Boehner states, if it's really that bad, how is it that transferring to taxpayers, without a plan to pay, the worst toxic liabilities from this period of what amounts to mass banking fraud, helps alleviate the risk?

In order for me to believe that the proposal being floated with such urgency was really serious, I would want to hear that a portion of the assets accumulated during party time will be attached. This means that the rich will have to pay substantial surcharges on income over, as Frank suggested, $1 million. Also, the very wealthy must be required to turn back to the treasury some portion of their holdings.

That would be "country first," the patriotic thing to do, as Biden suggested Thursday in support of Obama's plan to raise taxes on those earning over $250,000. The Obama plan is inadequate, but this is the right direction.

Palin responded with ridiculous mockery, saying "to the rest of America, that's not patriotism. ... Raising taxes is about killing jobs and hurting small businesses and making things worse."

The Democrats better defend the Obama tax position full-throatedly. They should attack these Palin remarks. They must take the mockery of Biden on taxes head-on. Sarah, the government can afford a trillion-dollar bailout, but nobody has to pay?

The Republicans just don't have any ideas other than let the crooks off scot-free, charge no one, rinse, repeat the crisis. Next time, they will leave the bill for our great grandchildren.