Maine Owl

Rationales interesting and revealing

As I reported yesterday, Representatives Michaud and Allen split on the bailout, Michaud being against, Allen for. A Bangor Daily News story today quotes each on the rationales for their votes:

Rep. Mike Michaud: I voted against the Wall Street bailout bill because it provided largely unchecked authority to the Treasury Department to spend $700 billion of taxpayers' money without adequate safeguards.

Rep. Tom Allen: It is unconscionable that the House failed to reach consensus on legislation to stabilize financial markets as America stands on the brink of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. ... The jobs, the savings, the homes, the educational opportunities and the retirement security of millions of Americans are at risk.

Mike gets it from the working class perspective. Tom is drenched in the decptive Bush-Democratic-leadership "mushroom cloud" rhetoric. My opinion is that it's unconscionable to pass this in a rush with "worst since 30s" fear mongering in the lead. Mike has working class sensibility on this. There is more time to work out solutions more favorable to the working class, and yes, much much MUCH more "punitive" to Wall Street.

It's not that I think there is no problem, or that Congress should not act. I just think the Paulson approach is rash, stupid, and dangerous. The bill fails to do the things necessary to keep the economy from falling off the metaphorical cliff. Sure, it would open a taxpayer floodgate into Wall Street for a former Goldman Sachs CEO to manage as he pleases. But look, they won't pass an unemployment/health/jobs bill (see HERE), they won't help individuals with bankruptcy and foreclosure (which would have a MAJOR positive effect on the crisis), they won't even discuss surcharges on millionaires or any sort of revenues to help pay. The "oversight" in the bill was a joke. And, it's hard to know, but the amount of junk the taxpayer could go on the hook for (multiple times the $700 billion) could threaten the US Treasury itself.

CALL MIKE and thank him. I'm afraid that from what I see in Tom Allen, it's too late for him.