Money Beat

To Obamanation and undecided voters- read this. Let get rid of this myth that Obama is better for the economy. He never saw this coming.

Statement by Senator John McCain, May 25, 2006:

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.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

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

I can't wait for Ronald Reagan's me, me, me, generation of Republicans to hit the dusty trail, and their greedy me me me now now now attitude about everything if its not good for me me me now now now its not good fopr America, well good bye turds and fairwell good riddence, we will not miss you but, will long remember why we sent you packing.

Uh Phil Gramm, got rid of the law that prevented this kind of theft and malfesance by the banking industry in the 1st place. And he thinks that all of this crisis talk is a mental illness. Forget Obama, McCain is a FOOL! And only knows hot to appropriate, BOMB, and baloon debt on the backs of the American people. If McCain, Obama, or ANY of the other political HACKS let these crooks get away with their golden parachutes, on top of having US be forced by government to bail them out when they can't even run a balanced budget, then it's time to get in their faces, and get in the streets with recall petitions and vote them OUT!!! If they don't represent US, let's put in somebody who will!!!

One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain's campaign manager from the end of 2005 through last month, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement. The disclosure contradicts a statement Sunday night by Mr. McCain that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had no involvement with the company for the last several years. Mr. Davis's firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae, the other big mortgage lender whose deteriorating finances helped precipitate the cascading problems on Wall Street, the people said...

This after McCain said his manager had nothing to with this company for quite a few years...

MCCain ONE BIG A** LIER!!!

What the hell does Fannie Mae have to do with this mess anyways?

I will answer my own question. Fannie Mae bought some of the improperly rated mortgage backed securities.

That's it. They didn't create the bad loans. They didn't turn them into tainted securities. They didn't push these securities.

EVERY AMERICAN has the right to expect the government to engage in common sense oversight, before things go to hell.

Specifically, regulators should:
1. Stay awake. Keep their eyes open as to risky new practices in the financial sector.
2. Require full and real time disclosure of the the debts and risks being taken by all major financial institutions INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS.
3. Take action to prohibit practices which endanger the U.S. economy.

Is that so hard to understand?

THEN WHY HAVE THE REPUBLICANS BEEN TRYING TO BURY COMMON SENSE OVERSIGHT FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS?

Fannie Mae is not sufficiently culpable to be the Republicans' scape goat.

Another example of how deregulation fails. Seems one must legislate morality or there is none.

You know what, Hmn, McCain is a fool. You're correct. It's the best way to put it.

Can we really afford this bail out? There are other critical needs for funds and assistance from the Federal Government, which will not be readily avaialable. Examples include the military, energy alternatives, education and health care. Those are essential. Are they more essential than assuring banking and financial markets continue as they have? Not how they're supposed to function, but as they've actually functioned in the recent past?

Wasnt it the same dumb Paulson who just 2 weeks ago said he needed a bazooka for Freddy and Fannie, but was SURE he wouldnt have to use it? How long did that BS last? After $200 BILLION to FIX EVERYTHING, NOW HE NEEDS $800 BILLION TO "FIX" EVERYTHING? HOW CAN ANYONE TRUST THIS INCOMPETENT BIG SPENDER WHO CANT KEEP HIS WORD FOR MORE THAN A WEEK? The $800 BILLION GREEDY WALL STREET “BAILOUT RESCUE” DOESN’T “FIX” ANYTHING. EVERY ONE OF THESE HYPED UP “RESCUES” TO USE TAXPAYER BILLIONS TO PAY PAULSON’S RICH WALL STREET FRIENDS LOSSES HAS FAILED. THE MARKET HAS DROPPED LOWER AFTER EVERY ONE OF THESE HAIR BRAINED GREEDY WALL STREET PONZI SCHEMES. JUST CHECK THE CHARTS AFTER TAF, SIV, FREDDY, FANNY, BEAR, AIG, and NOW. WHY? YOU CANT ERASE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF SUBPRIME LOSSES, PRIME, CREDIT CARD, BUSINESS DEBT, REAL ESTATE ASSETS, DEFAULT SWAP CONTRACTS LOSSES, BY JUST TRANSFERRING $800 BILLIONS OF PAULSONS GREEDY WALL STREET FRIENDS LOSSES TO TAXPAYERS. THAT DOESN’T SOLVE ANY PROBLEM AT ALL. (oops, did we say the truth?) THE LOSSES ARE STILL LOSSES, AND THEY ARE MUCH BIGGER. HOWEVER IT WILL GET THE CONGRESSMEN KICKED OUT OF OFFICE WHO VOTE TO SPEND $800 BILLION TAXPAYER MONEY FOR PAULSON’S FRIENDS. VOTERS ARE VERY ANGRY TO USE BILLIONS OF TAXPAYER MONEY FOR BERNANKY AND PAULSON’s RICH WALL STREET FRIENDS with no oversight, no details, no CEO salary caps. HOW GREEDY CAN PAULSON, BERNANKY, and THEIR WALL STREET FIRMS GET? (DID WE MENTION PAULSON IS EX WALL STREET EXEC?) We want responsible government, less BILLIONS taxpayer money spent, less credit, so markets can go up.
THEIR RICH FRIENDS MADE BILLIONS PROFIT BEFORE, SO WHY SHOULD TAXPAYERS PAY THEIR BILLIONS LOSSES NOW?
WHY NOT GIVE $800 BILLION to AIRLINES, AUTO COMPANIES, HOME OWNERS, EDLERLY, RETIREES, CHILDREN, SCHOOLS, TEACHERS, CITY GOVERNMENTS, STATE GOVERNMENTS, STAR BUCKS, DOGS, CATS, ……..?
First PAULSON/BERNANKY PANKY want $20 Billion to “fix it”, next $30 Billion, then they “need” $80 BILLION to “fix it”, Then they “need” $200 BILLION, now they say need $800 BILLION “to fix” it. How can anyone believe these incompetent SPEND BILLIONS BERNANKY AND PAULSON? WHATS NEXT? WANT $2 TRILLION TAXPAYER MONEY FOR YOUR WALL STREET FRIENDS? SO YOU CAN “FIX IT”? BUT YOUR MANY “BAILOUT FIXES” DON’T WORK.
VOTE THE CONGRESSMEN OUT WHO VOTE TO WASTE $800 BILLION TAXPAYER MONEY FOR PAULSONS FRIENDS:
SEND MESSAGE TO CONGRESS HERE: VOTE for $800 Billion taxpayer funds and we vote you OUT fast.
http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm

It's very strange that a proposal that could end up costing us billions of dollars is so vague that it contains only 3 pages of documents.

Very disappointing.

I don't want the bail out. The government didn't bail out my sister when she lost her home, because her income was split in half. I din't invest in the risky business and won't get anything, but a big bill for me, my son and granddaughters. When you invest you take risk. Good and bad.

I don't want the bail out. The government didn't bail out my sister when she lost her home, because her income was split in half. I didn't invest in the risky business and won't get anything, but a big bill for me, my son and granddaughters. When you invest you take risk. Good and bad. Get a refund from the CEO.

Paulson and the quants knew. NYT: “There was a willful designing of the systems to measure the risks in a certain way that would not necessarily pick up all the right risks,” said Gregg Berman

Dems and Reps took millions from financial services industry, now act surprised.

I've heard this panic tune before, only it was called weapons of mass destruction, let Wall Street bail theirself out

This $700 billion dollar bailout is ridiculous and I sincerely hope Congress votes no on this measure to come before Congress. We obviously have a market failure and our lack of oversight over the past decade has led us to this dire mess. However, everyone is acting out of panic and not thinking about the long term consequences. This bailout only benefits the institutions that got us here in the first place.

I suggest we let capitalism survive and play itself out. Institutions that engaged in poor or unethical business practices should be left to die. And those who continue to be strong will rise to the top even stronger.

Regardless of whatever happens every American will face a tough time. But I don’t think that printing extra money to cover this bailout, thus increasing inflation is the right idea. Plus our kids and grandchildren will be forced to pay for this. This disastrous measure will only hurt the everyday American, many of whom are just trying to go about their daily lives.

In addition this bailout sends the wrong message to those who flat out don’t deserve to be bailed out. And what is next? The airline, auto, homebuilder, hotel/travel, and restaurant industries. Each could claim they deserve the same due to the slow-down in the economy. When will this stop? This bailout only sets up a slippery-slope for disaster.

If Congress is so hell-bent on spending this amount of money, we have other major issues such as Social Security and Healthcare which would greatly benefit from $700 billion.

Let true capitalism thrive! Americans don't want this bill passed. Everyone should contact their congressional figures - http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

This bailout does more harm than good. Market speculators now know that no matter how bad a company performs, there is always a big old golden government parachute waiting to pop open and remove all the consequences of poor management and unnecessary risk taking.

How is the free market supposed to work if there are no consequences?

Either due to incompetence, deception or a combination of both, over the past 7 ½ years the Bush Administration has been wrong on every single recommendation or evaluation that it has presented to the American people. In the face of all present uncertainties, it seems to me that the most prudent course of action must be exactly the opposite of what the Administration now recommends.

This Congress is out of its mind! They need to get up and show some backbone and do what's right for the country. This political system doesn't work any longer. If you stood around in your job and pointed your finger at all of your co-workers, trembled at the thought of making a decision and let your company go down the tubes, you would be made available to the industry -- because you would be FIRED. The Bush White House has been wrong about everything. Big surprise. Move on and fix something for once. This is the most inept Congress in history.

they should hire the fema folks they are great at saying NO/ We have roof damage water damage fema said no. I finally got some clothes today for our family .
I swear all the fema agents are so great at saying no they should let them yell at congress and the senate. No one is helping us but ourselves why in the h eck should banks wall street be bailed out.
Hurricane ike suvivers sure aren't seeing anything yet......

The BAILOUT is not needed or if Congress has to spend 700 billion spend it on alternative energy, infrastructure, or another tax refund to the American Taxpayer and see the results of tickle-up economics. So far the all the plans of Bush and his Administration to FIX the economic has had the same results as fixing your pet. It is no longer productive.

As a hard-working American Taxpayer I am willing to except the consequences of no BAILOUT.

This is an UNLIMITED bailout. It will buy $trillions of debt $700bn at a time until it has all been sold to the tax payers. They should demand bank equity in return for bailout money.
NATIONALIZE the banks.

PEOPLe: We are not responsible for this miserable financial situation WE find our selves in but all those lousy partisan cocktail sipping free ride politicians on both sides of the Isle are. I'm sick of these greedy self serving morons being more concerned with their own personal power than they are with us, the people they are sworn to protect and serve. Before my youngest grand children start kindergarten they will owe the Gov $2500 if this $700.000,000 bill passes. You fools in Washington get to work or get the hell out!! That goes for Bush, and Pelosi right on down to the local Governments. "YOU FOOLS ARE HERE TO SERVE" GET IT!!! Americans after this election it is our duty to scrutenize who ever is in power and make damm sure they are looking out for us. NO MORE career polaticians sucking off the public. YES I'M PISSED!! LOCK AND LOAD

PEOPLe: We are not responsible for this miserable financial situation WE find our selves in but all those lousy partisan cocktail sipping free ride politicians on both sides of the Isle are. I'm sick of these greedy self serving morons being more concerned with their own personal power than they are with us, the people they are sworn to protect and serve. Before my youngest grand children start kindergarten they will owe the Gov $2500 if this $700.000,000 bill passes. You fools in Washington get to work or get the hell out!! That goes for Bush, and Pelosi right on down to the local Governments. "YOU FOOLS ARE HERE TO SERVE" GET IT!!! Americans after this election it is our duty to scrutenize who ever is in power and make damm sure they are looking out for us. NO MORE career polaticians sucking off the public. YES I'M PISSED!! LOCK AND LOAD

I keep hearing from lawmakers and economists that depositors of all financial institutions shouldn't worry about their assets as banks are insured for up to $100,000 per account by the FDIC. My question is: Who is the FDIC, who's running it, where do they get all that money and who the hell is insuring them (AIG)?

LonghornMama: That's the spirit!!!

"Bernanke...the nation's pre-eminent student of the causes and consequences of the Great Depression" - No, he's the main ass hat at a private company (Federal Reserve) working to rip off US citizens. We wouldn't be in this mess if we heeded economists like Ludwig von Mises.

This 700 billion is about $10,000 for each family of 4. Even worse, it's 'borrowed' money. This will be paid back in taxes 'forever'. Better to bite the bullet now and let water reach it's level rather than to face a BIGGER crisis a few months down the road.

"BAILING out the top .003 percent of this nation will only BANKRUPT what''s LEFT OF THE "real taxpayers" money."

Well said.

Haven't the American taxpayers paid enough?

If your congressman and/or senator votes for this mess and is up for reelection this year, vote the bum out!

MCCAIN CRACKED. HE CONFESSED TO WAR CRIMES, SLANDERING US FIGHTING FORCES AND OUR NATION IN
A PROPAGANDA FILM MADE TO ORDER FOR THE NORTH VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS.
I WAS A PRISONER OF WAR IN VIETNAM, BUT I DIDN'T BETRAY MY COUNTRY AND MY COMRADES IN ARMS
THE WAY JOHN MCCAIN DID. AMERICA'S ENEMIES MAY WANT A TRAITOR, CHEATER AND A COWARD AS OUR NEXT PRESIDENT
BUT I SURE DON'T. SO I WON'T VOTE FOR JOHN MCCAIN.
TRUE CHRISTIAN AND FAITHFUL PERSON WILL BE STUPID TO VOTE FOR MCCHEATER WHO HAS ADMITTED ADULTERY, SINCE VOTING FOR HIM AS SAME AS ENDORSING ADULTRY.

If anyone spends more than a few minutes listening to the current debate in congress. You will come to believe as I do that it doesn't take too much to boggle a lawmakers mind! Yikes these guy's are so clueless when it comes to matters of finance. The credit markets are on the verge of collapse. This will tank the global financial markets if they fail to act or worse earmark this thing until it is useless! They are using this platform for their own personal gain without regard for the good of America.

Senator Chris Dodd(CT)says the most about spending money on a problem--there are other's that tend a FIRE(not so much)a Firewall..what seems evident is that hiring is way out of SPECS and even may have a CULT(called)entrenpreneur/America has definite DO's/DON'Ts..today's econimic woes seem to suggest a very fine future in Global Communities(antics)..as we might venture in the lost causes are as pure speculation as is a Real Global Community..just as Wall Street tends a American Economy so does the same ideas fester along Global Communities...BOTH-look ideally false as reality might have been/BUT the new ORDER--of Reality--the ideas that "there's lots of money"...??..//..I think what is really happening is a POT-of-Problems..where we look elsewhere--as the people just go blind.[end]

I think all the CEO's of all these companies should take a 1/2 pay cut along with the Congress, Senate and President. Let things hit them in the pocketbook for a change. I all ready lost my job, have no savings, but I own my home.

I don't like it

Bottom Line...Bush is an idiot and McCain will be the idiot's puppet if he is voted into office. How dare him tell give the State of the Union Address and blame the sole cause of this "2nd coming of the Great Depression" on Big Banks, Mortgage Companies and ARM Loans. Economists could see this coming a mile away a fore-warned Bush and his text book administration and they again ignored the warnings. The economic crisis is setting the stage for the One World Bank that many people have been talking about for years. Smells like New World Order to me. The fastest way to cripple anyone is to first take their financial security away so that they can become financially, emotionally and mentally dependent.

FYI: does it seem strange to you that the "corperations" need $700,000,000,000.00? that "tropicana" hotel is bought up, in these hard times @ $700,000,000.00? and that there's a "scam" going on in the UK that is trying to get people to take their $700,000.00? somebody is up to something!! our government might not be up to the task????????? did you see the TV reception tonight? "digital" break-up and a show about how "they" counter-spy using digital reception?? I'm not going to give up 'Analog TV' and you shouldn't either. all the ideas to break down our defenses actually had to be 'fought-off' by the Democrats. they have saved this country, i know for sure. i am not a 'party' person, so this is not about "politics". Our safety and the future depend on the people holding strong, not depending on the people that can't make firm decisions, only popular ones for themselves ...Respect yourself!! &God help us all!! (thanks)____Humanitarianism First!!

FYI: does it seem strange to you that the "corperations" need $700,000,000,000.00? that "tropicana" hotel is bought up, in these hard times @ $700,000,000.00? and that there's a "scam" going on in the UK that is trying to get people to take their $700,000.00? somebody is up to something!! our government might not be up to the task????????? did you see the TV reception tonight? "digital" break-up and a show about how "they" counter-spy using digital reception?? I'm not going to give up 'Analog TV' and you shouldn't either. all the ideas to break down our defenses actually had to be 'fought-off' by the Democrats. they have saved this country, i know for sure. i am not a 'party' person, so this is not about "politics". Our safety and the future depend on the people holding strong, not depending on the people that can't make firm decisions, only popular ones for themselves ...Respect yourself!! &God help us all!! (thanks)____Humanitarianism First!!

In 2001, the US Congress voted President Bush a blank check to respond to the attack on the World Trade Center in any way he wished. Seven years, over 3000 military casualties, over 100,000 civilian casualties and one trillion dollars later, the American public has learned that President Bush was not the man to trust with a blank check. After the same President has also spent a cumulative $2 Trillion in federal deficits, in 2008, the same President Bush is requesting a blank check and unchallenged authority to spend yet another $700 Billion in any asset he wants, owned by any bank or friend he wants to rescue the institutions that mismanaged unprecedented sums of money. If we, the American people, and our representatives in Congress write this fresh blank check to this President Bush and his mismanaging appointees, we deserve to lose every remaining pension dollar we have saved and to enslave our children to foreign bond holders. Fools and their money are soon parted, and if we are foolish enough to write this blank check we shall be parted.

Americans, be accountable for your own actions. It was the average Joe who started this avalanche, trying to buy houses he knew he couldn't afford and living well beyond his means. Poorly educated financially, he juggled around loans, mortgages and what not trying to make himself appear richer than he actually was. Did he invest wisely? No. Then enter the American banks, whose greed was second to their brilliance in exploiting average American Joe's dim financial knowledge with 0% down subprime loans. The rest is history. The buck has to stop here, before the irresponsible actions of Americans not only burn down their own house, but the rest of the financial neighborhood. A bailout helps Wall Street, no doubt, but had Joe Average Blow put some money into investments rather than his new McMansion, what helps Wall Street would have helped Main Street.

The last time legislation was slammed through with no debate, americans lost all their civil liberties (patriot act). With this new legislation, Americans will lose all their future wealth. Wake up stupid Americans

two wars that cost close to 1 trillion now they want another 700 billion. I will tell you this much it is well past time for us the people to say no damn more. You pass this bill congress you will fine your self with out a job.

Hate to tell you all this, but I don't see or hear congress asking for our permission.

I think this is all poppycock too. I think they had quite a few conference calls and board meetings to figure this plan out.

I wish Hillary was running for President cuz her and Bill are the only ones who cared if the masses were profiting too. And the only ones qualified to sort this all out if you ask me cuz the ones who have the education and know how to beside them, are way too greedy.

I thought that Wall Street and investing was a risk and that the CEO's knew how to maximize on risk and that is why they make the big bucks. We should not bail out gamblers.

By the way, the health care industry is due for an overhaul and regulation too when you get done here. (like that is gonna happen).

Capitalism is not looking too good, maybe socialism is better. (democracy is non existant, as i said no one asked me to vote on the bail out.) Freedom is gone with the Patriot Act.

Careful D.C. there is alot of unrest out there and alot of people are starting to think they got nothing else to lose.

Cut and paste into the ebay search bar ----------------- 290261427780

Forget wall st. take the $700 billion and put it into infrastucture improvement. Millions get jobs, thousands of company don't go under and a bunch of roads, bridges, light rail and airports don't fall apart. Win Win

This mess started years ago and escalated on 9/11. Congress needs to stop playing around with the financial lives of the Americans they represent. Most of these people that we elect to represent us in Congress are self-serving and could care less that our country has been in trouble. Politicians only criticize bailout proposals and are too incompetent to come up with a REAL SOLUTION! I'm quite frustrated that I've been watching my 401(k) vanish.

McCain is a doddering old fool who wants to be President so bad he'll do or say anything. First he should stop calling it a rescue, it's theft from the middle class to the rich. He doesn't want to debate because he knows he has a horrible record and lobbyists running things, a town hall meeting lacks structure so he'd feel more comfortable ranting away. He said no bailout now he is all for it. He hasn't been working since April and has only voted 219 times this year. Davis his advisor is getting 15k per month from Fannie May and Freddie Mac to have access to McCain, he's another Bush.

Where are all the economists in the debate? This is not a political issue, this is an American issue. If I was having medical medical problems I would not go see a plumber!!!!!

since its the financial people who caused this crisis. Why don't we just stop them from get the higher interest rates? They don't get the big earnings, but the people can keep their homes, and still pay off their mortgage. Crisis averted.

Why is the government/senate after the tax payers to raise multi million bill to bail out wall street.Why don't they go after the CEO'S,realtors,home sellers who filled up there banks with stacks of money from this market and cheated not just the economy but the entire country and innocent tax payers who are going to be stuck in their mess if this bill is approved.

Instead of a $700.00 billion bailout, I think most Americans would feel must better with $10,000 stimulus check for each tax payer. A bailout may cause further sluggishness. A $10,000 stimulus check would excite both the buyers and the sellers of the economy.

Extend a government backed guarantee to the securities in question. The IMF just released a study of 42 such debacles around the world between 1970 and 2007 showing Paulson's type of solution having little or no effect and the problem persisting after the money is gone. The best solution found is Sweden's approach which costs close to nothing. That is, extend a government backed guarantee to the securities. Of course, this will not provide hundreds of millions of dollars in fees to the Wall Street firms selected to manage the program. Paulson is a highly regarded member of the Wall Street community. He would never be forgiven if he missed this opportunity to bring a nine or ten figure fee to his friends.