Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122210246062663303.html
With the recent failings of Fannie May and Freddy Mac, the US economy has been in a downward spiral. Thus a new issue for the upcoming presidential election between John McCain and Barack Obama has risen. These two hopeful presidential elect’s are now going to have to weigh in on new economical politics and policies associated with the purposed $700 billion Treasury bailout. In all likelihood the stance that McCain and Obama take on this issue will help persuade or dissuade potential voters.
Both stances have its pros and cons as explained by Executive Washington Editor Jerry Seib in this video. http://online.wsj.com/video/the-prospects-of-paulson-bailout-package/541B13F0-FC83-4DCC-A4C2-6E3AB528311B.html
On opposite sides of many political issues, McCain and Obama actually agree in principle to some changes they both view as needed in the legislation. Both want more supervision of the Treasury, restrictions of executive pay, increased regulation of the bailout proceedings, and support for a struggling middle class America. McCain was quoted saying “My friends, the top executives are asking for $2.5 billion in bonuses after they ran the company into the ground.". In similar fashion Obama has said he would not agree to handing over a “blank check to Washington with no oversight and accountability when no oversight and accountability is what got us into this mess in the first place."
All similarities aside, McCain initially was against the government bailout of American Interational Group Inc. (AIG). He later changed his stance on the issue when a condition was made that insured taxpayers could recover money if the company bounces back. However, in a draft the Treasury presented over the weekend, a comparable condition was found absent. Making it all the more likely for McCain to oppose the bailout as in his decades in Congress he has seldomly supported government spending bills.
Obama, on the other hand, in the past has been more content with backing government spending bills and has not given any indication that he will not support the bailout.
So, as it stands now, it looks as if McCain and Obama will once again be on opposite sides of the fence.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you have trust in the US Government do what is best interest for the average American or do you think they will be lobbied to do what is best for the big companies?
2. How do you as a taxpayer feel about the purposed Treasury bailout? Do to you think it is necessary to have one, to ensure a rebound in the economy?
3. In the upcoming presidential election will McCain’s or Obama’s opinion on whether we should have a bailout or not persuade you to vote for one over the other?
3 comments:
An interesting article for sure. Personally I am against the bailout, not because I want the economy to fall apart, but because this is a very short term solution.
To fund this bailout we will end up borrowing from China, and then taxing citizens to pay it off. This bailout is like digging a hole in your backyard to fill another hole. The net gain is Zero.
Do I feel this is for the best for everyday Americans? Not really. These companies were ran into the ground by the CEO's and poor business practices they decided to use, and I believe that one of the fundamentals of capitalism is that you are free to make any business you wish, but you assume the risks that go with it. Running to the government when you screw up and expecting the common man to fix your mistakes does not fly.
As a taxpayer I'm already feeding money into a failed Social Security system, I don't want to have to pay for these failed businesses as well. The last numbers I heard was somewhere around 8 thousand per household to pay for this. No thanks.
While I do not agree with the bailout, I still can not support McCain regardless of his views on this current situation.
I think many of American people against the bailout and they do not trust the US Government for their lack of regard for what’s right. Also, proposing for $700 billion for rescue package is a reckless investment. Congress, Government, and all the economic experts agree with this decision because they want to solve this short run crisis. As a taxpayer, I strongly disagree because I think this is the whole nation problem, they should take care of it more seriously. Nobody wants to invest on something that no guarantees for profit in long run. If the government insists on bailout, that’s such a hasty decision and they really neglect millions of American who try to stop it. We don’t want to lose our social security. We all work hard and pay tax for it.
Since Bush’s agree with the economic rescue plan, a lot people who vote against bailout “may” support the Democrat rather than Republic. This will be a disadvantage for McCain and Sarah Palin, whose will start her first debate on this Thursday
I am personally very happy that the bailout was denied and put down. I think for them to sit there and expect a huge amount as $700 billion dollars for bailout shows that they were not taking this whole fallout very seriously. Taxpayers are already paying a lot without really knowing where exactly their money is going and on top of that it is really unfair for us to have to pay for such negligence.
Due to this crisis, the dark cloud that has been hovering over everyone's heads is the big question "where does this leave me?" Thousands of people are worried about their jobs and their financial security now more than ever. Now is the time for the government to really start working on not only restoring the economic crisis of America but also restoring its foundation. Now that the big question is what to do next, I think it is important for them put some honest effort into figuring out a solution that will be accepted and in turn begin to fix this mess that has put everybody's security and futures at stake.
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