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KEEPING THE FAITH - In The News
Day of Reckoning
by Patrick J. Buchanan
September 27, 2008
How did the United States of America, the richest
nation on earth, whose economy represents 30 percent of the Global Economy,
arrive at the precipice of a financial panic and collapse?
The answer lies in the abject failure of both America's financial elite and
the political elite of both parties -- the same elites now working together
to determine how much of our wealth will be needed to bail the nation out of
the crisis of their own creation.
Big Government is riding to the rescue -- saddlebags full of our tax dollars
-- to save us from the consequences of the stupidity and folly of Big
Government. New York and Washington, the twin cities responsible for the
crisis, are now being hailed by the media as the 7th Cavalry, coming to
rescue a beleaguered nation.
Had there not been a steady and constant infusion of easy money and credit
into the U.S. economy by the Fed, for years on end, a housing bubble of the
magnitude of the one that has just exploded could never have been created.
Had the politicians of both parties not coerced and pressured banks, S&Ls,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make all those sub-prime mortgages, then to
tie this rotten paper to good paper, convert it into securities and sell to
banks all over the world, there would have been no global financial crisis.
Had they seen this coming and acted sooner, the Federal Reserve and U.S.
Treasury would not today, like Henny Penny, be crying, "The sky is falling!"
and the end times are at hand, unless we give them 5 percent of our gross
domestic product to buy up suspect securities backed by sub-prime mortgages.
Consider what the "Paulson Plan" of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, against
which Sen. Richard Shelby and the House Republicans rebelled, entails.
Since Americans save nothing and have to borrow from abroad to finance our
trade and budget deficits, wars and foreign aid, what the secretary proposes
is this: that Congress authorize the Treasury to spend $700 billion to buy
up the toxic paper on the books not only of U.S. banks, but of foreign banks
operating in the United States. According to The Washington Times, the
Treasury would also be authorized to buy up securities backed by rotten auto
loans, student loans and credit card debts.
Thus America would be borrowing from China, Japan and the Middle East to
tidy up the balance sheets of the banks of China, Japan and the Middle East.
And all the rotten paper will be offloaded onto U.S. taxpayers, who
hopefully will be able to recoup some of their losses, because some of the
paper will be good.
Why should we do this? Because otherwise there will be a financial panic,
followed by a market collapse, wiping out pensions, 401Ks, portfolios and
defined benefit plans of Middle America, forcing millions into bankruptcy
and millions more to put off retirement and continue working until they
drop.
In a democracy, it is said, you get the kind of government you deserve. But
what did the American people do to deserve this? What did they do to deserve
the quality of financial, corporate and political leadership that marched
them into this mess -- and that today postures as their rescuers?
Consider what this mess has already cost taxpayers: $29 billion to buy the
rotten paper of Bear Stearns so J.P. Morgan would buy the investment bank;
$85 billion for 80 percent of AIG to nationalize it; $150 billion in a
stimulus package to flood the nation with cash; perhaps $300 billion to bail
out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and now $700 billion to begin taking the
toxic paper off the hands of America's big banks.
And even if this is passed, say Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, there
is no guarantee this will resolve the crisis. If the $700 billion is not
provided and the toxic paper is not pulled off the books of the world's
banks by U.S. taxpayers, however, we face an almost certain collapse,
surging bankruptcies, rising unemployment, a shrinkage of GDP and a
recession, if not worse.
Yet, the fellows who tell us we face a financial mushroom cloud over every
American city if we do not act at once to provide the $700 billion did not
see this coming and can make no guarantee that this will succeed and end the
crisis.
Nevertheless, it must be done, and done now, as collapse is imminent.
Looking at all the money being ladled out by the U.S. government to prevent
a collapse, and the diminished revenue coming in, it is hard to see how
America avoids future deficits that reach $1 trillion a year. These will
imperil both the dollar itself and the ability of the United States, which
saves nothing, to borrow from the rest of the world. The downsizing of
America is at hand.
Yes, indeed, we have arrived at the Day of Reckoning for Uncle Sam.
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September 27, 2008 |
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| U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.,
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What
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With
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Christians Ought To Do More In This Debate
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN
By CHARLES H. DARRELL
June 12, 2005 |
The sign of a
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The current debate over same-sex marriage is a perfect example.... |
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Why
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Secular liberals show open contempt for traditionalists
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| I am not a Christian, or even a
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"religious right"...? |
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