Corruption in plain sight

The Bush administration pushed for, and got, the biggest bailout in history of private shareholders, at taxpayer’s expense. The National Debt was raised $800 billion to cover it.

The banking and mortgage industries and millions of homeowners are in terrible shape. Foreclosure rates are at levels not seen since the Great Depression, and bank failure rates could reach Depression-era levels, if not for swift action by the government to bail them out, and even then it will be too late for many.

Last week Congress worked on a bailout plan that would help banks, mortgage lenders and homeowners – but Bush threatened to veto it. The bill was revised and Bush said it was acceptable now. What was the change? The new bill promises to bail out the shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

I think this crosses the line of criminal corruption. The shareholders took a risk by buying stock and reaped the benefit when things went well, the executives of the two private companies took in hundreds of millions of dollars in pay and bonuses while running it into the ground, and now the taxpayers are left holding the bill.

It’s outrageous!

The government could have just seized the corporations, as they did with IndyMac Bank a couple of weeks ago. There is no good reason to have taxpayers foot the bill to support shareholder investments. The only explanation ties back to the millions the two companies gave in political donations.

Jon Monday