Each morning this week, nervous Americans awakened to news that yet another financial institution is in rough waters or has already hit bottom and been wiped out. We waited to see if the federal government would toss a life preserver to keep an insurance conglomerate or a massive lender or a decades-old brokerage firm afloat. Imagine that! Private enterprise looking to the feds to come to the rescue and bail them out - what a concept.
Of course, the presidential candidates weighed in on the crisis. Senator Obama insists that the Federal Reserve must protect families that count on insurance (the AIG disaster), but not salvage the shareholders or management who profited during good times. Senator McCain acknowledges that regulation needs to be streamlined and is calling for a commission to study the problem. Meanwhile, he remains opposed to the federal bailout of AIG.
As the crisis deepens, the presidential rhetoric on the economy will develop new criticisms of the opposition, new ways of laying blame, and, we hope, new approaches to solutions. At this juncture, it appears that McCain is not defending deregulation even as Obama points to the flaws of economic policies which give Wall Street free rein.
michael valentine
from spring Valley
September 21, 2008 at 02:16 AM
McCain would like a commission to look into it?
Can anyone point to a commission that has worked within five years?
DAVE
September 27, 2008 at 03:36 PM
You don't call an arsonist to extinguish a fire they started. Neither should we call on congress to solve problems they created with idiotic regulations and controls that were doomed for failure.
For some reason the American voter has a death wish and continues to elect people who want to socialize anything that moves. America will be doomed if it continues.
Isn’t it odd that since the take over of the Pelosi crowd in congress we have high gas prices, higher unemployment more graft and corruption and all they do is blame it on someone else? I thought that is what they were going to get rid of.
How many people know that congress spends the money makes the laws and creates the controls that create most of the problems we have today. If you take the time you can trace everything back to socialist politics in the House and Senate even the white house.
Most of congress made out very well with the financial loan crises as they always do. These very policies running things now were paid well by Lobbyist to put here head in the sand. Obama actually was the second biggest recipient of lobby money and did what he was paid for. Not vote.
Now he all of sudden Obama is acting like he is the savior on the white horse and the voters eat it up. McCain is nothing more then a want to be Socialist while Obama borders on Marxism. I may add Obama also hired the two people who ran Freddie Mac and Fanny May into the ground. There are Republicans who are socialist as well. They too have there hand in the cookie jar.
If we the people have any chance of saving our country we have to start voting for the person and not he party. It's the quality of ones make up that will make the country not what party’s agenda it represents. This “good old boy†net work has got to end in Washington.
Washington is no more then a get rich scheme for failures unless you are a Trust Funder who seeks power in place of happiness.
John Keller from Carlsbad
October 02, 2008 at 04:56 AM
DON'T BAIL OUT PEOPLE IN FORECLOSURE!!! THEY MADE BAD DECISIONS AND CAN'T BLAME IT ON ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES!!! READ THE FINE PRINT!!! DON"T BUY THINGS YOU CAN'T AFFORD!!! ONLY A VERY SMALL MINORITY WERE REALLY DUPED!!
October 03, 2008 at 07:08 PM
@Gloria: "Actually, Prop. S will extend the property tax assessment approved for Prop. MM years ago, rather than impose a new tax." So let me get this straight. Proposition MM, a proposition whose supporters told the voters would fix all of the public school's sagging infrastructure, will now be extending by Proposition S, a proposition whose supporter now tell voters will really fix all of the public school's sagging infrastructure. First, I am so grateful that I no longer live in San Diego city proper. Second, I am so grateful that I didn't go to a San Diego public school. Third, I am blessed to have a Catholic school within walking distance of our home for my son. Fourth, are they kidding? There's an adage, concurrently ascribed to Carl Jung, FDR, George Carlin, Bill Wilson of Alcoholic Anonymous, and Bugs Bunny, which says that insanity is the process by which we do the same things over and over again but expect different results. The public schools continually complain that they could get better test scores and cleaner schools if they only had more money
. The voters continually give them more money. The public school continually underachieve both pedogogically and infrastructurally. Repeat. It's so mind-numbingly repetitive, I could write a five-line computer program to do it. In fact, I will. do { printf("Our schools would start performing better if we only had money"); (float) result =vote(*char initiative, float MillionsOfDollarsInTVAds); if(result >=.55) printf("Thank you so much for supporting our communities' children") ; }while (1) In computerspeak, this is called an endless do loop, emphasis on the word endless . If your computer had this running on it, you'd have to turn off the power to stop it. And yet, this is how the public schools continue to sap our hard-earned wages from us without getting any return. There is one thing voters can do to stop this insanity. Turn off the power. Stop being sheeple. Vote against this and every other school bond initiative, and save that money to send your child to a school that will actually teach them something.
Dave
October 04, 2008 at 03:22 PM
What a county. It is like giving the arsonist who starts the fire the responsibility for putting it out. We will never find a solution until government gets out of the way of the free market. Since when has the government done anything except cost the tax payer? Those of you who may wish government health care have to be out of your minds. This whole Banking fiasco sits in the laps of Government Owned, managed and regulated institutions Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac. The private sector had nothing to do with that institution. These institutions were nothing more then a scheme by the black caucus and their friends the Democrats to give cheap loans to minorities who otherwise could not get them in the real world. These institutions were welfare program for loans and jobs. In 2004 Bank Regulators found discrepancies of over hundred million dollars in personal expenses for one. Democrats and The Back Caucus stood in the way of the investigation calling the Republican run congress racists. This mess could have been stopped in its tracks in 2004. The interesting thing is now the people in Washington who created theses institutions, prevented regulation and took millions in lobby kickbacks are now the heroes. To hide their misdeeds in this thing they skillfully with the aid of their friends in the press fabricated crises blaming Wall Street and the private sector. Yesterday they got 700 billion dollars reward for steeling from us in the first pace. This is a great example for our kids. Note: If this bail out was so necessary why is it that the stock market did not respond in the positive it only responded in the positive when it failed the day before. It is an easy answer any one should figure out. The private sector had nothing to do with the crises if it did the stock market would have jumped 300 points with 700 million dollars pumped into it. For you over educated experts who will say, but it has not been signed and implemented yet. For education purpose the private sector is not static like government it moves in anticipation it does not live in the past. Disclaimer: Socialist will never understand this concept. Already the press is starting with its cover stories. They are starting to prepare us for the evitable and that is the 700 million is also a scam. They now give us stores that it may not stop the economic crunch. Then why did we just give 700 million away to a bunch of crooks. Where were these stories before the signed? The biggest cost to us in our county is ignorance. It amazes me how many experts appear to tell us the wrong information. These over educated Ivy League bureaucrats unfortunately are taught the party line in school that is what to think and not how to think,
Mike Yamada from Orange County
October 17, 2008 at 09:24 PM
Reviewing Proposition S's proposal for individual schools indicates that it will "Provide 21st century technology upgrades" for every school. I understand this includes millions of dollars for a new IP phone system when almost 50% of the schools phone systems that can be upgraded to IP for a fraction of that cost. Is this why the district always needs more money? Is this the best use of money?
October 23, 2008 at 04:32 AM
@Mike Yamada: "I understand this includes millions of dollars for a new IP phone system when almost 50% of the schools phone systems that can be upgraded to IP for a fraction of that cost." Good catch on that. Unfortunately, when you have a school system which enjoys a monopoly on our tax dollar, you should expect this kind of wasteful spending.
