Obama And Bush Teaming Up To Bring This Economy Just What It Needs: More Bailout Spending
Because nothing says “economic recovery” like keeping tax burdens high on Americans to spend hundreds of billions more dollars on bailouts for ineptly-run corporate giants.
In a move being coordinated with the Obama transition team, senior Bush administration officials are preparing to ask lawmakers for the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package, despite intense opposition in Congress, sources familiar with the matter said.
The initiative, if it goes ahead, could create an unusual political straddle between the Bush and Obama administrations. If Congress were to vote down the measure, either President Bush or Obama might have to exercise a veto in order to get the money. While Obama officials prefer that current administration issue a veto, the White House is declining to address that question.
Democratic Senate aides were notified in a meeting this afternoon that the request could come as soon as this weekend and that a vote could be held as soon as next week, congressional sources said.
Under the emergency rescue legislation approved by Congress in October, the administration must inform lawmakers that it wants access to the second installment of $350 billion. Unless Congress passes a resolution rejecting the request within 15 days, the Treasury can begin to tap the funds.
Meanwhile bailout recipient Citigroup is buying up foreign companies worth billions, and the executives responsible for steering these insolvent corporate giants into insolvency are all busy counting their bonuses.
I’m not one to complain about executive pay. What the executives and employees of privately-owned companies get paid is between them, the company’s board of directors and the stockholders. But spending hundreds of billions of dollars of our taxes on bailing out companies guided into insolvency so that they can continue to blunder along ineptly is just plain ridiculous.
What’s particularly sad is, given both Democrat and Republican support for the bailouts, Americans are getting a bi-partisan screwing.
