1115.org

It’s not for nothing that I’ve been tracking Hank Paulson since he was selected Treasury Secretary. He was supposed to bring “credibility” to the job, and in 2006 with the economy teetering, that was kind of important. His track record (wreckord?) has been simply atrocious, exemplified by quotes like these:

Quite simply, every major public statement Paulson has made has been staggeringly wrong. Investors who took his words into account have taken untold losses (unless they did as I did and counted them as contrary indicators). So it was with shock and horror that I learned of one of the conditions to Uncle Hank’s Wall Street Crony Giveaway:

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

The word ‘unbelievable’ doesn’t even cut it. Of all people to have the absurd power to be literally above the law, Hank Paulson should be the last.

I feel bad that I don’t have the time to expand on my thoughts about the end of the illusion of American capitalism, but I will say this: the outcome of this giveaway, i.e. the net cost to the people of this country, is a bigger deal than who happens to win the elections in November. This isn’t to minimize the differences between the candidates, but $700 billion (and likely much more) will limit the ability of Obama to do all those things you think he really wants to do to, like health care, helping the poor, fixing infrastructure etc. None of that is going to happen because the $700 billion (or $3 trillion, or whatever) will be the thing for the next several years. Grover Norquist will finally be able to realize his (wet) dream of drowning the government in a bath tub, and that’s only the beginning.

There is a bit of good news in the middle of this shitstorm, and that is that Congress is already starting to feel the heat. Even though it seems that Democrats want to screw up both the policy and politics on this one, public polling shows that Americans are overwhelmingly against the plan. My Congresswoman Jackie Speier gets it, but even if she didn’t, there are the calls:

Congresswoman Jackie Speier has “grave concerns with the Administration’s $700 billion Wall Street bailout.” In a statement released shortly after the proposal was made public, she said, “If this is a pill the taxpayers must swallow for the good of the overall economy, then it must come with necessary safeguards. These include independent oversight, limits on excessive executive compensation and other necessary reforms of the financial services industry.”

Congresswoman Speier’s office received more than 250 emails and phone calls in the first 48 hours since Secretary Paulson’s announcement, of which just two supported the Administration’s plan.

This is a rare moment where calling/emailing/faxing your Representatives and Senators will have a measurable impact*. It doesn’t take more than a minute, and all you have to say is “I’m a constituent, and I’d like you to please tell [Senator/Congressman X] that I’m against spending taxpayer money to save Wall Street firms whose irresponsible actions got us into this mess in the first place.” And since this is an election year, you can even let them know that you’ll vote against anyone who supports the giveaway. Mish has more things to say and lists of key Republicans who have been critical of such bailouts in the past.

Please take a few minutes and make a couple of calls. They are preparing to spend money that your children and grandchildren will have to work to replace. And it’s Hank Paulson that decides where it goes. The same Hank Paulson who will be unemployed in a few months and back on Wall Street looking for work at another bank so he can pillage the Treasury again. Be polite but firm, and remember you’re probably talking to an intern or the most junior staffer in the office.

*”But, on this issue, the calls and e-mails are making a difference. Members and staffers are talking about it in the halls and in meetings. The volumes are big (although [not] as big as when the NRA or AARP mobilizes their members) but they’re all individual. And they’re running 99-to-1 against. If you read the capitol hill press (Roll Call, Politico, The Hill, CQ, National Journal), you can see the developing dissent among the rank-and-file on both sides. A lot of that is beign (sic) driven by the calls and e-mails from back home. Keep it up!”