Lawmakers Clash With Secretary Paulson Over Bailing Out Homeowners
Uh-oh. Struggling “homeowners” have hit a snag in accessing bailout funds— in the form of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. And Congress is not pleased about the matter. Bloomberg’s Rebecca Christie and Alison Vekshin wrote today:
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson rejected using the government’s financial-rescue program as a “panacea” for economic difficulties, clashing with lawmakers who want the funds to help beleaguered homeowners.
“The rescue package was not intended to be an economic stimulus or an economic recovery package,” Paulson said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington. The Troubled Asset Relief Program was designed to stabilize financial markets and the flow of credit and “is not a panacea for all our economic difficulties.”
Representative Barney Frank, who heads the House panel, cut off Paulson during the question-and-answer session, saying “the bill couldn’t have been clearer” in also being aimed at reducing foreclosures. Paulson told lawmakers he has no plans to use the second half of the $700 billion program, indicating it will be up to the incoming Obama administration to resolve the matter.
“We don’t have a lot of time and I don’t usually do this,” Frank said in interrupting Paulson during an exchange on how to deploy TARP cash. “I read sections of the bill that says — write it down — give them assistance,” Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told the Treasury chief.
Representative Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, urged using the funds “to stabilize housing,” and others on the panel emphasized the strain households are under as the economy has weakened.
Paulson better do what Congress says, before some irresponsible homeowners band together and send JG Wentworth after his butt…
“It’s my money and I need it now!”
Source:
“Paulson, Democrats Clash on Bailout for Homeowners (Update2)”
Rebecca Christie, Alison Vekshin
Bloomberg, November 18, 2008
November 19th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Well so much for “Of the People, by the people and for the people”. The chief crook of Wall St, Paulson, who sat a top Goldman while the toxic paper schemes were being created is telling Con-gress that he is going to bail out his banking buddies and to hell with the American People. Meanwhile, members of Con-gress having voted 180 degrees against what the voting public wanted them to do is now slobbering on the floor, kicking and screaming like a toddler because all that money we really never had is being spent on something they never understood what they were voting for in the first place. Revealing how really stupid and incompetent they really are. Sadly, this could blow up in all our faces with a freaking Revolution of the masses against the Con-gress, Treasury, The Fed and whomever else gets in the way, it is scary. The dollar is destroyed, hyperinflation is coming, if you don’t have any gold are silver coin your screwed. I don’t give a damn what the Wall St crackpots say, they no more understand about finance than anyone else. Listening to Bloomberg Radio every morning is the perfect example of a bunch of morons trying desperately to convince the public that all is well, buy those bonds that will be worth no more than a few sheets of TP in a emergency. In fact I’d rather have the TP probably within a couple of years. We’re screwed!
November 19th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Thanks for the comment Conjecture. I agree with you— this whole situation is getting absurd. Thankfully, I read a few books some years ago that predicted the unraveling that’s taking place, so it’s not like this has been totally unexpected.
“Sadly, this could blow up in all our faces with a freaking Revolution of the masses against the Con-gress, Treasury, The Fed and whomever else gets in the way, it is scary.”
One reader, Days of Broken Arrows, might disagree with you here. But, personally, I think the potential for social unrest is out there should things get really bad.