Today Was A Good Day

I've long been on the record that things are going to hell in a handbasket. I've also been screaming that the proposed bailout plan, the one that went down to defeat today, for Wall Street was a complete croc. What i haven't been able to do is express the right way, why this bailout of Big Shitpile, was a bad idea. So, I'm going to let Kos tell you as he does it much better than I ever could:

1. I'm glad this thing failed. The right and left may have had different reasons for voting this bill down, but fact is, the "consensus center" rushed into this bill with little transparency or public input deserved to die. Was this the right bill? Maybe, maybe not. but we certainly didn't have a fair debate on it. Some of you may be quick to trust your representatives in DC. I'm not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

2. On the merits, the bill fell short. The CEO compensation provision was a joke, the oversight provisions were a joke, Congress had no ability to block additional disbursement of the money without an affirmative vote (subject to filibusters), and not a dime was directed at average Americans. It was a reverse Robin Hood -- the largest transfer of wealth in our nation's history from the working class to the upper class. And transferring that wealth to healthy financial institutions and foreign ones was morally repugnant.

3. But there is a finance problem. Just because this solution sucked, doesn't mean that nothing should be done.
So now, with a little more time, perhaps we can have an honest appraisal of the alternatives. I've seen several options floated. I can't find and link to them since I have to soon rush back into the jury pool waiting room, and they don't have wi-fi in there (though they will soon! they promise unhelpfully), but I've linked to some in the past, and others have as well. Now we'll hopefully get a chance to look more closely at those alternatives.

4. And with those alternatives, hopefully we have options that offer solutions to the problem, but don't destroy an Obama's administration to invest in progressive priorities like health care, education, and alternate fuels. Hopefully we have a solution that places the burden of the bailout on those who most benefited from it. Hopefully we have a solution that provides tangible benefits to those most harmed by this crisis, not those who have benefited. And sure, the wingers may not like it (since what they seem to want is more regulation, which is what got us here in the first place!), but we have the majorities. And if the crisis is as bad as Bush claims, let him try to veto a more equitable solution to the crisis.

5. The polling is clear -- the American people, me included, aren't pretending there isn't a finance crisis. But they want a solution that doesn't reward the "evildoers". This one did. Next time, let's put the burden of the bailout on those who deserve to bear it, not on those of us who were never invited to that party to begin with.

Time reports that calls to Congressional offices were 100 to 1 against the bailout deal.