| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front Economy |
| Rep. Brad Sherman On Foreign Investor Handout Bill |
| 2008-10-01 |
| This Paulson handout bill is gonna be a seriously large gift to foreign investors, which is why foreigners like Brown, Trichet and China's mandarins are all rooting for it. Rep. Brad Sherman, D California: Larry I am glad you have a few seconds to talk to someone who voted against this bill. I am not changing my mind. I want to thank my colleagues who stood up to the purveyors of panic and voted against a very bad bill and voted with 400 eminent economists including three Nobel laureates who wrote to us and said don't panic, don't act hastily, hold hearings, work carefully. The fact is Larry if you read this bill, even you would have voted against it. It provides hundreds of billions of dollars of bailouts to foreign investors. It provides no real control of Paulson's power. There is a critique board but not really a board that can step in and change what he does. It's a $700 billion program run by a part-time temporary employee and there is no limit on million dollar a month salaries. Larry Kudlow: Let me just ask you one question. I think you are referring to foreign banks headquartered in the United States. I do not see how foreign investors get bailed out. Rep. Brad Sherman: Larry you have to read the bill. It's very clear. The Bank of Shanghai can transfer all of its toxic assets to the Bank of Shanghai of Los Angeles which can then sell them the next day to the Treasury. I had a provision to say if it wasn't owned by an American entity even a subsidiary, but at least an entity in the US, the Treasury can't buy it. It was rejected. The bill is very clear. Assets now held in China and London can be sold to US entities on Monday and then sold to the Treasury on Tuesday. Paulson has made it clear he will recommend a veto of any bill that contained a clear provision that said if Americans did not own the asset on September 20th that it can't be sold to the Treasury. Hundreds of billions of dollars are going to bail out foreign investors. They know it, they demanded it and the bill has been carefully written to make sure that can happen. |
| Posted by:Zhang Fei |
| #6 The No Banker Left Behind Act of 2008 has passed the Senate. Break out the bubbly. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-10-01 22:33 |
| #5 Shades of Goodfellas - note that the banksters cleaned out the place before setting it on fire to make a $700b insurance claim - a claim they want honored by American taxpayers. No one seems to remember that last Christmas - December 2007 - Wall Street handed out RECORD BONUSES of $35 BILLION DOLLARS. Much of the profits were made in the (then) lucrative Debt Speculation. Here we are bashing American Car Companies again. The Auto “Bailout” is a LOAN. The Bank BAILOUT is a blank check, and Uncle Sam gambling with your money. Get a clue. Wall Street partied too hard, and now I need to give them money? Their bonuses (1 years worth) amount to 5% of the $700 Billion. I say - let the banks fail. I’ve been hearing - from the Wall Street Analysts - that GM and Ford are going bankrupt for years. Funny - I never heard anyone predict Goldman in July - or Fannie & Freddie in August??? Leave the American Car Companies out of this debate. I know they’re everyone’s favorite punching bag - but get a clue - this is a year old topic that was already approved before the so-called Wall Street Crisis. - AND - IT’S A LOAN. NOT A GAMBLE. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-10-01 16:46 |
| #4 The US government created the problem and interfered with the markets. The markets just handed the Fed the first bill. Ill thought regulation. |
| Posted by: newc 2008-10-01 16:36 |
| #3 Could traders and bankers be destabilizing the market on purpose, in their own little ways, to pressure D.C. on the bailout? I just read another article about low demand for overnight loans, Bank2Bank, and I thought that was there big boogeyman? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-10-01 16:22 |
| #2 Are any of these "foreign investors" members of the House Of Saud by chance? The "global economy." What's not to love about it? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-10-01 15:46 |
| #1 In case the explanation in the article isn't clear enough, this handout bill allows for the Treasury to buy toxic waste assets originated abroad. This means the US taxpayer might end up owning foreclosures on British, Spanish and Australian real estate, which are way more overvalued relative to median income than American real estate. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-10-01 15:30 |