National Protests Erupt Over Bailout Plan

[marmar]

via CommonDreams:



Published on Friday, September 26, 2008 by Inter Press Service
National Protests Erupt Over Bailout Plan
by Haider Rizvi


NEW YORK - The George W. Bush administration's plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue giant Wall Street firms from their current financial meltdown has unleashed a spontaneous wave of protests across the United States.

Protesters gather Sep. 24 in Seattle against Sen. John McCain and the Wall St. meltdown. Protesters said they want the Congress to protect millions of U.S. citizens who are on the verge of losing their homes due to bad lending practices of creditors instead of doling out public money to big investment firms responsible for ruining the economy.

"People are up in arms about this," Matt Holland of the TrueMajority.org, an advocacy group comprising 700,000 members that played a major role in organising the protests, told IPS. "Our members are livid. They're hitting the streets."

According to the group, thousands of people in more than 190 cities and towns across the country took part in demonstrations against the corporate bailout bill proposed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson last Friday.

The four-page draft bill, which is currently under discussion on Capitol Hill, did not initially require any legal and financial measures to protect homeowners from possible foreclosures, nor did it put any limits on the salaries of the corporate executives -- although legislators say that has since been amended.

On Thursday, Democratic and Republican lawmakers declared they were close to reaching a deal on a modified version of the bill, but still there was no indication if it would pass the Senate and the House. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/26-0

[dodger501]

1. Can someone explain something to me, please?

How is it that Boner and the Repubs in the House can hold anything up since they are in the minority?
How does that work?

[ingac70]

2. Our majority isn't big enough to stop them...

that is why we need to toss as many Repuke bastards out on their ass as possible.

[kirby]

4. It is Pelosi...

Here is the deal... The Democrats think something needs to be done to keep the financial markets from a disaster that will impact the majority of ordinary Americans. However, people are spitting mad at this bailout because this is a result of the Wall Street games.

Pelosi knows that if she rams this through with only Democratic support, the Republicans will turn around and run in the current election as the reformers against the Pelosi bailout Congress. She realizes she wants the Republicans on board with this to take the heat too.

That is what is happening. The Repubs are trying to seize on a populist issue and distance themselves from Bush.

[Kolesar]

5. Obviously then, we need to change the subject to something else like immigration reform

:sarcasm:

[bdamomma]

3. Well I guess our outrage is waking up Capitol Hill

DiFi was just on the Senate Floor saying how her constituents are kicking up, something like 50,000 calls have been flooding her office. So I guess our calls are working.