Mahkato
09-22-2008, 10:06 PM
I recently submitted this letter to the editor of my local newspaper. I would encourage all of you to write letters as well. DO NOT COPY MY LETTER please. You may use it as inspiration, but don't plagiarize.
I'll post here again if my letter is published.
Long Live King Paulson?
Did I miss [Treasury Secretary] Henry Paulson’s coronation? When exactly did he acquire the power to push 12-figure sums of other people’s money wherever he deems necessary?
Paulson’s recent bailout proposal includes the astounding declaration that “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.”[1]
Congress tends not to read bills or ask questions when they are panicked and confused. If they allow his proposal to pass, Paulson will literally be above the law, and with a $700 billion credit card at his disposal. That’s nearly 2,000 times the largest Powerball payout in history[2].
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, where Paulson recently served as CEO[3], are the two largest independent U.S. securities firms remaining[4]. Both have now obtained permission to operate as commercial banks which will make it even easier to buy up their competitors at pennies on the dollar.
Tim Krohn asks in his Sept 21 editorial[5] why there hasn’t been more government oversight of the financial industry. Perhaps a better question would be, why has there not been more government oversight of Paulson and [Federal Reserve Chairman Ben] Bernanke? They have blitzed the American people with closed-door sweetheart deals for the banks while our elected officials stand idly by and mumble inconsequentially.
Incumbents and candidates who cannot offer coherent solutions to this mess–and I count Obama and McCain among them—are not worthy of office.If you've submitted any letters to the editor about the bailouts, please post them here!
I'll post here again if my letter is published.
Long Live King Paulson?
Did I miss [Treasury Secretary] Henry Paulson’s coronation? When exactly did he acquire the power to push 12-figure sums of other people’s money wherever he deems necessary?
Paulson’s recent bailout proposal includes the astounding declaration that “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.”[1]
Congress tends not to read bills or ask questions when they are panicked and confused. If they allow his proposal to pass, Paulson will literally be above the law, and with a $700 billion credit card at his disposal. That’s nearly 2,000 times the largest Powerball payout in history[2].
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, where Paulson recently served as CEO[3], are the two largest independent U.S. securities firms remaining[4]. Both have now obtained permission to operate as commercial banks which will make it even easier to buy up their competitors at pennies on the dollar.
Tim Krohn asks in his Sept 21 editorial[5] why there hasn’t been more government oversight of the financial industry. Perhaps a better question would be, why has there not been more government oversight of Paulson and [Federal Reserve Chairman Ben] Bernanke? They have blitzed the American people with closed-door sweetheart deals for the banks while our elected officials stand idly by and mumble inconsequentially.
Incumbents and candidates who cannot offer coherent solutions to this mess–and I count Obama and McCain among them—are not worthy of office.If you've submitted any letters to the editor about the bailouts, please post them here!