| The Senate's version of the bailout bill passed easily, 74-25. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cobbled together the bailout bill on top of the AMT fix and alternative energy tax credits -- talked about often enough here -- and kicked it through, with little opposition.
It's the ultimate Senate bill. Bloated. Perks for everybody. And pundits predict it's got enough of everything to make it through the House.
Like Shane Mason, I'm not a fan.
Why? Well, for starters, this bailout bill is a little too big to slick it through with pork and tax cuts. The bill should be stripped of all that garbage, and we should focus on the bailout. Crazy, I know.
For another thing, there are a few provisions in the bill that just aren't palatable. The alternative energy tax credits? Gives a boost to coal-to-liquid and tar sand developers, too. And let's not forget that those tax credits aren't offset in this bill. So - we throw hundreds of billions onto the banking crisis...and add more debt with the tax credits, without any increased revenue source to recoup our investments? With the built-in inequity of our tax code, working Americans will be stiffed with this bill. You and me. And our kids. And our grandkids.
And again, there's nothing in here to give homeowners concrete relief. And nothing in the bill to bring some regulation to bear on the problem. And nothing in the bill to bring revenue to the government from the same institutions we're bailing out.
Jon Tester voted against the bill.
The bailout bill has been a tangled mess ever since it appeared on the scene. It wasn't clear to we non-economists what it was supposed to fix; no one likes the bill, either in Congress, the administration, the financial world, or on this much-ballyhooed "Main St" we keep hearing out; and no one knows if it will work. It's a big payment, too. And we're told it's the only thing that will keep our economy from sinking into the toilet -- and they might be right, too.
In short, it's evoked anger, bewilderment, fear, and frustration for me over the past week or so. And, yes, I'm not angry at Obama, McCain, or Baucus for passing it through the Senate -- maybe a little dismayed they didn't take up some of the more practical, progressive suggestions.
We'll see what happens to this bill in the House. I'm guessing it goes through, and we're done. |
