The bailout plan has finally been approved by the Senate and House of Representatives as the "Rescue Plan." Realizing that "bailout" seemed politically incorrect, the government back tracks again to make up for errors. Nonetheless, a plan is in action and hopefully will bring positive changes for the current state of the U.S. Last Monday (Sep. 29), the market dropped 778 points due to the House's rejection of the original plan. If the U.S. financial market continues to suffer, it will force severe consequences, but thankfully in this case it has brought a clear reality check that a better plan is in need, and fast. On Wednesday, lawmakers revamped the bill, which was passed by Senate later that day and by the House on Friday. The plan encompasses a 1-year increase in FDIC for bank and credit union accounts. The cap will be increased from $100,000 to $250,000, allowing depositors to feel protected, keeping banks safe, and allowing the economy to slowly begin flowing. Many new tax deductions are on the rise too, and thankfully more deductions than increases. Tax breaks will go to investments in wind and solar energy and plug-in electric cars, helping the environment while helping the economy. The plan is also enforcing insurance companies to provide the same level of medical assisstance to those with mental illnesses and other heath-related issues. And last of the more-emphasized tax cuts and increases; it will now be easier to tax on stock sales and hedge-fund managers. The proposal of the new bill is showing the government's efforts to revise the economy by promoting positive benefits for our nation as a whole. Such benevolent ideals the U.S. government is taking on...
Obama quoted Franklin D. Roosevelt [speaking on the Great Depression] last Wednesday, encouraging Americans to have "'confidence and courage' through what is likely to be an extended period of economic turmoil." Well if the plan really protects the economy and people, it is likely to elicit confidence and courage. After watching the following YouTube video
found on http://www.donttripoverthisblog.com/, I found myself surprised to see the blame of the economic crisis so demonstratively pointed to another side. The Pro-Republican video blames the crisis on the democratic party for their "unsightly" additions to the Community Reinvestment Act in past years. According to the video, the revisions to this act allowed subprime mortgages to be lended to "help" low-income borrowers. Subprime mortgage securities soon followed this, with no collateral to back them up. Once interest rates and gas prices rose, those borrowers could not even afford to pay just the interest and in turn lost their homes, and the housing bubble was formed. The video shows numerous laws and acts that Republican's proposed to fix arising problems, that Democrats shot down time and time again. They also pointed to closely-tied relations between noted Democrats and the corporations to blame (such as Obama and Fannie Mae). Moral of story, there are always two sides, and greed lie on both. Throughout the crisis so far, Republicans have been adamantly tied to economic problems. Neither party is perfect, nor are the individuals who represent their ideals. Even with a new promising plan there are likely to be glitches. Consumers need to be aware and smart, but most importantly positive that the economy is headed in the right direction...so for now we must continue to look at how the situation unfolds.
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4 comments:
Britney,
I agree that the bailout plan was beneficial, but the bill may not be entirely filled with economically related initiatives. For instance, the ban on offshore drilling has been overturned in a "spending bill," as a source in my latest blog post states. This spending bill is likely the bailout plan, but I would just like to confirm that assumption.
I do not know how you were able to find any media that criticized Democrats on the economy, but you certainly deserve credit for that discovery. You mention some accusations in the video, but are they true or misleading? Also, have there been any misleading Democratic attacks on Republicans?
Tommy
Britney,
You give a good overview of the bailout plan. You post that republicans tried to "fix" the crisis, but the democrats "shot down" their bills. I wonder why and if there is more to it. Did the democrats rightful deem the bills/proposals to be flawed (i.e could they be linked to special interests groups, or could they be "bill packing")
Also, I am surprised you did not mention the huge drop in dow jones (nearly 700 pts) and its influence in European markets.
Britney,
You provide helpful information that describes how the new "rescue" plan plays out and I agree that America needs to see this bill passed to ensure that the economy does not collapse. You mention that a lot of blame is placed on the Democratic Party but I thought that part of the problem was also Republicans because they wanted no government regulation into the market, in order to keep it "free". I also was wondering if Congress is going to do anything to make sure that greedy bankers don't come out of this reaping the benefits when they created the problem in the first place.
Tommy,
You are exactly right in saying the bill "may not be entirely filled with economically related initiatives." Thats the big kicker-which can be good or bad. Money is being routed to not only help the economy, but encourage growth through other facets of our nation (i.e. the environment, health care, etc.)I am sure there are places that money is being routed to that is not just focused on the economy and may not recieve full support from the public if fully disclosed.
As for attacks on Republics, they have been targeted the majority of the time throughout the entire crisis. I think in response to your question on the video being true or misleading...it is both. BOTH parties play a part in the outcome of issues in the U.S. and neither party is completely altruistic. There are connections on both sides between politicians and business executives, so with the formation of the new plan-American citizens need to be aware of this and not buy into unrealistic ideas.
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