Wasserman Schultz: ‘Mr. Paulson Seems To Be Flailing About A Bit’
Wasserman Schultz: ‘Mr. Paulson Seems To Be Flailing About A Bit’
Yesterday, the Treasury Department, under the direction of Secretary Henry Paulson, reported that it is “making preparations” to ask Congress for access to the second $350 billion of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). This comes just one week after Paulson said that he would not be asking for the second TARP installment.
Today, on MSNBC, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) expressed concern that Paulson “seems to be flailing about a bit.” Watch it:
Indeed, this was just the latest in a series of reversals and missteps that Paulson has made while implementing the $700 billion economic rescue program. Here is a roundup of how Paulson has flailed about more than just “a bit”:
Flip-flopped on whether to spend the second $350 billion: Yesterday, it was reported that the Treasury is “now making preparations to ask Congress for clearance to tap into the second half of the massive $700 billion financial markets rescue fund.” However, just one week ago, Paulson said that he did not need the second $350 billion, claiming that “I want to preserve the firepower, the flexibility we have now and those that come after us will have.”
Changed the purpose of the program: Paulson intially said that “the single most effective thing we can do to help homeowners, the American people, and stimulate our economy,” is to buy troubled assets from banks. Paulson promptly abandoned that plan, instead deciding “to reinforce the stability of the financial system by providing sorely needed capital to banks, and even non-bank institutions that securitize credit card, auto and student loans.”
Misled about the stability of the banking system: Paulson announced on November 13 that the banking system “has been stabilized,” and “No one is asking themselves anymore, is there some major institution that might fail.” One week later, Paulson was bailing out Citigroup.
Ultimately, the $700 billion bailout was necessary to avert full-scale economic disaster. Still, as Rachel Maddow opined last night, “The all-over-the-map, reverse-course-at-every-turn approach has been exciting, but exciting in a bad way, when what the financial system needs is predictability and credibility and confidence.”
Transcript:
O’DONNELL: Why shouldn’t we be worried about this massive deficit spending?
SCHULTZ: You know, unfortunately, President-elect Obama is inheriting a pretty huge mess that, you know, if we don’t focus on getting it turned around, then we’re going — going to have an even worse problem and be in this situation longer than — than we have to be. But, you know, I am concerned, I have to admit, that the Treasury secretary, Mr. Paulson, seems to be flailing about a bit. I mean, I’m — you know, when I voted for that $700 billion bailout, you know, I expected that they would be — the government would be buying mortgages and focusing on making sure, at least in part, that people can stay in their homes that are facing foreclosure.
Now he’s abandoned that plan and he seems to be flailing about a bit on where to inject capital into markets. And there is a little bit of a risk that the markets are going to become too dependent on that capital. So that — that does give me quite a bit of concern.
O’DONNELL: Interesting to hear you say that, that you believe the Treasury secretary is flailing about a bit.
We would have preferred not to see the ‘Who’s on First?’ routine between Secretary Paulson and Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke because they seem to come by it naturally, whereas at least Abbott and Costello had to practice it to put forward that state of confusion.
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Folks, thinks about it: Bush was a loser and a failure when he was placed in our WH in 2000. Almost every single thing he has touched has been broken beyond repair. He has us mired in a $12 billion a month war and his policies have wiped out about $11 TRILLION in US wealth. There is nothing his administration has done to give us any hope they know what they are doing. This bailout is the exact same thing.
The same Nixon throwaways are in our WH, and Wall Streets ‘brains’ are in our Treasury. Why on earth would we expect anything but massive incompetence and failure?
November 26th, 2008 at 3:54 pmSee what happens when the GOP takes it in the shorts? They get a sense of humor. More please!
November 26th, 2008 at 3:54 pm“seems to be flailing about a bit.”
Duh!!! He’s a Bushie, what do you expect…competence? Not going to happen.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:58 pmIn other revelations, water appears to be a bit wet.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:02 pmMy son thinks Paulson is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Everything he says only creates more lack of confidence and instability in the markets. I hope to God that Congress will not approve giving him the other half of that $700 billion, because he’s totally mucked up the first half. Along with the ad hoc stuff done previously, and since. He should be relieved of duty NOW.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:05 pmI have withdrawn all of my savings from banks.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:07 pmThis is the biggest con of the American people. They don’t seem to be getting it.
I am debt free, Paulson can go to hell.
Between the idiot Bush financial deregulation and economic treason rigged by Gramm, McCain, Bush, Summers and others and the greedy zionist wall street pigs, we have will be having a bit of a rough patch next year. Heck of a job, morons…
November 26th, 2008 at 4:10 pmBenny and Hank “seem like a comedy act” aka Abbott and Costello. lol Priceless. Yep, Paulson is equivalent to the fake wizard in the Wizard of Oz who lied to Dorothy on how he is the great and powerful Oz: Ignore that man behind that curtain! Paulson duped the American people and Congress with the $700 million dollar bailout with a wink and a smile.
November 26th, 2008 at 4:12 pmA Hank Paulson Haiku
No honor thief?
November 26th, 2008 at 4:19 pmFear sells damaged goods
Tainted markets weaker
Since Bush and the Fed are determined to print trillions of dollars anyways, I say let’s use those dollars to pay off and pay down everybody’s mortgages; thereby:
November 26th, 2008 at 4:28 pm1. No more foreclosures
2. No more sinking real estate values
3. Lots of discretionary $ that’s not being spent on house payments to push the economy out of the doldrums.
It will go down in our history as stupefying that anyone who is as incompetent and as much of a complete idiot as Paulson is could ever rise to the position he is holding. I am just flabbergasted at the outrageous and embarrassing behavior. Your(my) tax dollars at work.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:09 pmEvery time I see Hank Paulson these last couple of days, he appears in my head as a cross between Peter Boyle as the ‘tap-dancing’ Frankenstein (in Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder’s brilliant 1974 Young Frankenstein) and Tim Curry’s turn as Dr. Franken-N-Furter (in Jim Shamman’s 1975 Rocky Horror Picture Show). Yes, the whole episode is one big freakishly expensive macabre side show.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:16 pmChuck,
Be careful with the benevolence – I’ve paid off my mortgage!
Impishparrot,
November 26th, 2008 at 5:25 pmEvery time I see Paul, I think of his brother Pat. Actually Pat would be a better candidate for Tres. Sec. despite the fact that he is dead.
Why is in it sports when the team is losing more than it’s winning, the coach is fired? How come the losers in the banking world, the ones who destroyed the markets continue to have jobs?
November 26th, 2008 at 5:35 pmCan anyone explain that for me?
This whole “bailout” stinks to high heaven. Companies like AIG, Citigroup, Wachovia, WaMu, the Big Three Automakers: I say don’t give them a single penny. Tell each of these incompetent corporations to go file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and re-organize, like everyone else. Why are we suddenly throwing insane amounts of money at these companies? It’s not going to solve the problem. IMHO, bankruptcy is the appropriate solution, yet nobody is even discussing that as a potential option. As I said before, something isn’t right about this. It stinks. It could very well be we are the willing participants in what could be the biggest scam ever devised on the American people. A scam of untold trillions of dollars, which you, me, and the next several generations of Americans are going to have to payback.
In short, the bailout is bulls**t!
November 26th, 2008 at 5:46 pmWe would have preferred not to see the ‘Who’s on First?’ routine between Secretary Paulson and Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke because they seem to come by it naturally, whereas at least Abbott and Costello had to practice it to put forward that state of confusion.
Actually I was thinking more along the lines of the keystone cops, not Abbott and Costello…….
November 26th, 2008 at 5:47 pmseems to be flailing about a bit
That’s certainly an understatement. Paulson hasn’t a clue what he is doing and if Congress lets him get his hands on the rest of the 700 billion, it will be a criminal act. Paulson has given money away with no oversight and no end results. I heard on the radio today that a large company with perfect credit has been turned down by a bank financing leased cars. They were told that they were not a good “credit risk”. What’s really going on here is that the banks are taking the money and sitting on it, not releasing credit to borrowers.
No one should get another penny until 1) there are people in place to monitor how the money has been spent and 2) there are very stiff conditions put on getting the money.
On the other hand, I hear that AIG is back once again asking for more money. If they can’t stay afloat with what we have given them, then the government should take them over or let them die. This bailing out wall street and ignoring main street has gotten way out of control.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:58 pmvinylspear Says:
I have withdrawn all of my savings from banks.
This is the biggest con of the American people. They don’t seem to be getting it.
I am debt free, Paulson can go to hell.
I too am debt free and would be taking my money out of the bank if it wasn’t in a local credit union. Our credit union hasn’t had one foreclosure and has had relatively few people default on personal loans. I trust them with my money.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:02 pmWhat Paulson is not saying is that hes actually bailing out the unregulated opaque global derivatives gamblers.
The subprime thing is but a canard to get bailout funds. Guess who else was big in these derivatives?
The big three.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:09 pmNovember 26th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Alot of times people will say that history and the passage of time will show the President in a better light. I believe that history will show this guy as THE worst President in the history of the country….the bottom of the list. The “Shitbag di tutti Shitbag”. I don’t know where the bottom is with this or if we will ever really fully recover from it.
I guess the only good news is that anything that happens after January 20 can only be an improvement. But that ain’t saying much.
Stop the bleeding!
November 26th, 2008 at 8:27 pm.
Sorry folks,
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) seems to be calling the kettle black. Ms. Wasserman has been flailing around at holding members of this Administration accountable for their crimes. When she’s willing to act, THEN she should speak. Until then, members of the House Judiciary Committee who lack the gumption to actually exercise their Duty should avoid using language that can, and rightfully so, be used to describe themselves.
Ms. Wasserman has many words, like other members she sits with on that Committee, but few live up to the rhetoric. She’s lacking the actionable support of her diatribe. All words, no action…
… Well Debbie, money meet mouth!
.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:18 pmHeck-of-a-job Pauly!
November 26th, 2008 at 10:52 pmWe the US taxpayers are now on the hook for over 7.5 trillion dollars. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all go to the Fed window and borrow all we wanted? I wonder just how many of these people are going to go to jail for what they have done? The answer is probably none, but we’re supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy that many at the top on Wall Street will give up their year end bonus.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:28 pmWell, it sure doesn’t make me feel any better considering they socked away billions in compensation over the last five years, so I doubt their hurting, but I do know what a lot of people are going to do this holiday season. Their going to spend their credit cards to the max and come the end of the year, just stop paying their credit card bills and let the banks hang. Sure you might kill your credit rating, but what the hell. If Citibank can raise your credit card rates even if you never missed a payment and paid more than the minimum, then why not as long as you continue to make your rent or mortgage payment and can still afford to eat and get to work.
The entire financial system is rotten from the top down and as Obama has said and keeps repeating, we’re all going to have to make a sacrifice. Haven’t we sacrificed enough? They killed everyones summer vacation by driving the price of gas beyond $5 a gallon and then bring it down rather than watch the masses storm the White House after the stories of people freezing to death in the dead of winter starts poping up on the MSM. If gas has fallen as far as it has, then why is the price of food still going through the roof?
No doubt that the bankers at Wachovia that are getting their 98 million in bonuses will sleep well also at tax payer expense. Congress should hang its head in shame as they let this happen by looking the other way and then the Federal Reserve has the gall to refuse a FOIA request from Bloomberg as to how OUR tax dollars are being spent. Thankfully Bloomberg has turned this into a court case. What ever happend to accountability? Pathetic to say the least. Paulson, Bernanke and Bush should be tarred and feathered and then kicked out of the front door of the White House. That would be jacks for openers. Happy holidays one and all.
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Didn’t pauly admit to pulling the figure ($700B) from his ass?
I distinctly remember, ass and pull.
This is chimpy’s last big money grub before he’s ran out of office. “If” chimpy was a foreign dictator his actions would be criminal.
Some of these old dems aren’t worth shyte.
November 27th, 2008 at 1:13 amShe talks the talk, but waddles on her walk.
November 27th, 2008 at 1:33 amThe actions are criminal and just because these guys are going to be out of office on Jan 20 does not mean we should not be pursuing impeachment, which would strip them of their illgotten gains and provide just a little moral resolution for the rest of us
November 27th, 2008 at 8:25 amThe Bail out spells CRIME SCENE all over it! They are looting the treasury! Arrest Paulson! Follow the money and arrest the rest of the criminals, their adress is Pensilvanya Avenue…
November 27th, 2008 at 1:29 pmOur prisons are over-filled with people who committed nonviolent — drug-related crimes. I do not condone the actions those incarcerated individuals committed. Yet, today, no mention is made of the individuals who may have brought our society to its knees…all in violation of our laws. I cannot accept that our greed-ridden professionals not be indicted for their participation in the greatest Ponzi scheme ever perpetrated:
Realtors
Brokers
CPAs
Appraisers
Builders
Bankers
Financial Consultants
Congress
Confiscate all investments made by these folks and we will find the money that went up in smoke over the past 30 years. The Chinese impose a penalty for such criminality…The family must pay for the cartridge. Gets your attention!
November 28th, 2008 at 1:07 amPaulson’s a mess. The last time I saw him he trailed behind Bush as the latter came down the Treasury steps. Paulson looked crazy-assed twitchy.
-AF
November 29th, 2008 at 8:46 pmAndrew Sullivan Is A Fraud