"Members of Congress are busy congratulating themselves for the passage of the massive and staggering bailout of Wall Street, but the only cheers from most Americans is the Bronx cheer for the bodacious Beltway Bailers.
"On behalf of the hard working American people, here’s my message to Congress:
"We recognize that you felt compelled to “do something” but you wonder why we aren’t breaking our hands applauding you for it. Let me explain: Even the people who supported your $700 bailout did so only because they felt there was no other choice. Any congratulations you get will have to come from those really smart guys on Wall Street because outside your rarefied bubble of high priced air, the whole thing stinks.
"For the most part, your bosses are not happy—I’m talking about your REAL bosses—the ones who struggle to pay for groceries and gasoline each week and the ones you ought to spend more time with. These folks are in fact, not just unhappy, but livid, furious, raging, and seething with contempt. The problem, we’re told, is with the regulators. Actually, that’s not true. The problem is that you failed to regulate the regulators….that was supposed to be your job, but you guys instead filled your campaign coffers with ready cash from the nice people at the big Wall Street houses and looked the other way while these starched collar crooks put hundreds of millions in their pockets and walked away obscenely rich and left the tab to the taxpayers.
"I don’t resent that people make money. God bless those who do, as long as they do it honestly. But Franklin Raines piloted Fannie Mae right into the ground and walked away from the crash with $90 million cash. Nice work when you can get it…. Some retired teacher’s pension fund in Kansas went from comfortable to comical… You saved Freddie, but taxpayers are going to take it in the Fannie.
"People are really, really mad, and I hope the anger carries to the ballot box. It’s time to make real changes in this country-- real restructuring of the systems that have led us to this economic free-fall.
"Congress, the crisis is not in the credit market—it’s in the credibility market. And it’s YOUR credibility that’s in crisis… 47 million people are uninsured, but you haven’t fixed it because you are insured. Millions of Americans have seen their pension values drop to nothing, but you haven’t stopped it because your extraordinary pension is protected.
"Instead of asking my future grandchildren to co-sign a $700 Billion note so you could convince yourselves that you had “fixed” this, you should have made some really bold decisions that might have actually addressed the root causes. Getting rid of capital gains taxes, changing the mark to market accounting rules that created some of the artificial devaluation of assets, and insuring bad loans instead of actually buying them are all ways that the situation would be addressed without such a huge risk. Instead we just are being asked to write a big fat check.
"The high flying Wall Street wizards who wanted to make big profits in a hurry without assuming the responsibility of the risks are not unlike the teenager who gets addicted to drugs, but knows that his ever gullible parents will always be there to rescue him. They have become “bail-a-holics” and the government has become the ultimate co-dependents, enabling and empowering the recklessly irresponsible with the credit card you borrowed from us.
"Well, this time, Americans are mad. Really mad. They might actually figure out that they DO have the power to do something. They can do what would happen to them if they simply didn’t do the job they were hired to do—they would be fired.
"Maybe it’s time for some of you to experience what many Americans will experience because of you. Maybe some of you should lose your jobs in Congress and come home to live with the rest of us. Just don’t expect a big party to welcome you home. Neighbors can’t afford it. They’re just trying to pay off that big bailout you proudly voted for."
And for today's shoe:
These are the shoes I reach for when someone needs an ass-kicking (pardon my language). And right now that's what Congress needs. A major kick in the ass.Their story:
I was strolling through my favorite vintage/resale shop and spotted these. I thought, "They're not pink, they don't have a spike heel, there are FLAMES on them, but yet I am still drawn to them." So I bought them. (Along with a cute pair of pink, kitten-heeled mules - just to make sure some balance was kept in the universe.)
*stepping off my shoebox*
-Jenn
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