Letter to the Editor: No Bailout — Support Communities Instead

I realize, of course, that this is a local paper, dedicated to local news, yet I thought that we might want to chat about the economic situation via the Norwood News since this “crisis” and our government’s response is going to impact all of us.

I say, “No Bailout!” because the people involved with this “crisis” knew what they were doing and do not deserve to be “saved.” The banks made unscrupulous housing loans to people who could not really afford them but were duped by low initial interest rates. Then the banks packaged and sold these mortgages to investors, thereby creating a tangled web with no accountability between borrower and lender. Finally, as prices were dropping, these investor companies refused to adhere to any regulation and so instead of stopping the downward plummet, they let the market run amok.

I do not trust this administration. Like Bush’s intervention in Iraq, the bailout has no “exit strategy” and when the economy really sinks, after the bailout, the federal government will be useless, having gone even further into debt than it currently is and losing any chance of recuperation or borrowing power. This is more of the same. Keep in mind the no-bid contracts that gave millions of dollars of taxpayer money to Halliburton, Cheney’s old firm. Now we’re getting ready to gift millions and billions to Goldman Sachs, Paulson’s old firm. And speaking of Paulson, why would we trust him? Paulson got his start working for Ehrlichman, who was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and purgery in the Watergate scandal. Paulson then went on to work for Goldman Sachs for the next three decades where, according to a quick Wikipedia check, he did quite well. Paulson is worth $700 million, after receiving compensation packages from Goldman Sachs of $37 million in 2005 and $1.6 million in 2006.

Let’s try bottom up finances for a change. Let’s cap all mortgage rates at 2 or 3 percent. That would allow homeowners to pay their mortgages and give the banks some cash. It would stabilize housing prices, after some adjustment, and stabilize whole neighborhoods. If we want to spend billions of dollars we don’t actually have, let’s spend it on infrastructure — bridges, mass-transit, re-designed streets with bicycle paths, more school buildings, gardens and playgrounds for children, all the things that we’re always told we can’t afford. These things would bring us something real for our tax dollars, things that we need to build a safe, environmentally clean future along with many economy-boosting employment opportunities.

Looking forward to the discussion.

Megan Charlop