Bush wants OK to spend $700B

According to a CNN story this morning,

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President Bush has asked Congress for the authority to spend as much as $700 billion to purchase troubled mortgage assets and contain the financial crisis.
The legislative proposal - the centerpiece of the most sweeping economic intervention by the government since the Great Depression - was sent by the White House overnight to lawmakers.
President Bush said Saturday that the plan matches the scope of the problem.

"It is a big package because it's a big problem," he told reporters at a joint news conference with Alvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia.

"The risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the package," Bush said.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, lawmakers and their aides are expected to work through the weekend in an effort to craft a bill swiftly. Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill said they expect the bill to go before a vote within days.

Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other officials have said in recent days that the lack of easy credit between banks and other financial institutions threatens to inflict serious damage on the economy if not addressed immediately.

The plan would allow the Treasury to buy up mortgage-related assets.
The aim is for the government to buy the securities at a discount, hold onto them and then sell them for a profit.

I don't have to tell you how I feel about having my tax dollars used to fix this mess started by Wall Street fat cats and banking executives. I say we should take their bonuses and stock options and retirement packages away from them and make them clean up this debacle they started - it is all about greed, nothing more, nothing less.

And while I am pontificating, why is it that congress can't seem to get a darn thing of import done when the chips are down for we, the American people, but at times of urgent need, they are able to rush bills through with the greatest of ease?

As stated in an earlier post, I am not done venting on this one.