Bailout BS - False Philanthropy

President Bush is asking Congress, on behalf of President-elect Barack Obama, to release the final $350 billion of the funds authorized by the bailout last fall. This way, President-elect Obama will have all of the funds at his disposal when he sits down in the Oval Office next Monday, Jan. 20. So he can get right to work. Yep. That is what he is going to do next Monday. Here is his To Do list for Jan 20 -

• 7:00 am eat Cocoa Puffs
• 7:30 am Call powerful Democrats in Congress to apologize pre-emptively for remarks made during inauguration speech.
• 9:00 am Hide Blackberry from Secret Service in Michelle's coat pocket. Now it looks like she is packing heat.
• 11:00 am March in parade - can't I get on a float or something?
• 2:00 pm Inauguration and speech. Hey, isn't that Caroline Kennedy out there in the audience? HI CAROLINE! When is that governor of NY going to come around? Doesn't he understand Illinois politics? I thought the funds were already deposited in the account . . .
• 7:00 pm Kiss Michelle and the girls goodnight. Then log on to Target and Cabela's and proceed to spend the rest of the bailout money.

So what happened to the first half of the funds? How were they spent? What type of an effect did they have on the economy? If we just spend $800 billion in taxpayer dollars, how come Obama's budget is asking for another $1 trillion of taxpayer funds to be spent on stimulus?

So how were the funds distributed? WE DON'T KNOW. They have not been accounted for nor are the companies that received them willing to open their books to show us. TARP has no idea where or how they were spent. But they were spent. Where is the outrage? Here is Larry Summers' (former Clintonite, deposed Harvard president, new Obama Nation Economic Council director) take on how Obama is feeling about the lack of accounting -

"The president-elect also shares the frustration of the American people that we have seen too little effect from this rescue plan on jobs, incomes, and the ability of responsible homeowners to stay in their homes. He believes the American people are right to be angry with the way this plan has been implemented."

False philanthropy, claiming that they are doing it for us and are concerned with the people's welfare, is cruel and wicked. Reminds me of Giddianhi in 3 Nephi 3 (especially verse 5), his only concern is for our well-being. No, it isn't. Spending more and more is not going to get us out of this mess, saving and cutting programs loaded with pork is what is going to help. Cut until we get the level of spending down and we are not spending on the deficit. It just won't work, others are also saying as much. You can't spend the way Obama is proposing out of a recession.

Be careful, Congress and President Obama are going to come back and ask for more, with nothing to show for the first $800 billion. Paulsen had promised that the first half was needed for homeowner mortgage relief but nothing has changed, the money went to big banks, not to the taxpayers. You are not going to see anything from this nor will you see anything in the future from it.

Now is the chance for Republicans in Congress (talking to you Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch!) to step up and say NO. You may not change the fact that it will sail through a Democratic House and Senate but your vote will be counted and noticed by those of us who cherish and love freedom. Your moment of accountability will come.