Bail Out Wall Street?

Find the Solution on Main Street

The real estate slowdown hit Main Street two years ago, but President Bush did nothing, and even threatened to veto Democrat-sponsored legislation that would have helped homeowners. Now, when the meltdown is hurting millionaires on Wall Street, President Bush wants immediate action with no strings attached. Already, in the last few weeks, he’s spent hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars protecting a selected few corporate lenders from their bad investments.

No one can be sure of the next best step. People in Washington and New York, wanting to protect their own hides, want immediate and dramatic action. People in the 6th Congressional district want something more. I am not sure that I trust many in Washington right now. The past 8 years of no regulation and no oversight have left us with terrible choices. No one wants to avoid action, but we want to take the right steps.

President Bush wants $700 billion more of taxpayer dollars to bail out Wall Street banks, and even foreign-owned banks, so they can just keep selling mortgages. Even worse, President Bush says: “Don’t clutter the bailout bill with foreclosure protection for homeowners, or salary cuts for millionaire CEOs, or measures to ensure that taxpayers don’t get cheated. Just give us the money and go away.”

Read the Dougherty Plan

The Democrats in Congress know better. Senator Chris Dodd has drafted an alternative that would do a better job of protecting American taxpayers and homeowners. The best part of the Dodd Plan is the streamlined bankruptcy relief that allows people to adjust their mortgages and keep their homes. But, instead of protecting the banks first, I suggest that we pass legislation that skips the Wall Street money men and provides direct relief to distressed homeowners.

The DOUGHERTY PLAN: Included in any relief package should be efforts at additional transparency and efforts to get to the root causes of the failures and corruption. Returning to sound lending policies and protections for whistleblowers who saw this coming and were prevented from speaking out are important parts of a financial recovery plan.

In addition to the $ 700 billion for the program, we should create a new Resolution Trust Corporation, create regional offices at every bankruptcy court in each state, hire new bankruptcy judges, new trustees administrators and appraisers. If this plan is adopted, the homeowner can have their interest rate lowered and the terms of the mortgages extended so they can remain in their homes. Also, this would allow the mortgage lenders to be paid off at the discounted rate of the current assessed value as set by the court’s appraiser, not the banks.

So, I say to President Bush and Washington politicians of both parties, don’t clutter this bill with corporate welfare for Wall Street. The solution is on Main Street.