Kashkari Accused Of Bailout “Bait and Switch” During Angry Hearing
By Daniel at 15 November, 2008, 3:33 pm
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Former Goldman Sachs executive grilled by Kucinich and Issa
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Friday, November 14, 2008
Neel Kashkari, the fox appointed to guard the henhouse and front the multi-trillion dollar bailout, faced angry questions from Dennis Kucinich and Rep. Darrell Issa during a hearing today, as Issa accused him of playing a “bait and switch” game with taxpayers’ money.
All the major networks carried footage of the U.S. House subcommittee hearing this morning and aired Kashkari’s opening statement in full. But as soon as Kucinich and Issa were about to weigh in, the networks almost simultaneously cut the feed and moved on to a different story. Another example of how the corporate media is owned by the same elite that runs the Federal Reserve.
Kucinich accused Paulson and Bush of circumventing Congress by completely changing the destination of where the bailout money would go and refusing to disclose what had happened to $2 trillion dollars of taxpayer money, adding, “I think it’s fairly obvious that Congress would have never passed the [rescue plan] had it known how Treasury would marshal the resources it was given.”
Kucinich’s battle with Kashkari went as follows, according to a Washington Post blog report.
“I assure you the secretary is passionate about this,” Kashkari said.
“Passionate about what?” Kucinich said.
“About helping homeowners,” Kashkari replied.
“Where?” Kucinich asked, sarcastically. “What country?”
“We are using all the tools available to ease the credit crises,” Kashkari said. “Let me give you an example…”
Kucinich interrupted Kashkari and continued his harangue.
“Maybe this is a game to some people in the administration. They’re on their way out of office and they can do whatever they want,” said Kucinich who tried to launch impeachment proceedings against Bush. “Meanwhile, people are hoping against hope” for help with their mortgages.
Kashkari tried to explain why the $700 billion was not used to buy troubled mortgages, but Kucinich would hear none of it.
Shortly after, Rep. Darrell Issa told Kashkari, “You’re here today because Congress is convinced you played a bait-and-switch and you’re not doing anything to convince us otherwise,” accusing the former Goldman Sachs executive of playing “ring around the rosie” with their questions.
Others slammed Kashkari for the administration’s agenda of helping banks while abandoning
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Rep. Cummings of Baltimore, this guy is criminally uneducated, pandering to emotions rather than scrutinizing the questioner. After the first round of questioning, it became apparent that the whole testimony was nothing but a charade masqueraded by the officials to bluster and appear as if they are caustically fighting for the “average” citizen. They went on and on with specific examples of how their constituents are suffering and sophomorically dallying around trivial matters of financial market while entirely avoiding asking any meaningful question from Kashkari. I watched Kashkari’s eyes popping out in disbelief that how these buffoons are not even bothering asking him any pertinent question what so ever only to condescend him with snide and array of misplaced rage. The only Rep. that had an ensemble of integrity to ask one or two relevant question was Rep. Issa but he too came short in actually unearthing the details. It was a pure pomp and show.
This obsession by our leaders to keep homeowners in their home will mark the end of whatever is left in this country resembling prudence and morality. I support saving all homeowners not just the irresponsible 3 million living in Mcmansions.
Congress and Sheila Bair’s obsession with this spend-only bailout rewards the reckless and punishes the prudent. Consider the lesson it imparts to promote bailouts to the reckless. City by city, neighborhood by neighborhood, people who live beneath their means and manage money carefully will see more careless neighbors supported by federal decree. And what about the 30 percent of this nation who were smart enough to rent? Or how about the large percentage of us who gave plenty of warnings to these same people the government now wants to redistribute my taxes to so they can stay in a house twice the size the home I live in. The backlash to the 700 B bailout package was not only because of the bailout of wall street but also the bailout of the reckless homeowners and their relentless ATM / HELOC spending. As it is now these people can live in their home for over a year rent free while they find a home they should have been living in from the start.
We are becoming a nation of people who feel it is not only okay but justified to cheat, lie, and swindle each other and the rest of the population. Personal responsibility is discouraged by the government and the mainstream media. Our nation is eating ourselves from within just to keep a facade of prosperity. Hope is being replaced by anger and desperation. Welcome to the new dawn.