Country’s house of credit cards has finally collapsed

To the editor:

America runs on crisis. We constantly jump from one crisis to the next. Most are never solved.

The timing of the economic crisis is perfect; just one month before the election. Not enough time to sort out the facts and make rational decisions.

Three questions: How can there be a lack of liquidity in the financial sector when 95 percent of the country's mortgages are being paid on time and in full?

How does bailing out speculators in mortgage-backed securities provide credit to meet payrolls?

More than $700 billion of new debt equals $20 billion per year in new interest payments; does anybody think Congress will find $20 billion worth of pork to cut?

This is not a taxpayer bailout; this is a printing press bailout.

Ever since World War II, economic policy demanded an ever-expanding economy. Normal supply and demand was not enough. By creating a credit card mentality, we have hyperventilated the demand side. When the supply side tried to meet demand, we got inflation. Then the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and the house of credit cards collapsed.

Will we ever learn? Government does not solve problems, it creates problems.

CURTIS F. CLARK

BOULDER CITY

Spineless hacks

To the editor:

The citizens of Nevada have been betrayed by four spineless political hacks named Sen. Harry Reid, Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Shelley Berkley and Rep. Jon Porter.

These cowards have indebted our children, grandchildren and us to bail out Wall Street crooks and incompetent bureaucrats. In addition to the bailout, they loaded the bill up with perks and benefits for favored special interests.

Whatever happened to the interests of the people? Oh, that's right, the people be damned! There is only one word to describe their action: despicable.

BRUCE FEHER

LAS VEGAS

Sinking feeling

To the editor:

Treasurer Henry Paulson spoke on TV, and during a short question and answer session, he was asked how he would determine which institutions would be saved and which would not. In other words, who gets the taxpayers' money?

He rambled on and on about how fragile the system was and assured the questioner that he was concerned sufficiently, but he never answered the question.

Let's see. Mr. Paulson let Lehman Brothers go under, but he saved AIG, where Goldman Sachs was heavily invested. Then Mr. Paulson appointed fellow former Goldman Sachs executive Neel Kashkari (pronounced "cash carry") to head the fascist redistribution center.

My guess is Ben Bernanke's helicopter will not be dropping money randomly on the general public. It will be guided, as all things are in politics, by the deliberate wings of cronyism.

And by the way, to no surprise to those who know Mr. Bernanke, he lowered interest rates this week by half a percentage point. By golly, that oughta do it. Between Mr. Paulson and Mr. Bernanke, we should be able to get enough money into our economy to revive it. A rising tide lifts all boats, right? Heck, before long, we should be swimming in dollars.

Hey, what's this life jacket say on it? "Property of the Weimar Republic"?!

Glub, glub, glub.

Dan May

LAS VEGAS

Pay it back

To the editor:

I strongly believe in the capitalist system, and therefore it follows that I have strong misgivings about the $700 billion rescue plan. I also object to bailing out individuals who knowingly purchased homes they couldn't afford.

But I recognize that we must take exceptional steps to get this problem behind us and our economy back on track. Therefore, I suggest that anyone who receives a discounted mortgage rate or a mortgage principal reduction agree that any profit ultimately made on the sale of the related property would be remitted to the U.S. government to reduce our deficit.

Alan Frank

HENDERSON

Left turn

To the editor:

While watching Tuesday's presidential debate with the town hall format, it was my hope someone would ask each candidate to state their view on socialism/Marxism.

I am fearful that the United States will take a sharp left turn toward socialism in the next four years. If so, that would make the United States a different nation from the one I learned to respect and appreciate as a child.

VERLON BERKEMEYER

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Tale of the tape

To the editor:

One presidential candidate served our country for 22 years as a naval officer, the other worked for five years as a "community organizer," hired by an admitted terrorist. One defended our country and spent more than five years in a POW camp in Vietnam. The other helped distribute funds to people through a community organization, with the goal of teaching radical ideas to overthrow our country and government.

One candidate states clearly we need to curtail government spending and work toward energy independence by utilizing the resources available in our country and developing alternative energy sources at the same time. One does not want any coal power or any nuclear power and wants us to keep air in our tires and turn off our air conditioners and heaters, as a sacrifice.

One candidate wants to utilize the God-given talent and ability of the people in our country, to work ourselves out of the crises we all face with the current economy. One candidate says the worker on the factory floor deserves the same benefits as the owner, the person who sacrificed to build the business and provide the job. The last time I read something along those lines was when I studied the history of a failed country called the USSR.

One candidate endorses spending restraint while the other promises the government will pay for everything. The government pays for nothing and never has -- the U.S. taxpayer pays for everything.

I do not possess the oratory skills of the talking heads seen on TV daily or the writing skills of the pundits one can read in the Review-Journal daily, but I do know the difference between false hope and the real thing.

I am convinced we have only one real choice for survival on Election Day, and that is to vote for Sen. John McCain.

Jim Horsley

HENDERSON

Fannie kicking

To the editor:

Which presidential candidate co-sponsored the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005?

Sen. John McCain did, saying in 2006, "If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole."

Which candidate received $126,349 in contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in just three years?

Sen. Barack Obama did. He was the second-highest recipient in Congress. Sen. Chris Dodd received $165,000 in nine years. They voted against the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act.

Which candidate had Franklin Raines and James Johnson, the former CEOs of Fannie Mae, who earned $90 million and $21 million respectively, working on his campaign in high-level capacities?

Sen. Barack Obama did.

Sen. Obama, if you are reading, maybe you can get your friends Mr. Raines and Mr. Johnson to return their millions to the taxpayers. They helped create the crisis. And if you and Sen. Dodd are feeling "patriotic," you can give your contributions back to the taxpayers as well.

Fellow Americans, please research what happened. See which administration instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to support home loans to those who could not afford them, and which individuals profited and protected Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You might be surprised.

Debra Chevez-Spraul

HENDERSON