Update, 8:50 PM: 19 Democrats voted for the taxes and tolls in the transportation bill. Lefties are in turmoil, with some angry that the Dems are responsible for passing a regressive tax. Yesterday I asked if Colorado Democrats would try to overreach in sticking taxpayers for state transportation costs. It didn't take long to see where the ruling party at the State Capitol stands. In a bizarre about-face, the Democrats decided to toss bipartisan compromise out the window to push a provision that would allow tolling on some of Colorado's busiest highways:Republicans and a handful of Democrats first voted to remove provisions allowing local authorities to toll existing roads. After a break in the debate, the bill sponsor and Democratic … [Read more...]
Etch Yesterday in Stone as Rare Proud Moment for Congressional GOP
It's not often that I can say Congressional Republicans make me proud by their actions. So let's etch January 28, 2009, in stone as one of those momentous occasions. Hats off to the House GOP yesterday for standing 100 percent united against the Obama-Democrat trillion dollar pork bill that promises to mount piles of debt on my generation and future generations. Of course, this is small consolation as there aren't enough Republicans - with or without backbone - to stop the socialist steamroller "stimulus" from gliding through. But at least if the GOP hangs tough and united, rather than set us up for disappointment, the Democrats will own this economic disaster. (Will Senate Republicans follow their House brethren?) … [Read more...]
Barack Obama and Democrats’ Role in Failing to Avert Financial Crisis
Writing at Bloomberg News, economic analyst Kevin Hassett unravels the story behind the recent financial meltdown (H/T Rossputin). An opportunity to avert the crisis came in 2005 with the introduction of legislation to provide a "world-class regulator" of government-sponsored mortgage loan institutions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted that failure to address the problem was "placing the total financial system of the future at a substantial risk.'" Here's the key passage from Hassett's article (though you should really read the whole thing - it's not terribly long):If that bill had become law, then the world today would be different. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, a blizzard of terrible mortgage … [Read more...]