CRAIGforCONGRESS
Missouri's 7th District, U.S. House of Representatives

 

 

 

Bringing LIBERTY to Capitol Hill -- 2008
OZARKS VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
Saturday Morning, October 4, 2008, 10:30am

A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning Radio Address

Click here to listen to a replay of the October 4, 2008 Ozarks Virtual Town Hall

Notes and Summary of the President's Address: Bailing out Foolish Investors

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, Congress passed a bipartisan rescue package to address the instability in America's financial system. The legislation Congress passed provides the necessary tools to address the underlying problem in our financial system.     (continued below)

How the President Differs from the American vision of "Liberty Under God":

  • America was founded on the philosophy of "Liberty Under God."
    • "Liberty" means freedom from government suppression of ideas and confiscation of wealth
    • "Under God" means we have a personal responsibility to love God and neighbor.
    • Human beings are endowed with the right to property by God, not the government.
  • The original American Dream: Everyone dwelling safely under his own Vine & Fig Tree
  • America's Founders spoke of this as "an Experiment in Liberty" (1787-1887)
    • The "experiment" was a success: a Free Market made America the most prosperous and admired nation in history
  • In the 20th century, the experiment in liberty was replaced with another experiment: an experiment in central planning
  • The original American dream of personal, private ownership, has been replaced with private indebtedness and public control.
  • Nothing in the President's Agenda reduces socialism and promotes Free Markets.
  • The President has forgotten the limits placed on his authority by the Constitution. He does not have the Constitutional authority to spend a trillion dollars.
  • The central problem in this "crisis" is a system of "false weights and measures." Banks create "counterfeit" money to lend. The debt (and the interest) is sold to investors, who stand to lose money if the borrower does not repay the "fiat money." If the government were not fraudulently debasing the currency, creating new money to be loaned out at interest, the debt-pyramid would never be created in the first place.

President Bush's
Saturday Morning Radio Address

Another Perspective:
"Liberty Under God"
THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning. This week, Congress passed a bipartisan rescue package to address the instability in America's financial system. This was a difficult vote for many members of the House and Senate, but voting for it was the right choice for America's economy and for taxpayers like you. I appreciate their efforts to help stop the crisis in our financial markets from spreading to our entire economy. And I appreciate their willingness to work across party lines in the midst of an election season. The instability is created by government manipulation to benefit special interests. An obvious example of this is government re-writing rules of lending to favor borrowers who are not creditworthy and shouldn't be going into debt for a house.

The legislation Congress passed provides the necessary tools to address the underlying problem in our financial system. The root of this problem is that, as assets that banks hold have lost value, their ability to provide credit has been restricted, making it more difficult for businesses and consumers to obtain affordable loans.

 Why did assets lose value? Why did they gain value before that?

The "ability to provide credit" is determined totally by federal regulations.

Who decides what "affordable" is?
Without decisive action, this credit crunch threatens to harm our entire economy. With this legislation, the Federal government can help banks and other financial institutions resume lending. This will allow them to continue providing the capital that is essential to
• creating jobs,
• financing college educations,
• and helping American families meet their daily needs.		  "capital" should not be used to "meet daily needs."
Though the $700 billion dedicated to this plan is a large amount, the final cost to taxpayers will actually be much lower. Many of the assets that the government will be purchasing still have significant underlying value. As time passes, they will likely go up in price. And this means that the government should eventually be able to recoup much, if not all, of the original expenditure. Does anyone really believe that taxpayers will get anything if the government actually makes a profit from the assets it is purchasing?
This package will also increase the safety of Americans' personal finances. For 75 years, the FDIC has provided insurance for savings accounts, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. A similar insurance program is in effect for deposits in credit unions. And since these programs were instituted, no one has ever lost a penny on an insured deposit. The rescue package expands this protection by temporarily increasing the amount insured by the Federal government in banks and credit unions from $100,000 to $250,000. These steps should reassure Americans, especially small business owners, that their money is safe -- and it should restore confidence in the health of our banking system. Imagine losing a $100,000 mansion in 1958, and being repaid a $100,000 shack in 2008. Then the government says, "See? You got your $100,000 back just like we promised!"

The banking system is a massive fraud. It is the systematic institutionalization of the ancient sin of currency debasement.
In addition to addressing the immediate needs of our financial system, this package will also help to spur America's long-term economic growth. This week, we learned that our Nation lost more jobs in September. Under these circumstances, it is essential for the government to reduce the burdens on workers and business owners. And that is why the rescue package includes relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax, which would otherwise increase taxes for 26 million taxpayers by an average of $2,200. And that is why it includes tax relief for businesses, which can use these savings to hire new employees and finance new investment.  
By taking all these steps, we can begin to put our economy on the road to recovery. While these efforts will be effective, they will also take time to implement. My Administration will move as quickly as possible, but the benefits of this package will not all be felt immediately. The Federal government will undertake this rescue plan at a careful and deliberate pace to ensure that your tax dollars are spent wisely.  
I know many of you listening this morning are anxious about the state of our economy and what it means for your personal finances. I am confident that the implementation of this relief package can begin to address those concerns. I'm confident by getting our markets moving, we will help unleash the key to our continued economic success: the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people. This is a plan that ensures that Americans on Main Street will be perpetually enslaved to Wall Street and Pennsylvania Ave.

      The rich rules over the poor,
      And the borrower is servant to the lender.
      Proverbs 22:7

 
 Thank you for listening.  

Kevin Craig's Platform:

From the Blog

From the blog:

Is there a "Crisis?" Really?

Additional "Liberty Under God" Resources

It would probably be depressing to compare the average university economics curriculum (and the understanding the average university economics student has of the current "bailout" crisis) with the following worthwhile links:

  • The Bailout Reader - A Collection of papers from the Mises Institute, listed below.
  • Notablog: A Crisis of Political Economy - Another "reader" by Chris Sciabarra, a Visiting Scholar at New York University - a complete course in economics relating to the current "crisis," if you follow the links.
  • Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending - New York Times, September 30, 1999, describing efforts by Democrats in the Clinton Administration to create the current crisis.
  • Barney Frank's fingerprints are all over the financial fiasco - Jeff Jacoby, The Boston Globe
  • Media Mum on Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection
    Barney Frank is a homosexual. One of his "lovers" was a Fannie Mae executive. (Could this be an argument for homosexual "marriage?" After all, if they were officially, legally "married," there might have been some "conflict of interest" issues. But there are undoubtedly a large number of similar conflicts with heterosexuals in and out of Congress who are not "married" to each other.)
  • The Corporate State Fails
    "According to popular myth, the current financial turmoil is the result of Bush administration deregulation. One problem with that theory: there was no deregulation. The last banking deregulation, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley bill, was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1999. Oops."
    "Let’s hear no more about Republicans’ loving limited government."
  • Government Failure
    To hear the media pundits and presidential candidates tell it, you’d think Adam Smith has been president for the last eight years and, with a Congress full of free-market advocates, had enacted an agenda of full-blown laissez-faire.
    But believe it or not, the problems in the financial and housing industries are not a market failure. They are a government failure.
  • Photo of House Bailout Leader.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The Housing Bubble

Inflationary Finance

Community Reinvestment Act

Short Selling

The Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle

Who Predicted This?

What To Do

Books to Distribute

What Would America's Founding Fathers Do?

The men who threw tea into the Boston Harbor over a tax of 3 pence per pound would not be happy with a tax ten times greater on every gallon of gas. Those who took up muskets over a total tax burden of less than 3% would not be happy with the fact that the federal government now takes more than half of everything you earn.

Today it is illegal for public school teachers to teach their students that the Declaration of Independence is really true (and not just an outdated historical document). The federal government is clearly at war with everything the Founding Fathers stood for.

America's greatest Americans would abolish today's federal government.

Muskets are Not an Option

There are two reasons why we should not take up arms to pull off the violent overthrow of the federal government, even if America's Founders would surely do so. First, the feds have nukes. Second, violent revolution is unChristian and unBiblical. We must beat our swords into plowshares and use persuasion to abolish tyranny. This is time for a revolution of ideas.

Revolution Won't Come in a Day

John Adams once wrote that the American Revolution began in 1761, when Massachusetts attorney James Otis began legal challenges to the Writs of Assistance. He lost the case, but "American independence," Adams wrote, "was then and there born." Now do the math. That means it took 15 years to convince the rest of America to declare Independence (1776). Then another seven years of war was required before a Peace Treaty was signed (1783), and then six years before the Constitution was finally ratified (1789). That's almost 30 years. (And Jefferson said we shouldn't go 20 years without another rebellion!) How can we hope to convince Americans to fight for principles they were never taught in government schools? We need to be in this battle for the long term. "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."

The Internet Can Speed up the Revolution

Here are ways you can help.

Support This Campaign

Send emails. Find out how this free tool can change everything.

Revenge:

Vote Against Every Politician Who Voted for the Bailout, No Matter What

Communicating with Government and Media

  • Contact Congress -- this is from the JBS website, powered by "CapWiz," from Capitol Advantage. Lots of organizations use capwiz. If you don't want to go through the JBS, search for capwiz on Google and find another organization that uses it.
    Notice that you can also contact media through this webpage.
  • Action E-List
    Sign up for the JBS Action E-List and be notified when you can make a critical difference on important issues.

Make Congress Read Their Bills Before Voting

Make Congress Read Their Bills Before Voting
Make Congress read every word of every bill they create before they vote on it.
Urge your Representative and your Senators to sponsor DownsizeDC.org's “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA).
TWIC - A Backdoor Real ID Card
Real ID is dying. But the Department of Homeland Security has a new plan to subject every American to a national ID card anyway. They plan to pick off one occupational field at a time, starting with the maritime industry. One man is fighting back. Meet him, and help stop this backdoor Real ID plan.
Stop the Killer Horse Hormones
The FDA "outlawed" the use of Estriol, an estrogen medication that's bio-identical to human estrogen. Doctors must now prescribe animal-derived estrogen instead. Are bio-identical hormones dangerous, while animal-derived hormones are safe? No. The practice of medicine is moving to chemically identical to human hormones and away from animal hormones. Learn why the FDA decided to endanger women's health in this way, and take action.
End Asset Forfeiture
If the government suspects you used your house or car in a crime, they can take it and sell it at auction. They don't even have to prove your guilt. They call this practice civil asset forfeiture, but it's really theft. It violates the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 14th Amendments. It also encourages law enforcement to put profits before justice. Tell Congress to end civil asset forfeiture. 		End Asset Forfeiture

Iraqis Vote

Support an Iraq Referendum
Americans keep debating when, how, or if to leave Iraq. Maybe we should ask the Iraqi people what they want. After all, it's their country. Tell Congress to request that the Iraqi government hold a public referendum on the U.S. occupation. Learn more »

Make Congress read the laws it passes!

The 'No Legislation Without Representation' Conference

Make Congress read every word of every bill they create before they vote on it.
Urge your Representative and your Senators to sponsor DownsizeDC.org's “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA).

Unelected bureaucrats create tens-of-thousands of new dictates each year. Making rules is the job of Congress, not bureaucrats.
DownsizeDC.org has drafted the “Write the Laws Act” to end bureaucratic “legislation without representation.” Click here . . .
Cap and Trade

"Cap and Trade" is not the way
The politicians seem to be unifying around "cap and trade" as a way to cut CO2 emissions. If they take this step it may be the largest increase in the size, scope, and intrusiveness of government since the creation of Medicare. Worse still, it may not even achieve its purpose. Please tell Congress to oppose "cap and trade." Learn more »

Support Ron Paul's “American Freedom Agenda Act”
The politicians have done great harm to this country in response to the 9-11 attack. A bill has been introduced that will undo much of that harm.
Learn More »

 Strike at the Root

Iraq Waste

Iraq Waste
Big government prospers through failure. Each new failure is used to justify more spending and new powers. Wasteful spending in Iraq is the latest example. One way to change this is to hold government accountable. A new bill in Congress seeks to provide some of the needed accountability. Please support it. Learn more »
Stop The War FOR Terror

Stop the War for Terror
U.S. policy has inflamed the Middle East. It has made terrorism more likely rather than less. We seem to be fighting a war for terror, rather than on terror. This policy must stop. The place to start stopping is with Iran. We must not attack Iran. War with Iran would devastate our economy, disrupt world oil supplies, and recruit more terrorists. Click here to stop this war before it starts.

The Democrat Party Radio Address:

The The Democratic Radio Address was delivered by Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland. He criticized John McCain. He said Obama will create paradise. All costs will go down, all benefits will go up. Strickland didn't say a word about the Federal Reserve creating money out of thin air for bankers to lend to those who can't pay the loan back.

Click here for a replay of this edition of the Ozarks Virtual Town Hall