McCain: U.S. Shouldn't Bail Out Banks

GOP Candidate Offers Ideas To Address Housing Crisis

(AP)  Republican John McCain said Tuesday that government isn't in the business of saving and rewarding banks or small borrowers who behave irresponsibly though he offered a few immediate alternatives to fixing the growing housing crisis.

"I will consider any and all proposals based on their cost and benefits," the certain GOP presidential nominee, who has acknowledged in the past that the economy is not his strong suit, told local business leaders south of Los Angeles.

Democrats accused McCain of lacking the skills needed to lead a country on the brink of recession.

"Instead of offering a concrete plan to address the crisis at all levels, McCain promised to take the same hands-off approach that President Bush used to lead us into this crisis," Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said in a statement.

The housing turmoil has rocked Wall Street and is dominating the presidential race as the nation faces an economic downturn and the Federal Reserve has taken steps to intervene.

Over the past two days, the Fed essentially bailed out the investment house Bear Stearns and announced it has auctioned another $50 billion in short-term loans at an interest rate of 2.615 percent to cash-strapped banks to help them overcome credit problems. Since December, the Fed has provided a total of $260 billion in short-term loans to banks.

On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed several remedies to the home mortgage problems, including greater protections for lenders from possible lawsuits by investors, a variation of so-called tort reform.

McCain, in the midst of a weeklong western fundraising swing, focused on the home-financing crisis at an event in the Republican bastion of Orange County as he tried to rebut Democratic criticism of his economic credentials.

His pitch, though, offered little in the way of specific proposals to immediately address the crisis.

McCain said he wants to leave the door open to a wide array of proposals to address the problems and seemed to suggest he might even be open even to solutions that stray from the GOP line.

"I will not play election-year politics with the housing crisis," he said, adding he would evaluate all proposals. "I will not allow dogma to override commonsense."

But the small-government advocate and four-term Arizona senator also put restrictions on how far he was willing to go.

"I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers," McCain said. "Government assistance to the banking system should be based solely on preventing systemic risk that would endanger the entire financial system and the economy."

He said any government assistance to alleviate the housing crisis must be temporary and should be accompanied by reforms that aim to make the system more transparent and accountable to prevent a repeat of the crisis. He said no assistance should be given to speculators, or people who bought houses to rent or as second homes.

In the short term, he called for the country's accounting experts to meet to discuss current accounting systems and said the country's top mortgage lenders should pledge do everything possible to help their cash-strapped but creditworthy customers.

"They've been asking the government to help them out," McCain said of lenders. "I'm now calling upon them to help their customers, and their nation, out."

As a freshman senator, however, McCain took a different approach. In early 1991, the Senate's ethics committee concluded that McCain "exercised poor judgment in intervening with the regulators" on behalf of banker Charles Keating Jr. Keating was a wealthy Arizona real estate developer and owner of a California thrift that failed during a nationwide savings and loan crisis - when Keating and other bankers made risky investments with depositors' money.

McCain was known for accepting contributions from Keating, flying to the banker's home in the Bahamas on his company planes and taking up Keating's cause with U.S. financial regulators as they investigated him. Keating served more than four years in prison for fraud.

[bleem3]

D*amn straight, Mac! Don''t bail out the stupid show-offs who "bought" houses too expensive for their budgets. I will riot in the street in my very best Klan gear if this happens.

[tomanyt]

I don''t like McCain and certainly would never vote for him. However, on this issue, I have to agree with him. Banks created their own mess along with some (not all) borrows. The banks knew they shouldn''t have handed out so many sub-prime loans and some borrows knew they couldn''t afford the sub-prime load offered. Bailing out the banks and the borrows isn''t going to do anyone any good.

[vmcneal2]

The American people want to know where candidates stand on important issues now. What McCain is saying is vote for me and after I''m elected I''ll tell you where I stand on the issues!!!! Just wait for the first McCain vs Obama debate when Lieberman won''t be on stage to give McCain the answers.

[ioweign]

Weegy this is what happens when you appoint judges who distort precedent and interpret from the bench. This is the problem we have with judges that do not follow the Constitution. This is the problem we have when a Democratic Congress allows for these appointment. This is government absconding away with private property, not corporate America.

Posted by mudrose at 04:49 PM : Mar 25, 2008

It''s what happened (and how it alledgedly went down) after Bush became an owner that leaves some folks skeptical about his integrity and honesty. Basically, skeptics contend that Bush and his fellow investors attempted to blackmail the city of Arlington (home of the Texas Rangers) into paying for a new stadium through a sales tax increase by threatening to take the team elsewhere.

"...whether the public interest issue is taxes, size of government, property rights, or public subsidies of private sports ventures, Bush''s personal ownership interest in the Texas Rangers baseball team has been wildly at odds with his publicly declared positions on those issues. And ongoing litigation over the Ballpark deal has revealed documents showing that beginning in 1990, the Rangers management--which included Bush as managing general partner--conspired to use the government''s power of [eminent domain] to further its private business interests."

Robert Bryce writing for The Texas Observer

[david1737]

Question for McCain:

What ever happened to illegal immigration?

[david1737]

Like the last eight years?

McCain equals more of the same!

[david1737]

mudrose

Bush made his personal fortune via an eminent domain land grab, plus a tax increase.

[david1737]

McCain is quoted as saying:

"I don''t understand the economy."


McCain isn''t Able!

[ewnnrj]

McCain is indeed sounding like a moderate Democrat here - and Hillary sounds like a NeoCon drone. Let''s get our heads back on straight and vote Obama.

[lovegetpeace]

Folks,
Republican John McCain is sounding more and more like a real moderate Democrat. McCain better watch his back from NeoCons.

[random_radar]

There is only one solution that is politically feasible: the government is going to print a bunch of money and bail everyone out. If you prepare for massive inflation, you might survive.

Good luck with the worthless dollar. You''ll be using it for toilet paper soon.

[obama8years]

The great Obama hypocrisies Amongst his many other flip-flops and after Barrack stated he was never present in the pews or present during the many highly inflammatory remarks stating clearly that he had no knowledge and was unaware of his pastors remarks%u2026 he has now in his speech on Tuesday now has made a full 180 degree turnaround now stating that he was indeed present during his pastors racially insensitive remarks not only admitting he was present but still remains firm in defending his anti-U.S. charged sermons.

Is this the person we are now considering as a nominee for the presidency
of America, that remains decided in crediting those demonstrating there devotions to Africa and the partisan views, at the same time beholding to such inflamed Anti-American, sentiments amongst his own many other now controversial and racially charged and currently exposed contradictions of judgment that Obama himself can no longer keep hidden within into his own consistent and excused in played upon speeches keeping himself under the radar of the voting multitudes left into Barrack Obama%u2019s dilutions now being so falsely mislead by his own blind faith.

[mcv57]

Hey, this guy is sounding more like Pres. Hoover. Actually, Hoover was a shortsighted rich pig. His tickle-down theory was nothing new in history (The rich oppress the poor).

[mudrose-2009]

It is called eminent domain.

Building a new mall or super shopping center or it is only a National Park on top of some oil...
Posted by IOWEIGN

Weegy, eminent domain is state or local takeover of private property. What is your problem?

Posted by mudrose at 04:34 PM : Mar 25, 2008

I know and how many times have we seen it in the news for reasons other than intended.

Posted by IOWEIGN

Weegy this is what happens when you appoint judges who distort precedent and interpret from the bench. This is the problem we have with judges that do not follow the Constitution. This is the problem we have when a Democratic Congress allows for these appointment. This is government absconding away with private property, not corporate America.

[ioweign]

It is called eminent domain.

Building a new mall or super shopping center or it is only a National Park on top of some oil...
Posted by IOWEIGN

Weegy, eminent domain is state or local takeover of private property. What is your problem?

Posted by mudrose at 04:34 PM : Mar 25, 2008

I know and how many times have we seen it in the news for reasons other than intended.

[trishab4]

McCain: U.S. Shouldn''t Bail Out Banks
GOP Candidate Offers Ideas To Address Housing Crisis

-how can a bankrupted nation bail out Banks that skkrewed everything that used to work properly before the Bush/McCheney government came in.

[mudrose-2009]

It is called eminent domain.

Building a new mall or super shopping center or it is only a National Park on top of some oil...
Posted by IOWEIGN

Weegy, eminent domain is state or local takeover of private property. What is your problem?

[yongamerica]

Good thinking. The people, through higher taxes already bailed out banks once before (remember Jeb Bush walking away from the bank crash with millions of dollars?).

The US said it once and should say it again. There are certain risks in investing your money. You, yourself are responsible for the outcome.

[ioweign]

What do you propose libs, Nationalize all Privte Business and Property? Didnt work out so well for the Communists. Right Comrads?

Posted by hillaryin012 at 04:21 PM : Mar 25, 2008

It works for capitalists.

It is called eminent domain.

Building a new mall or super shopping center or it is only a National Park on top of some oil...

[jsilver2th]

Ummm.. war and depression! tasty combo-