Play the celebratory music; we now have a “rescue bill”. In its infinite wisdom, the congress first rejected a $700 billion dollar bill that didn’t address the problems with the economy, only to pass the same bill wrapped in a $120 billion dollar pork barrel spending bill on Friday, October 3, 2008.

A few of the earmarks stuffed in the bill:

- Film and Television Productions (Sec. 502)
- Wooden Arrows designed for use by children (Sec. 503)
- 6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)

Tax earmark extenders in the bailout bill.

- Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308)
- American Samoa (Sec. 309)
- Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310)
- Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311)
- Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312)
- Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315)
- Railroads (Sec. 316)
- Auto Racing Tracks (317)
- District of Columbia (Sec. 322)
- Wool Research (Sec. 325)

I find it interesting that within hours of the news that the “rescue bill” would be resurrected in a $120 billion dollar pork barrel spending bill, we could get nearly all of the information related to the $120 billion dollar bill. However, we still have little or no information about the rescue bill; why is that? Did we just make Secretary Paulson the largest hedge fund manager in the world?

Questions for consideration:

Will the $700 billion dollar bill address:
  • the US housing crisis?
  • the standards for banks to lend?
  • the corruption or negligence of lending agencies?
  • the concerns in the financial markets?
  • the issues in the global markets?

What exactly does giving Paulson access to $700 billion dollars do for America!?

In response to the bill, the markets has retreated with even greater haste into the deeper recesses of the cave called risk aversion.

Politics wins again…

*Content on the spending bill from Michelle Malkin:
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/01/read-the-senate-bailout-bill-here

_________________________
Patrick Patterson
Vice President of Operations
IntegrityFX LLC
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See Use at the Middle East Money Summit in Dubai - October 30-31, 2008