Editor:

The $700 billion bailout is one of the biggest power grabs by the Federal Government since LBJ destroyed the American family with the Great Society fiasco. This is a backhanded welfare scam. Rather than giving the dole up front, Congress browbeats mortgage companies into making insane loans, and then pays for the resulting carnage.

As I understand it, the money goes first to criminal Wall Street fat cats. Congress certainly has a novel approach to discourage crime. It has been said, the best way to rob a bank is to own one. Next, deadbeat home buyers are beneficiaries of the loot. What is the average cost of the home being bailed out, $50 K? $500 K? $5 million? In any case, it is a pretty steep price to buy a vote. Third, I suspect through the lobby arm of Freddie and Fannie, some of the $700 billion will end up in the pockets of congressmen and senators. And where is the money coming from? Fire up the presses! Where is the incentive to save when Congress is doing everything possible to trash the currency?

Our representatives have become “drunk with power.” We have, every election year, a new crop of candidates who are going back to Washington to clean up the mess. The longer they swim in the sewer, the filthier they become. The argument for term limits gains strength. Bring them home before they sell their souls. On the bailout issue, there appears to be not a dime's worth of difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Both parties need to get into a 12-step program for credit addiction. Brigham Young said, “I love the Constitution of the United States, but I do not love the damned rascals who administer the government,” and Mark Twain’s opinion was that America has no native criminal class — except Congress.

Anthony Black

Bountiful