hmmmmmmm part 2

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This was sent to me and I took a minute to read it. I can't vouch for its total accuracy, since snopes.com has no listing for it. I found it extremely thought provoking and (best of all)---non-partisan.



Before you mentally check out because of the "Save America" headline on this email, please read the next 2 paragraphs.

This is not a conservative or liberal, Republican or Democratic letter. This is for anyone who is angry about how our government is running, or who is frustrated by a feeling of helplessness, or who feels unable to do anything about our current mess.

A legislature that has a 9% approval rating, ONE MONTH before an election, just passed a bill that constituents' comments ran 100 to 1 AGAINST! Not only did they ignore voter opinion, but under extreme scrutiny they STILL added lots of breaks for cronies, and they did so KNOWING that 90% of them would be re-elected ANYWAY. This letter is long, but at the end I will tell you how I think we can do something about it.

My name is John F. Dini. I am a small business owner in Texas, with 4 employees and well under a million dollars in gross revenue. I have lived in both red and blue states, on the east coast and the west. I don't think what I have to say should offend anyone. That's why I'm willing to put my name on it. My email is [email protected]. Unlike many of our legislators, I will take personal responsibility for my actions. You are welcome to let me know what you think, and whether you're signing on to this.

If you don't want to read about the bailout bill, skip down to where the bullet points end.

Last week Congress passed HB 1424, the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act." As you've probably heard, it was a bit more than just the bailout bill. I've gone through all 451 pages. Here are some highlights:
· Sec. 103: The Treasury can also purchase mortgages on apartment buildings. To my knowledge, those who own apartment buildings aren't usually in danger of having their house taken away.
· Sec. 110 allows the regulators (there is a whole new bureaucracy being formed) to make any change to any troubled mortgage, including giving the property away.
· Sec. 116: Keeps the bureaucracy in place until the last asset is sold, or the last loan is paid.
· Sec 122: Raises the debt ceiling to $11,315,000,000,000. For historical reference, we broke the $1 trillion debt limit in the Reagan administration. That runaway borrowing is what George H.W. Bush called "Voodoo Economics" Last week we borrowed another trillion in a day.
· Sec. 132 suspends FASB 157. That's what made banks show the real value of their assets on their books, even if it had fallen to zero. That is no longer necessary, (but we WILL form a commission to decide later on what they should be showing to their shareholders, presumably something other than the actual value of their assets.)
· Sec. 136 raises the FDIC published coverage limit to $250,000 per account. What they haven't mentioned is that this higher "coverage" expires in 15 months, and the FDIC is ordered NOT to adjust the insurance for these new risks. That law actually just orders the FDIC to change the number $100,000 to $250,000 everywhere, nothing else.

That is the first 112 pages. The next bill (actually several different laws, passed on the same vote) extends a bunch of energy tax breaks for wind, clean coal, biofuels, geothermal, and others. It also gives credits to the steel industry, for plug in vehicles (in addition to the $25 billion handout to GM and Ford last week), for the black lung trust fund, and for home appliances that recycle gray water.

The next bill tacked on is a Tax Relief bill. That one raises the AMT trigger by a fraction (from $66K to $69K) and has special tax breaks for:
· Restaurant and retail depreciation
· Rum from Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands
· Businesses in American Samoa
· Mine rescue training
· Businesses on Indian Reservations (casinos)
· Railroad tracks
· Motorsports Racing Facilities (the "NASCAR" break)
· Employees of companies affected by Hurricane Katrina
· Investing in Washington DC
· Wool producers
· Film and television production
· Wooden arrow manufacturers
· Winners of Exxon Valdez lawsuits
· Farming Machinery purchases

Also, the failed 2007 Paul Wellstone mental health bill is included here, which requires all health insurers to cover mental health treatment just like physical illness. I'm not sure how long this bill has been trying to get passed, but Senator Wellstone DIED in 2002.

Under "other" THAT bill has another 100 pages including the following:
· Funding for schools, roads, weed control, forest ecosystems, improved cooperation among Federal agencies and the Oregon & California Railroad.
· Secure payments for states with Federal Lands, which you would think was everybody, but is defined as only LA, CA, OR, PA, SC, SD, TX and WA.
· A call for proposals to cooperate with Federal agencies, which upon reading is actually a requirement that BLM accept a minimum of 50% 0f timber logging contracts over the next 3 years.
· Doubling of the "Mine Reclamation Fund"
· Rewording of the Katrina relief bills to include IL, IA, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, and WI
· Further extension of Katrina Relief to ANYONE "affected" by Hurricane Ike.