It’s no secret the American economy is in turmoil. It’s all newscasters are talking about, even though there‘s a major gas shortage in the Southeast. It’s all women and moms in living and dining rooms across the country are talking about. For days, lawmakers have been telling us the worst action is inaction. Yet today, that’s exactly what the House did…nothing. They ignored dire warnings from President Bush and congressional leaders in both parties and struck down the bailout bill many said was not perfect, but it would keep the economy from continuing its downward spiral. The bombshell sent shockwaves throughout Washington, D.C. and sent the Dow plunging nearly 800 points, a history-making number. So if this is the best way that lawmakers can come up with to rescue the economy, why did it fail in the House? Apparently some Republicans didn’t like a critical statement House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made about President Bush near the end of the debate on the bill. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, even went so far as to say the speech “poisoned” Congress. You be the judge. The part of Pelosi’s speech that most people are quoting is this: “for too long, this government, eight years, has followed a right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation." So let me get this straight: many on Capitol Hill agree this bill is the best thing they can do for the economy, but since someone rubbed Republicans the wrong way, they voted against it? I’m sorry, that sounds a lot like a child who decides to take his or her marbles and go home after a spat on the playground. That’s a sentiment shared by frustrated House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass, who said: “Because somebody hurt their feelings, they decided to hurt the country…Give me those 12 people's names, I will talk uncharacteristically nicely to them." One analyst said it best…we just embarrassed ourselves today.
So how will this affect women and moms? The answer: just like everyone else. The crippled economy is affecting our ability to get loans for homes, small businesses, cars, even college. Analysts say our jobs are on the line--yours and mine. I read an e-mail from someone today who said a lender was about to foreclose on his father’s home because he hasn’t been able to pay. I read an article that said all these folks who are losing everything and are going to need help from charitable organizations may not be able to get it because the charities themselves will suffer from a lack of donations from corporations.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/28/financial.philanthropy.ap/index.html?iref=newssearchThere’s much more to come on this in the days ahead. These are historic times we’re living through.
