As more and more people read the actual text of the bailout proposal agreement reached over the weekend, they are posting their assessments. Some will endorse, others will flail the proposal. I will be linking to the those from both sides of the debate here throughout the day.
Prof. Stephen Bainbridge of the UCLA Law School is a libertarian who nevertheless sees a valid role for the government in the market in containing crises that would otherwise result in too many failures.
Jed Babbin is editor of Human Events, the most venerable of conservative publications covering events in Washington.He notes that negotiators partially adopted a suggestion he made last week, but he still has grave doubts about the package.
Writing on The American Spectator blog, John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute says there is abundant evidence that the bailout will actually make the economy worse.
Over at National Review Online, Michael Barone – the man who knows more about American politics at the grassroots level than anybody else – wonders if the bailout crisis marks an “inflection point” like the 1930s and the 1970s.
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey has come out opposed to the bailout. Go here on the FreedomWorks.org web site for the complete statement.
It’s not a statement of support or opposition to the bailout, but Stanley Kurtz has a must-read today in The New York Post that details the role of one Barack Obama with ACORN in causing the crisis that has led to the bailout.
Alison Fraser and Todd Gaziano at The Heritage Foundation offer “An Initial Review of the Bailout Agreement.” This is the latest in a series of publications from Heritage, including most importantly former Attorney General Ed Meese’s team, who detail serious concerns about the constitutionality of the bailout. Besides Gaziano, the Meese team includes Robert Alt and Andrew Grossman.
Michelle Malkin offers 10 reasons to oppose the bailout, which House Minority Leader John Boehner reportedly described to the House GOP caucus late yesterday as a “crap sandwhich.” I think Malkin provides a very useful roundup of major concerns with the bill, many of which have gotten little coverage in either the mainstream media or on the cable circuits.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, is opposing the bailout. That may be a sign of serious trouble for the proposal in the House.
Former Attorney General Edwin Meese is supporting the bailout, but he and Heritage Foundation vice president Stuart Butler point to two fundamental constitutional flaws in the legislation:
“1. The legislation grants extraordinary powers to the Treasury secretary without providing sufficiently specific direction. The legislation still simply gives the secretary a functional “blank check” of authority rather than sufficient legislative direction as to what constitutes permissible action.
“2. The oversight board contains members not directly subject to or removable by the President, which raises substantial concerns of abrogating the President’s authority under Article II and makes the entire structure thereby less democratically accountable.”
Read the whole Meese/Butler piece here.
Americans for Prosperity has reluctantly come out in favor of the bailout, but with some serious reservations that mirror those expressed yesterday by The Washington Examiner and many others.
