Boy, a Senate Seat Sure Would Come in Handy

I understand why Barack Obama has resigned his seat in the Senate, effective this Sunday. He is our President Elect, and while Congress is technically out of session, the crisis we face at the moment ensure a lame-duck session, and it falls into some dangerous areas if he is legislating his upcoming Presidency, thus bridging two branches in ways they were never meant. It’s rare that this would even come up, since while nearly all Senators hope to be President, only a few have ever gone directly from the Senate to the White House.

Except now Barack Obama is just two short months from having to take the helm, and there are some problems that won’t wait that long. For one, the $700 billion bailout is still being allocated, and some companies are already coming back to the trough for seconds. This week also brought forth more evidence that companies receiving bailout funds were often using that money irresponsibly, such as on executive bonuses, retreats, and over-expensive corporate events. You’d think that when giving out $700 billion dollars, money that you yourself are having to borrow, you might try to look after where that money is going. It’s a big economy, and a lot of people need help, and what sort of justice would it be to reward people who’ve squandered their earnings by giving them more to squander. That, however, is what we are doing, and there has yet to be an oversight committee or czar put in place to make sure that this money is being used wisely.

Also this week, Barack Obama has been pushing for Congress and President Bush to bailout American auto manufacturers, especially GM, who find themselves on the verge of bankruptcy. American auto manufacturers, for all of their problems in the marketplace, still sell half of the cars in the nation, and their collapse could lead to 2 million more Americans joining the unemployment rolls, at a time when unemployment is at a 14 year high. This would, according to Barack Obama, require a $50 billion bailout now to avoid their bankruptcy before he even takes office. Whether this came from the initial bailout package, or was a new package of it’s own, that’s also going to require some oversight, which Barack Obama also recommends.

The problems with the first bailout was that it was 1.) given to some companies who’d caused their own financial trouble and had a proven record of risky financial practices, 2.) their was little to no oversight to protect the taxpayers’ investment, and 3.) in order to get the thing passed, they had to tack on even more unneccessary spending that we can’t afford. This new bailout, however, if done properly, could be valuable in many ways.

With proper oversight, this money can be directed to these companies to not just keep them in operation, but to help them adapt their business to new, more fuel-efficient and green technologies that can compete better both here in the States and globally. In this way, we could help the cause of combatting climate change, get these companies back into the green thus creating more jobs and helping our economy, and we could become a global leader in new technology and alternative energy.

So yes, I’m on board with this bailout, and I think they would probably be able to get Republicans and President Bush on board. I mean, who wouldn’t give money to save the companies that basically invented the car and the American way of life? Still, it would be nice to have that Senate seat to keep an eye on proceedings and make sure this is done right this time. Yup, sure would be nice.