Dear Friends, Tuesday, October 14th, is Oregon's voter registration deadline. And this weekend -- October 11th and 12th -- is our last big chance to make sure everyone in Oregon is registered to vote. Supporters like you have already brought thousands of new voices into the political process, but there are still folks in communities just like yours who support Barack but are not registered to vote. That's why supporters are coming together across the state to reach out to their unregistered neighbors as part of our final statewide voter registration drive. Will you help register voters this weekend and take part in our last voter registration drive before the deadline? With the economy in crisis, it's more important than ever to change the way politics works in our nation's capital. But we can only do it by working together, because real change comes from the bottom up, not the top down. That means empowering people who have been left out of the political process or are just now old enough to add their voices. And there are thousands of unregistered voters across Oregon. Take a few hours this weekend to help bring change to Oregon -- make sure your family, friends, and neighbors are registered, and help Barack Obama win this important battleground state. Find a voter registration event near you and sign up today: http://or.barackobama.com/OregonVoters No experience is necessary to make a difference. All you need is energy and a commitment to change -- campaign staff will be there to support you with everything else. Thanks for your help, Jesse Jesse Bontecou Field Director Oregon Campaign for Change P.S. -- There are only 26 days left until Election Day, and this campaign's success is depending on supporters like you turning your enthusiasm into action. Come to a Get Out The Vote Summit this Sunday, October 12th, and learn how you can make sure every voter in Oregon has a chance to Vote for Change by November 4th: http://or.barackobama.com/ORgotvsummit
Well, Joe, I agree that Palin/McCain would continue many more of the worst of Cheney/Bush's disastrous policies, but I have to tell you that I'm very disappointed with your running mate's support of the 100% graft that Henry Paulson requested. [If I remember correctly from last night's debate, this was the issue on which you and Obama voted differently, which Palin attempted to cast as a "gotcha." I understand the difficulty of opposing this "emergency action" to address what is portrayed as a "financial emergency" but I do not believe the government's traditional ability to coin money is at all insufficient for any "emergency needs," including tha Guvahnatah's sudden need for $7 Billion! I'm writing just to tell you why I think the current proposal cannot, by its structure, achieve what its proponents (Bernanke & Paulson & Wall Street CEOs but not professional academic economists, notably Alan Greenspan!) claim, not to criticize anybody who has been pressured to support it, or revise it to an "acceptable" form. Acceptable to me means direct assistance from the government to the people. No corporate handouts, ever, especially to companies which evade their bills for spilling the contents of the Exxon Valdez.] On my way home from a job interview just now, I heard a so-called "representative" whose name I didn't catch, whine in earnest that we ought to "get rid of the pork" in this bill! I know I don't need to explain the irony to you, but I really wish you were up against whoever Ron Paul would have chosen as running mate, because Dr. Paul would have explained at the time of the Bear Stearns bailout to all The American People that these subsidies to overextended corporate lenders are not analogous to putting out a "neighbor's" fire, they are analogous to finding a neighbor's house (or for some, one's own house) on fire, then dousing every house in the neighborhood with gasoline before dashing across town for a minimum-wage job as security guard in a neighborhood full of mansions -- which also happen to be inhabited by the arsonists who set fire to our own homes before we [to be accurate, our Congress and President, in our names and against our wishes] cooperated in transforming them from our shelter into the perfect fuel. The mortgage lending crisis began with Gramm-Leach-Biley, which caused credit beyond borrowers' credit-worthiness to be extended only in the housing market -- the one financial market in which average buyers are least able to refuse whatever "deal" they are offered. That, in turn, falsely inflated average home prices above the levels justified by real supply and real demand. Now, we are told by the perpetrators, we must help these same corporations with their "undervalued assets" which you and I and Barack and Ron Paul and Alan Greenspan and Phil Gramm all know is no longer an innocent euphemism. It is a blatant lie. I tend to share Barack's guess, that John McCain just "doesn't get it" and obviously Palin wouldn't know how to diagram a demand curve if her life depended on it, without a week or more in the desert, but I wish that you would say more, not about the injustice which Barack has already noted adequately, but about the basic, underlying factual error of the idea that houses are presently "undervalued," and the resulting practical impossibility of this so-called "bailout" which will achieve nothing of the kind. Taking painkillers for an injury maybe appropriate, but for chronic pains, only a fool masks the symptoms and makes no effort to understand and remedy the cause. That is exactly what Cheney's stooge Henry Paulson has put Congress in the position of granting. The time for you two to start leading is now, not next January.
I'm somewhat swayed, but not convinced, by Barack Obama's argument that if a neighbor's house catches fire you put it out so it doesn't spread to your own home, even if you know he is irresponsible, leaves on the stove and smokes in bed. Even so, one fights the fire next door to prevent it spreading to one's own home rather than spitefully let it burn, or cheer it on, as has been my wont as regards the mortgage-backed securities failure and resulting Wall Street losses. From believing that any proposed bailout is purely an attempt to transfer more wealth from hard-working and productive Americans to lazy incompetent fat cats, I'm at least willing to consider the specifics of what the Senate or House might propose in the future, but so far I only know of an increase in the amount that savings accounts are insured, from $100,000 to $250,000. That could certainly help "regular folks" to not lose their entire retirement savings, but it is not nearly good enough, especially in terms of "oversight," the crucial matter, the absence of which directly caused this mess, and on which I have heard of no improvements in the current bill over the one that the House was absolutely correct to reject yesterday. This is as simple as "No taxation without representation." In fact, it is exactly the reciprocal form of the same citizens' right, that when our money is taken we have the right to decide how it's used. No handouts without democratic restrictions.
My positive, supportive reaction to the "neighbor's house on fire" analogy is tempered by the question, "which actions will tend to subdue it, and which are more akin to pouring gasoline on it?"
Given: (1) The mortgage-backed securities financial crisis was caused by low lending standards in one sector of the credit market (2) The rationale offered to taxpayers for a bailout is that a "healthy" credit market is necessary for many of our employers to do business as usual
Given those rationales for considering a bailout, I will only support a bailout that is narrowly targeted to offer credit, directly from the government and not via the irresponsible corporations which caused this problem; preferentially to businesses which employ many people compared to total revenue and/or have low ratios of CEO-to-entry-level-worker salaries; and to homeowners in danger of foreclosure, especially on houses whose prices were inflated by the lawless mortgage lending market created by the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act.
To reward the reckless executives and shareholders who did cause this problem is not merely a matter of "laying blame" as the guilty and complicit are so eager to suggest. It is much more a matter of what psychologists call "enablement" or "enabling behavior." Like enablers who are abused, we are being threatened, not with punches or kicks but with mass destruction in the form of a "Great Depression" if we don't help these loose credit addicts get their next zero collateral financial fix. Or, to use Barack Obama's analogy to helping to fight a fire in a neighbor's house, even if that neighbor frequently smoked in bed and left on his burners, if we attempt to help the responsible borrowers who employ most of us, by making government payments directly to their irresponsible creditors, we may as well follow up by trying to fight house fires with gasoline.
I do not support treating problems caused by overabundant credit with another round of unearned capital, the predictable result of which is further inflationary force on the general financial market. I support only assisting the innocent victims of the mortgage-backed securities scandals, responsible borrowers. I oppose the Senate bailout bill scheduled for a vote on Wednesday, 1 October 2008.
sincerely & ardently,
Reed Young
Yesterday, within the course of a few hours, the failure to pass the economic rescue plan in Washington led to the single largest decline of the stock market in two decades. While I, like others, am outraged that the reign of irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has created the current crisis, I also know that continued inaction in the face of the gathering storm in our financial markets would be catastrophic for our economy and our families. At this moment, when the jobs, retirement savings, and economic security of all Americans hang in the balance, it is imperative that all of us - Democrats and Republicans alike - come together to meet this crisis. The bill rejected yesterday was a marked improvement over the original blank check proposed by the Bush Administration. It included restraints on CEO pay, protections for homeowners, strict oversight as to how the money is spent, and an assurance that taxpayers will recover their money once the economy recovers. Given the progress we have made, I believe we are unlikely to succeed if we start from scratch or reopen negotiations about the core elements of the agreement. But in order to pass this plan, we must do more. One step we could take to potentially broaden support for the legislation and shore up our economy would be to expand federal deposit insurance for families and small businesses across America who have invested their money in our banks. The majority of American families should rest assured that the deposits they have in our banks are safe. Thanks to measures put in place during the Great Depression, deposits of up to $100,000 are guaranteed by the federal government. While that guarantee is more than adequate for most families, it is insufficient for many small businesses that maintain bank accounts to meet their payroll, buy their supplies, and invest in expanding and creating jobs. The current insurance limit of $100,000 was set 28 years ago and has not been adjusted for inflation. That is why today, I am proposing that we also raise the FDIC limit to $250,000 as part of the economic rescue package - a step that would boost small businesses, make our banking system more secure, and help restore public confidence in our financial system. I will be talking to leaders and members of Congress later today to offer this idea and urge them to act without delay to pass a rescue plan.
Oregonians Affected by State's Economic Downturn to Participate in Discussion PORTLAND, OR - This Thursday, Oregon State Treasurer Randall Edwards and Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian will announce how Obama's Oregon economic plan with help Oregon's working families and host an economic forum alongside Oregonians affected by the economic downturn. As the country faces more job losses, rising high gas prices and financial turmoil on Wall Street, Oregon's economy has been severely affected. State unemployment reached 6.5 percent in August, leaving more than 123,000 Oregonians without jobs. Since President Bush took office, gas prices in Oregon have gone up 161 percent and housing prices continue to fall. Oregonians can't afford four more years of these same failed economic policies. Edwards and Avakian will discuss how Obama's Oregon economic plan will provide Oregonians with immediate economic and energy relief, real tax relief, as well as, how his plan will help those facing foreclosure and help get the Oregon economy back on track. WHO: Oregon State Treasurer Randall Edwards, Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, Oregonians effected by the economic downturn in Oregon WHAT: Forum announcing Obama's Oregon Economic Plan WHEN: Thursday, September 25, 2008 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. PST WHERE: Barack Obama's Campaign for Change Headquarters 3016 SE Division Avenue Portland, OR
Last week, Barack officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the historic Open Convention in Denver. Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Democrats up and down the ballot can bring change to Oregon and America this fall, but it will take thousands of new voices joining the political process to make it happen. With Oregon students arriving at school this month and thousands of unregistered voters tuning into politics during the conventions, now is the perfect time to reach out to them through our "Barack to School" voter registration drive. This weekend, fellow supporters will be coming together at schools, farmers markets, and door-to-door in neighborhoods like yours to help bring the change this country needs. Find an event near you and sign up now to join your fellow supporters this weekend. After a successful Weekend of Action over Labor Day, we have just a few weeks left to register thousands of voters in Oregon. No one of us could do this alone, but with this grassroots movement growing across the state, we can do this together. No experience is required to get involved. Just bring your enthusiasm and hunger for change -- Campaign for Change staff will be there with all the support you need. Face-to-face contact is the best way to connect with fellow Oregonians and give people the power to participate in our system. Sign up today for a voter registration event in your area: http://or.barackobama.com/baracktoschool . Thanks for your help, Jesse Jesse Bontecou Oregon Field Director Campaign for Change
AUGUST JOBS REPORT SHOWS UNEMPLOYMENT AT HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE SEPTEMBER 2003 Oregonians have lost 10,400 jobs since Bush took office, Obama's plan would provide Oregon's economy with over $621,218,856 Portland, OR - Today, the Labor Department released the August jobs report showing the eighth straight month of job losses. The unemployment rate has jumped to 6.1% and approximately 84,000 jobs have been lost over the last month. So far, the economy has lost 605,000 jobs in 2008, and right now more than 9 million Americans are looking for work. Oregon's economy has not escaped the national downturn. Since Bush took office, the unemployment rate in Oregon is 6%, and the state has lost 10,400, 8,900 of which were manufacturing jobs. Sen. Obama would enact an immediate economic stimulus plan that would provide 1.8 million workers in Oregon with Obama's Making Work Pay tax cut of $500 per worker and $1000 per family, providing Oregon's economy with over $621,218,856. Sen. Obama's statement is below. "Today's jobs report is a reminder of what's at stake in this election - John McCain showed last night that he is intent on continuing the economic policies that just this year have caused the American economy to lose 605,000 jobs. John McCain may believe that the fundamentals of our economy are 'strong,' but the working men and women I meet every day are working harder for less, the typical working age family's income is down $2,000 since George Bush took office, and their purchasing power is as low as it's been in a decade. John McCain's answer is more of the same: $200 billion in tax cuts to big corporations and oil companies, and not one dime of tax relief to more than 100 million middle-class families. If I am President, I will cut taxes for 95% of all working families and provide an immediate $50 billion to struggling states so that they don't have to cut back on health care and education and can rebuild roads and schools. That's the change working families need right now," said Senator Barack Obama. Barack Obama will work hard to solve this economic crisis and help American families. To read more about Barack Obama's plan to jumpstart our economy, provide middle class Americans tax relief, create jobs, support small businesses, and address the mortgage crisis, visit http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/ .
Wednesday, prominent Oregonians from across the Portland area gathered to announce the launch of Republicans for Obama. This group of former and currently-registered Republicans endorsed Barack Obama for President and announced their efforts in the state of Oregon to help Sen. Obama win in November. The group discussed how Bush's failures and Obama's policies drew them to come out for the candidates, as well as their efforts to bring fellow Republicans and independents in the state over to support Obama. Don Holden, a retired Army Colonel who served in WWII in Europe and on Okinawa, shared these words with the crowd:
I was a lifetime Eisenhower Republican until the Bush Administration's ill-conceived preemptive invasion of Iraq, which I consider to be the biggest strategic blunder in my lifetime. Obama and Biden understand that going to war should only be considered as a last resort after all diplomatic means have been exhausted, the objective is clearly defined, and our vital national interest is at stake. My grandson served a year in Iraq and is still in the National Guard. Obama and Biden understand that the National Guard and reserves were never intended to be used as a foreign occupation force for an indefinite period of time.
Mary Jean Rivera, a former elementary and junior high school principal, had this to say about Senator Obama:
It's time for a change, for a change who can present and hold up our American ideals once agina. I am impressed by Obama's thoughtful and principled approach. Obama and Biden will certainly have my vote!
George Atiyeh, an airline pilot, delivered this statement:
I am a lifelong Republican and former and former Army Reserve officer who has watched and participated in picking the President since Ike Eisenhower. For the last eight years, I have witnessed our Republican Party lose its direction, rot its roots, and no longer resemble the party I grew up in... Eight years ago, John McCain represented change, but now he too has lost his way and has embraced the policies of George W. Bush. Barack Obama, in contrast, is prepared to turn this country around and get us back on track. Rarely do we, as Americans, have the opportunity to elect a man who has the potential to bring real positive change. Barack Obama is that man and he has my wholehearted support and I intend to work for him, not just for myself but for my eight grandchildren.
Are you a Republican who plans on supporting Barack Obama in November? Let us know.
