The Culberson Writes Back!

I received a letter from Congressman John Culberson today. In response to my electronic message, he mailed me a two page letter explaining why he voted against both bailout bills, his theory as to how the crisis began, and a summary of what he's done to protect the U.S. economy in the years preceding our current crisis.

The letter the Congressman sent me is basically a reworded version of what is currently posted on his website. A few things of note: 1) Congressman Culberson voted against both bailout bills. That's significant because the second version of the bill differed only from the first in that it had heaps of pork and tax cuts and increases in it, to the tune of $150 billion. Congressmen who voted against it the first time, but for it the second only did so out of self-interest; they weren't guided by principal or reason, only by the usual greed we've come to expect out of Washington. Culberson notes that the White House and the Treasury could not guarantee that the bailout would work. As a result, he voted against it the second time around.

2) Culberson writes the following, "The current housing crisis and subsequent credit crunch can be traced to the failed Democrat and Clinton and Bush Administration policies that prioritized low-income homeownership. For years congressional leaders pushed banks to make politically-correct loans to consumers who are incapable of paying their mortgage."

Congressman Culberson isn't the first source I've heard made mention of this. Others have also pointed out that the social engineering of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae initiated the practice of relaxing lending practices to get more people into houses. Relaxed the practices to the point that banks were putting people into homes they had no hope of ever fiscally managing. In the months to come, I think we'll here more about this origin theory of the mortgage crisis, especially as Fannie and Freddie are fully shaken down.

3) Congressman Culberson mentions that the U.S. government is going to generate the $700 billion dollar bailout by selling Treasury bills on the international bond market. Culberson maintains that the bulk of these bills will be bought by the Chinese and by Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. Culberson thinks, "American taxpayers will borrow billions of dollars from Chinese and Middle Eastern banks to bail out Chinese and Middle Eastern banks." Is this true? I'm not sure, but I'd like to hear what other economists say about it. I've heard precious little detail from what source the U.S. Treasury is getting their $700 billion.

4) Culberson writes, "This law also raised the national debt to $11.3 trillion, doubled the deficit overnight, and saddled our children and grandchildren with at least $1 trillion in new unfunded obligations." Congressman Culberson is the first politician I've read mention our nation's debt figure. I've never heard McCain or Obama talk about our debt, let alone the actual number. For all I know, our presidential candidates may not even know we have a debt, which probably explains why both have outlined lots of new ways to spend more money.

I'm not sure who Culberson is running against this fall, but based on how he voted for the bailout bill, I will likely vote for him this November. I have no idea what his stance is on other issues, especially education or the Iraq war. Most likely, I disagree with him on both. Nevertheless, he seems to advocate the fiscal responsibility our country needs right now. He didn't vote for the second version of the bill when it delivered some juicy pork for Democrats and Republicans alike. That's not just good judgement, it's also the execution of a sound fiscal policy stand. I plan on following Culberson if he's re-elected, tracking his voting record on key economic bills, and letting him know my opinion.

I think if more of us had this kind of involvement in government, we might not be in the mess we are today. I think too many politicians think Americans too self-absorbed to pay attention to the day-to-day operations of the country. And up to three weeks ago, they'd be right. But I sense things have changed now. This economic crash was a wake up call to the nation that no one is at the tiller of our current financial course and unless we wake up, start monitoring the activities of our elected officials, and hold them accountable, we could very well sail right off the edge of the world.

I wonder of Governor Palin thinks the world is flat?