Bailout bill is nest for pet pork

Inter Lake editorial

The political class in Washington, D.C., proved once again its incredible tone deaf instinct to carry on with business as usual last week, passing an "emergency" financial bail-out bill bloated with pet pork.

Americans are increasingly cynical about the way Washington works - the institutional politicians do what they please and they do it with ease.

We understand that there is indeed a financial crisis that most likely requires some form of government intervention. It is difficult to ignore such eminent economists and business leaders as Alan Greenspan and Henry Paulson when they are warning that the nation's financial system is teetering on the verge of an abyss.

But if it's such an emergency, why burden an already complex problem and hopeful remedy with special earmarks? Because it's the Washington way to "sweeten" the pot with indulgences that basically buy the votes of lawmakers.

The bill that passed the Senate Wednesday and the House on Friday, by a 263 to 171 vote, had mushroomed from its original three pages into a 430-page bonanza that normal folks will never truly come to understand.

It included tax breaks for those who manufacture wooden arrows for children, rum producers in Puerto Rico, and wool research. It also included provisions that will require health insurers to pay on mental health claims in a fashion similar to medical claims. It even included money for Montana counties through the federal Secure Rural Schools Program!

Granted, that funding is necessary for counties with large land bases under national forest ownership that used to provide counties and schools with a share of revenues from timber sales and other activities.

But the point here is the method, the manner in which Washington alienates the citizenry through sleight-of-hand gamesmanship. Congress needs to recognize the importance of earning some public confidence, since lawmakers are at the root of the financial problems that have developed. A good chunk of the public is well aware that congressional failure to restrain the expansion of lending through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac played a huge role in the financial meltdown.

The public is right to wonder why the same lawmakers should be entrusted with $700 billion when they have yet to address some of the fundamental problems with the federal government's "affordable housing mission."

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., seemed to recognize this when he voted against the bailout.

"The relaxation in lending standards was the cause of the housing price bubble in the first place," he said in a press release explaining his vote. "The blame should be placed squarely on the doorstep of the federal government and the political activists working with it. Unless these lending standards are changed, today's bailout crisis will only be the first with more to come."

That kind of straight talk should be appreciated. But it certainly doesn't enhance public confidence in the way Washington works.