I just received this message. I will attend. There are some common threads here. --Jim


STOP THE BAILOUT RALLY - WEDS. SEPT. 24

Hello Friends:

A rally to oppose the planned Wall Street bailout is scheduled for this Wednesday, Sept. 24 at noon at the office of Cong. Nita Lowey, 222 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY.

The rally is set to coincide with hearings on the bailout Wednesday by the House Financial Services Committee. Congresswoman Lowey is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which gives her a financial connection to the bailout.

This call to rally is being issued because, among other things, the proposed bailout gives vast economic and therefore political power to the Treasury Secretary and the Federal Reserve. It will enable even greater concentration of wealth and political power in the hands of a few without any real constraint. This will mean a stunning transfer of money to the very people who engineered this financial fiasco, a get out of debt - escape investigation card financed by the millions of us who are suffering from their schemes.

An alternative to this plan should focus on limiting the outflow of cash from taxpayers' wallets and on direct financial aid to those who are losing and have lost their homes. This plan might include:

1. A limitation on interest charges for credit cards, possibly to 5%. The same for mortgages.

2. A six-month moratorium on mortgage foreclosures while mortgages are renegotiated at lower interest rates and payment is extended over longer time periods. Homeowners who have lost their homes and/or jobs would have an opportunity to apply government mortgage subsidies during this period.

3. A direct government subsidy to assist people in buying vehicles that get 30 mpg or more in order to reduce gasoline use and the drain of gasoline costs to taxpayers.

4. Immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, shifting anti-terrorism action to police forces where they belong.

5. Federal aid targeted to areas hardest hit by foreclosures to compensate for the loss of local tax revenue and the costs of maintaining foreclosed properties.

6. Federal aid dramatically increased for rebuilding regions of the country ravaged by natural disasters, notably floods, hurricanes and wild fires.

There is also a need to study the adequacy of unemployment benefits and access to health care for the unemployed.

The rally is sponsored by WESPAC and Consumers for Peace. We invite other organizations to join in sponsorship.

In solidarity,

Nick Mottern