We're not being told the truth on economy

There is something very, very wrong. We are told that the root cause of the financial crisis is the mortgage meltdown. Three percent of all mortgages are in, or going into, default. The variable mortgages that are defaulting were taken out at teaser rates and when the rates readjusted upwards, are no long affordable.

The important point is that when the rates were at teaser rates, for the vast majority of families, the monthly mortgage payments were being made. If this is the underlying reason for the present financial crisis, then the obvious solution is simple. It doesn't take a trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street and their banks to solve the problem.

The simplest and most straightforward solution is to legislate that mortgage rates are rolled back to the teaser levels. Everyone wins, except the banks and Wall Street investment funds don't win as big. But they still win, and if that had been in place two weeks ago, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch would still be in business as independent entities.

It turns out, though, that wasn't good enough for the banks. They have fought allowing bankruptcy courts to readjust mortgage rates tooth and nail. They are willing, however, to suck off $1 trillion of our taxes to cover their lost assets.

After their excesses, they now want us to bail them out. It's not good enough to make a little money and survive. No, they want the big easy money of the federal government, and they still want to foreclose on those whom they led into the swamp over their heads. What's more, they want to keep their multimillion-dollar bonus and their houses in the Hamptons. Their greed has no limit. They know no shame — only money.

I, for one taxpayer, am incensed that this Republican president, one again, wants to dramatically increase the size of government. Talk about tax and spend. The, Congress, along with our congressman, needs to stop this bailout dead in its tracks. If the root cause is truly defaulting variable mortgages, roll back the rates and everyone wins — but that is way too simple and too effective.

My only conclusion is that we are not being told the whole story. It would certainly be in character for this administration to once again be lying to us. This is a repeat of the Iraq war congressional resolution. The big rush job based on the big lie. Stop it now.

Bob Johnson

Sackets Harbor