One Reason There Was “No Deal” Yesterday

One of the reasons, or “sticking points” was the usual crap by Democrats trying to shape a bill which would reward their constituencies at the tax payers expense:

The payoff to this corrupt organization is one of the major sticking points of the legislation. Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham said:

“Twenty percent of the money that should go to retire debt that will be created to solve this problem winds up in a housing organization called ACORN that is an absolute ill-run enterprise, and I can’t believe we would take money away from debt retirement to put it in a housing program that doesn’t work.”

In addition to improper partisan activism and electioneering, ACORN’s history is riddled with incidences of fraud and corruption. Earlier this year the New York Times exposed ACORN for hiding $1 million that was embezzled by the brother of the organization’s founder.

“It is unfortunate that legislators are using this time of crisis to fund an organization who’s corrupt history includes election fraud investigations in at least a dozen states, hypocritical and oppressive employment practices, million dollar embezzlements and a political agenda driven by a handful of anti-corporate activists,” said Richard Berman, Executive Director of the Employment Policies Institute.

For once Lindsey Graham and I agree.

Ed Morrisey at Hot Air provides the language in the bill which supports the point. It came from Chris Dodd’s proposal:

TRANSFER OF A PERCENTAGE OF PROFITS.

1. DEPOSITS.Not less than 20 percent of any profit realized on the sale of each troubled asset purchased under this Act shall be deposited as provided in paragraph (2).
2. USE OF DEPOSITS.Of the amount referred to in paragraph (1)
1. 65 percent shall be deposited into the Housing Trust Fund established under section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Regulatory Reform Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568); and
2. 35 percent shall be deposited into the Capital Magnet Fund established under section 1339 of that Act (12 U.S.C. 4569).

REMAINDER DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY.All amounts remaining after payments under paragraph (1) shall be paid into the General Fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public debt.

Got that? 20% right off the top is siphoned off and 65% of that goes to the Housing Trust Fund. Where does ACORN come in? The Heritage Foundation picks it up from there:

Just like any organized crime group, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has a long and established history of using fraud, deceit and intimidation to achieve its goals. ACORN uses intimidation to shake down corporations for operating funds, deceives its own employees into supporting causes they don’t believe in, and cheats the entire country by submitting fraudulent voter registrations.

ACORN is also adept at co-opting government power to fund and legitimize a criminal enterprise. It has been winning federal money since the Carter administration and routinely receives millions of dollars in federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In the 1990s, it began shaking down local business communities and has established local “Housing Trust Funds” in more than 300 states, counties, cities and towns. The funds funnel money through groups like ACORN to produce new homes and refurbish existing ones. The key to these trust funds is securing a dedicated source of public funds.

The Holy Grail for ACORN has been the establishment of a National Housing Trust Fund. During the brief economic downturn in 2001, ACORN pushed the fund as an economic stimulus. From 2003 through 2006 it pushed the fund as a solution to housing prices that were too high. Now liberals in Congress have included the National Housing Trust Fund in the latest housing bailout bill, arguing it’s needed because housing prices are too low.

The article from which that quote is taken was written on May 28th of this year – well before the current crisis. What it points out above is Democrats, in the face of this huge financial crisis with which we’re confronted, are still trying to divert money to social engineering through an organization that, to be charitable, has been shown to be corrupt.

20% sucked right off the top (and this has nothing to do with supporting the bailout, it has to do with shining a light on the cockroaches who continue to push the same obviously failed agenda in the face of this disaster) to go to a favored political program and to a favored, albeit corrupt political ally. Not to the debt caused by their incompetence, but to support the party’s priorities.

Tell me – regardless of the rest of the plan, would that be a “sticking point” for you as well?!

[Crossposted on QandO]

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