By KAVITA MOKHA, LORENA MONGELLI and BRIGITTE WILLIAMS-JAMES
Last updated: 9:48 am
September 25, 2008
Posted: 4:08 am
September 25, 2008
Suburban New York homeowners said President Bush's summit today with John McCain and Barack Obama could help speed up the passing of a $700 billion bailout plan, but some wondered if it truly benefits middle-class taxpayers.
"I think this could help the bailout plan, having a united front with the two candidates," said Mary Ellen O'Connor, 36, a married workers comp lawyer with three kids who lives in West Harrison.
"He's bringing them because the two people running are questioning the bailout. He wants a united front and he needs them," she added after watching the president's prime-time address.
O'Connor's husband, Albert Notarfrancesco, 45, laughed when Bush talked about reselling the assets and paying back taxpayers down the road.
"I feel bleak about the whole thing right now," he said. "To me it sounded like, once we bail them out, things will go back to what they were before, which is a state of reckless free lending."
"Regardless, my taxes are going up," fumed Notarfrancesco, who works at a nonprofit. "One way or another, I'm going to have pay it off."
Added his wife: "We haven't made any irresponsible decisions as far as borrowing beyond our means. We shouldn't have to pay for [others]."
In Dix Hills, Long Island, Daniel Chu, who watched the speech with his wife, Nancy, and son Kevin, 21, agreed with Bush's assertion the financial sector is at risk of collapse.
"The sooner it passes, the better," said Daniel, 52, an engineer. "If it doesn't pass the economy will go to shambles . . . There will be no lending for consumers. That will limit the economy's ability to grow."
Nancy, 47, an emergency-room secretary, said after watching the speech that Bush's optimism, "gives us some hope that the country can recover."
Still, the family worried that the wrong people could benefit from the bailout. "This plan primarily benefits financial institutions," said Daniel. "In order to really help the economy, there needs to be much more done. Boosting America's confidence is important."
Christopher Jones, an IT worker from Westbury, Long Island, said after watching Bush, "It appears as though he's taking the position of advocate for the banks, for Wall Street and the rich at large. "It doesn't appear that he's on the side of the taxpayer . . . I foresee a greater meltdown in the future."
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