Foreign firms helped by U.S. bailouts: panel (Reuters) - The U.S. tactic of pouring money into ailing financial firms during the 2007-09 crisis helped many foreign banks whose governments should have shared some of the burden, a report from a congressional watchdog agency said on Thursday. In its latest critique of the Treasury Department's handling of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) -- set up in 2008 as a $700 billion rescue fund -- the Congressional Oversight Panel said other countries got help from U.S. rescue efforts that exceeded any benefit their programs provided to the United States. It cited insurer American International Group, Inc as an example, noting that while banks in France and Germany were big beneficiaries of a U.S.-initiated rescue of AIG, "the U.S. government bore the entire $70 billion risk of the AIG capital injection program." U.S. officials should have more closely tracked what banks were doing with bailout money and what operations in which countries were being helped, it said. "While the United States attempted to stabilize the system by flooding money into as many banks as possible -- including those that had significant overseas operations -- most other nations targeted their efforts more narrowly toward institutions that in many cases had no major U.S. operations," the report noted. "If the U.S. government had gathered more information about which countries' institutions would most benefit from some of its actions, it might have been able to ask those countries to share the pain of rescue," the report said. The oversight panel is headed by Elizabeth Warren, considered a potential pick to head a new consumer protection agency created as part of the financial regulatory overhaul signed into law last month by President Barack Obama. The panel report says it is not too late to seek some transparency about where TARP funds went and who benefited most from them, but notes the Treasury must pick up the pace. [snip] - to keep things legal that is http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67B0DD20100812?type=politicsNews
if that report is true, then the simplest way to sum things up were the stimulus went to supporting the full faith and credit of the US Dollar in world affairs. If there were any default of any of those companies and the fradulently sold products advertised as having implicit backing of the US Gov'ment, then there would have been no distinction between the US Dollar going worthless or US backed mortgages and insurances issued through those companies going worthless. remember, things were moving so fast that there were no distinctions, what congress refused to do the first time, cost the markets over DJIA -784 points in one day its called having a loaded weapon held against one's decisions and pulling the trigger... its also called extortion, but it happened, and the US Taxpayers got robbed.... so where's T. Sec'y Paulson on this?
They sure figured it out. their goal to help Goldman get 100% on their bad bets. It didn't what cost to the US tax payer.
funnny how people who have worked for them feel priviliged, and those who have not or were not allowed through their prejudicial screening process hate the place. there's no doubt there's evil in this world, and in the business world, even more there' no doubt that favortism went to paying AIG and them paying GS 100% instead of partially there's no doubt that privitizing gains and socializing losses did occur, just like it has always been done in history, what's so disgusting is it happened again with so many (so called) enlightened people, who couldn't do anything to stop it... at that time. didn't something like this precede the basis of continental hatred against an entire race during and preceding WWII? whether or not restitution or adjustment to public image is restored to put things in a more favorable light the frustration mounts and continues, both objectively and in an abstract manner so, ask the robbers whether they care that the passengers on the stagecoach, or on the cross continental railroad feel bruised and robbed... so, ask the citizens of the US, about the events towards the end of the Bush II administration... so, ask the citizens of the US, about the close history of all the major players in that administration whom came from GS... too many parallels too many
I'm not like a lot of others on here. I'm not smart enough to 'know' that TARP was a scam. Maybe it was. I don't think it was. I happen to believe those that warned that the US financial system was on the brink of a complete collapse. They make a pretty convincing argument. I've read different opinions and arguments for and against TARP, and that is my conclusion. Those of you think you have it all figured out, and think it was all a big scam, I would just urge you to read some more from the market analysts who supported it. But maybe it's just more fun to say that everyone is 'stupid', and pretend that you have all the answers.
what was so amazing was an expression that comes from the East Orient. there was movie made, called "Heaven and Earth", or something like that, and the locals, mostly backwards country people in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and other regions nearby who had horrible war visit upon them. They said, when heaven and earth switch places ..... and used that folkwore expression to explain things (namely what had been forced upon their world). regarding TARP, it was necessary and required, and at the same time was one of the worst thefts in human history, and at the same time remains the cause of so much hatred, seething loathing hatred over all elected officials having no choice but to go along, and at the same time, all the so called social, emotional, legal and regulatory checks and balances all being violated, voided and cancelled in one fell swoop... and at the same time, being implemented in such a lopsided manner as to scream of private backroom deals gone a rye.... yeah, it was all that and then some and still necessary to stem the tide of collapse that was already in play. so, if there remains angst, it too was paid for by TARP, and well deserved.... funny how for a moment there, when adding up these numbers in sequence they didn't all equal zero... -2, -1 -0, 0, +0, +1, +2 instead they equaled seven, now go figure hint: use something called absolutes