Frozen credit market MY ASS. The largest expropriation of national taxpayer savings is about to be nationalized tonight, and will be used by the Treasury Department to dramatically overpay for level 3, illiquid assets, on the bald faced lie that these assets will be held to maturity, if need be, and the ultimate costs to taxpayers will be minimal. This legislation should be renamed the 'Making the U.S. Taxpayer the Largest Sucker in the World and Buyer of the Shittiest Assets that Other Entities Won't Take for Free Act of 2008.' Mark this day (or evening), and look back upon this sad moment in history as a watershed moment where even a (very small) group of principled 'last stand' legislators were absolutely steamrolled by the corrupt globalist regime of bankers. I was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have watched Charlie Rose last night - no credible economist will maintain a straight face and say anything other than that this is an incredibly expensive bill that will barely touch the fringe of the problems infecting our economy, and that it was and is now hastily and poorly drafted, inefficient in its allocation and effect, and that we are in for a long, deep and shockingly severe recession that will make the shallow and narrow recessions of past decades look inviting by comparison. Yes...remember either October 1st or 2nd whereby a one trillion dollar+ psychological and short-term band-aid was able to be imposed against the will of common sense so that inept bankers and brokers and hedge funds and the 'connected' could unload their shit and bail out of the crippled plane before it hit the mountainside. Congratulations - If you don't have a parachute, you're the proud new owner of a pile of shit bought at highly inflated prices.
True. But then what do you expect by the most INCOMPETENT Administration in the history of our Country. Leave it to them to send Paulson to the House of Reps last week with a 3-page proposal essentially saying, "Give Me $700 Billion and Trust Me With It." It's now up to 110 pages ( you can view it on the Treasury's website ), and it still looks poorly drafted. I'm all for cutting some of this "cancer" out of the banking system, but I have some serious doubts about this proposal. I can honestly see (now) why there were some in Congress that just couldn't embrace it. http://www.ustreas.gov/
What if it was THOROUGHLY COMPETENT? Did exactly what was intended? And let's not forget it was the DemoCraps who were and are RESPONSIBLE for the current mess through their RECKLESS "Affirmative Action Loans" program...
I will not get into the political blame game here, but both U.S. parties are the same, there's no daylight between them, as they answer to the same masters. Those with billion dollar checking accounts get their way - every time and no matter what.
That's what I mean. "Competent" depends upon the point of view. Bush got virtually everything and every way he wanted... that's competence in his book. Good for America? Hell NO!!
One last thing: I'm not a 'populist,' but sometimes the grassroots reaction to 'the shaft' is instinctively and precisely correct. The American People instinctively and immediately reacted to this 'Making the U.S. Taxpayer the Largest Sucker in the World and Buyer of the Shittiest Assets that Other Entities Won't Take for Free Act of 2008' with disdain and disgust. That reaction was from the gut as well as common sense, and was spot on. The government could do the decent thing and mail each U.S. taxpayer a nice looking t-shirt or sweater that states 'I Got The Shaft '08!' and a tube of K-Y Jelly.
On a serious note, they should already have resigned. That's another attribute of the system today that is sickening - no consequences for incompetence.