I dont like the concept of the bailouts rewarding others
Is the bailout theft?
http://politicalinquirer.com/2009/01/24/the-potential-result-of-bailoutmania/#comment-19575US National Debt$11,046,247,657,049.48 (According to US Treasury Direct, 3/26/09)That is approximately 13 times the amount of US currency in circulation, according to the Treasury bulletin, which lists the amount at $853.6 billion as of December 31, 2008.
For comparison, there is only about $625 billion worth of $100 bills currently in circulation, according to the US Treasury bulletin.
Pallets are double stacked with $100 bills. *Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things WorseHistorian Thomas Woods notes in this book that the Federal Reserve bears a large part of the blame for the economic downfall. Woods writes, Critics of the market who ignore the arguments raised in this chapter are, to say the least, not being honest. (p. 86)You do not win friends in the political and media establishments by proposing a monetary system that cannot be exploited by governments to enrich their friends, enable their addiction to spending and looting, and fund their bailouts. (p. 134)Two reviews that cover the book well:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R11DZG9U6SCE3C/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.com/review/RYJ71BSMNOEK1/ref=cm_cr_rdp_permOther comments regarding the economy:The asset prices in todays economy, including many mortgage-backed securities, have been incredibly inflated, and a large amount of malinvestment has occurred on Wall Street. Until Ben Bernanke steps out of the way of the liquidation of malinvestments and a fall of asset prices, the ultimate rebuilding of the economy on a solid foundation of production and savings will be postponed, and all we will see is more bubbles. *Think of it this way, forget Democrats and Republicans, what, other than wasting our tax money, has the government run efficiently? The post office? Yeah right. The answer is NOTHING. We need to get them out of our lives, they should have let the AIGs and bankers go bankrupt. Yes, there would be pain for a time, but a lot shorter than what is coming. Wake up if everyone is taking, who is going to work to provide the money to pay for it? *Bernanke and Geithner are bailing out the bankers, they couldnt care less about you or me. Or rather, they care only to the extent that the citizens can continue to support them and their fellow crooks. I was born in the last depression, in 1937, and remember what it was like. The US dollar has lost over 95% of its value since I was born! *The only positive from that 60-minutes interval was Bernankes admission that our credit and money are nothing more than computer entries. In Bernankes words: Its not tax money. The banks have accounts with the Fed, much the same way that you have an account in a commercial bank. So, to lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed. Its much more akin to printing money than it is to borrowing. Now that the Fed Chairman has said so, it may be much easier for the public at large to understand that money (and credit) is simply accounts and counters. *The cause of all panics, crashes and depressions can be summed up in only four words: the misuse of credit. When credit is not covered by tangible assets it becomes fiat credit. The final years of the long wave plateau are characterized, not only by a reckless expansion of credit, but by the widespread delusion that there is no limit to the availability of such credit. Freeman Tilden, A World in Debt****update**** (perspectives on fiscal manipulation TARP)Comments*bostonwayno said:
The governments motivation for handing out TARP funds to ALL the banks was not to shield the vulnerable banks as they claim. They want to own the banks as well as the auto-companies as well as all the private market. This is a major play to end capitalism and instill fascism. In my humble opinion NONE of the banks (or auto companies for that matter) should be bailed out. If a corporation does it wrong they should be allowed to go bankrupt thereby freeing up those assets for more productive means. When they are bailed out the land, labor, and capitol is being held hostage and overall it weakens the economy. Keynesian economics needs to take a back seat to austrian economics.
June 3, 2009 9:22 PMsivey82 said:
that being said, it is an EASY case to make, that without a bailout the collapse of that business is too destructive to our current economy. this is 30 years of M&A, buyouts and consolidations creating institutions that are too heavily relied on, as they have gobbled up everyone in their path of growth. such is a capitalist imperialist society. its a competition, that we lose by winning
June 5, 2009 2:38 PMdlender said:
I think there is a move underway to break up Citi bank. This
is a good idea and anti trust laws should be expanded to include
the banking sector. AIG and Citi were too big too fail wich
means they were too big, period. The Obama govt is looking
to set up a system risk evaluator. Thats good too. Regarding
TARP, Fed Chief Bernanke said he would be out with a list of banks
who can repay tarp next week. Why wasnt this covered like
Geithners PPIP plan was? The financial media must be hiding
something. I am expecting the market will rally when banks
start paying back the TARP as that will relieve inflation
fearmongering as it reduces the debt.
June 5, 2009 9:06 PMGoldStandard said:
not only were these healthier financial institutions – JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and American Express sold billions in stock to raise money to repay TARPIf theyre so healthy, why are they selling stock to repay money they were given that should still be there? Maybe they have another agenda
June 8, 2009 11:27 PM