Bailout is a done deal

News & Current Events Public News & Current Events
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As predicted by many here and elsewhere, a great show of "protecting the taxpayer" commenced, but, in the end, the bailout bill sailed through largely unchanged.

[quote]WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders and the Bush administration reached a tentative agreement early Sunday on what may become the largest financial bailout in American history, authorizing the Treasury to purchase $700 billion in troubled debt from ailing firms in an extraordinary intervention to prevent widespread economic collapse.[/quote]

Link (NYT)

Sure, they tacked on a few trinkets, such as "limiting CEO pay," but in the end, this was simply the largest handout ever given to the banking industry since monopoly power was granted to the Federal Reserve in 1913.

I am dead-set against this bailout, and I judge it to be the very worst possible reaction to this crisis. Sure, our banking system could have taken a tumble, but it deserved to do so and needed a lesson in moderation. Now that opportunity is gone.

I have just become a single issue voter. I will absolutely vote against any and every incumbent who votes for this bailout package. Period. I don't care WHO is on the other side of that ticket.

And here's why. When it came right down to it, Congress extracted not one single concession from the banking industry. Not one. Although it is presented here as a "D vs. R" sticking point, let's be clear - this was really a "bankers vs. the taxpayers" sticking point. The bankers won.

[quote]Among the last sticking points was an unexpected and bitter fight over how to pay for any losses that taxpayers may experience after distressed debt has been purchased and resold.

Democrats had pushed for a fee on securities transactions, essentially a tax on financial firms, saying it was fitting that they contribute to the cost.

In the end, lawmakers and the administration opted to leave the decision to the next president, who must present a proposal to Congress to pay for any losses.[/quote]

Get that? They couldn't even get a nominal (and probably meaningless) transaction fee stapled onto the bill without folding on the issue. And, of course, I see nothing in here about banks giving up past or future profits, or in any way returning even a small portion of the loot they stole or favor they received.

Nothing.

In the end, these "intense meetings" were a sham, designed to project the impression that real issues were being discussed - but nothing of the sort really happened. The banking industry gets to offload all of its toxic stuff and continue on its merry way, while you get to live with a now highly elevated risk of a major dollar collapse.

We were sold out.

Probably for about $10 million in campaign contributions.

If you're a DC power broker, is there a time that is any more exciting than when you've directed the largest single chunk of taxpayer money towards the monied elite? It is giddy, heady stuff, as this picture makes clear.

This picture leaves me feeling a little ill.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://peakprosperity.com/bailout-is-a-done-deal-2/

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This deal was drawn up months ago. It just needed the right timing to sell it. The heavy-handed sales pitches, and the late- night- eating- catered- food meetings are a sham of a sham! What makes the whole thing worse is the majority of the american people are following along just like ducklings crossing the highway. These are the same BS scare tactics that led to the rise of the Nazi’s! If that photo of those snub rat bastards patting themselves on the back doesn’t sicken and enrage you, then maybe you need to take another valium or zanax and go back to bed. Whoever the next president is may be irrelevant at this point, our future is here and now. God help us!

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That photo says it all – toad-jowled, child-molesting catamite Barney Frank humbly accepting his nomination as God of the Financial Markets; Kongressional ‘leaders’ Reid and Putalosi, laffing like jackals and hyenas as they slobber over the meal they’re going to make of America’s working class; while just behind Reid, the pudgy blank rictus of Hank the Class Clown grins like Banquo’s ghost.

Something in this decadent scene reminds me of eastern Europe, circa November 1989. Tell me, comrade: where are our ‘freedom trains’? Why are all these angry-looking people gathering in the streets with bricks, bottles and torches in their hands? Is something WRONG here? Surprised

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The only thing missing from that photo are the villagers and townspeople coming up behind them with their torches and pitchforks

 

PS. Good to see ya Machine

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Good point. No doubt the package was constructed many months ago just as the Patriot Act was planted on the American people with no real debate or review. Is there any question the Patriot Act was years in the making?.

Much as I dislike CNN I have made it a point to see what they have to say in recent days. Conclusion? Biggest con/sell job in the history of America. I’m not so sure, this time, it will be a Patriot Act pushover. The sheeple are beginning to wake up. Declining net worth was the only way that was going to happen and here we are. Sure this thing will be rammed down everyones throats but I expect open revolt and rage as the dots are connected. If I’m wrong and there is little in the way of demonstrations and outrage we may as well go and pick up our RFID chips now as it will only get easier for them

IMHO the next few days will be the most telling in the history of the country.

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Any idea on where I can read the details of this plan from official government documents? For an important matter such as this I have no problem pouring over a 100 or so pages of this agreement to understand it for myself. I will start search this morning but if anyone can save me time with a link I would appreciate it.

One thing I am looking for is direct action at the root cause which was the CRA legislation. If the catalyst that triggered this event is still law, then what are we doing here?

RSLCounsel

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http://usasearch.gov/search?input-form=simple-firstgov&v%3Aproject=firstgov-web&query=bailout

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  1. Disseminate information. Particularly to those they USE like the young people fighting thier wars (and the generations of kids they are preparing for the next wars), voters and college students. That online video I saw on WTC, 911, Amereo and sheeple was the best explaination I’ve seen so far. Be active - send out the link and post it everywhere. Send it out in emails, stop in at libraries to strike up conversations in the computer lab and take others to the link. You’ll get a % of people who don’t want to know but those you reach can help spread the word.

  2. Stop the taxes and the money coming in. Pay off or stop paying. Stop using energy as much as possible - at home, at work and for recreation. They are deeply imbedded into our energy system and we won’t see anything come of their policies except their profits.

  3. Work to develop the New Game Plan - What will replace the old system? Computerized government - where no one represents anyone and we all vote on issues of importance via mass communication backed by paper votes. A simple - less cost and very transparent government. Break it down by local issues, county, state and national issues. Who ever builds this system - make duplicity the norm as each system checks and balances itself with computerized systems being upheld by paper systems and vice versa. Who ever builds this system needs to be guarenteed a portion of the government money they save.

Game On-

EndGamePlayer

 

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When you find them and pore over them please be sure to let us know what you find.

As the 700 page PATRIOT Act taught us, the devil is in the details.

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I guess the Money Masters video will need some updating in light of this recent scam.

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Just heard the text of the package will be posted online at NOON.

Sorry no lonk yet.

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I really want to know how who was fighting whom? Who was fighting for some better tax-payer protection? And who was pushing hardest against them on behalf of the banking industry? And who caved and why? I want to know who has some decency and who is totallly in the pocket.

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lock down you are right on the money oh there is no money THANKS CHRIS YOUR "END OF MONEY GOT ME STARTED" i dont own a tv so i have not heard much on cnn except i watched lou dobbs a couple of times and he definitely gets it. even oreilly sorta gets it. but National Public Radio is on the payroll. coast to coast radio gets it. but even though we have been screaming at them the vast number of americans are totally clueless. i have been sending out emails to friends and family constantly. got a reply back from a friend (has between 15 and 20 million depending on market ) he said i was wrong and the EXPERTS say we need this bailout and that the market is for the long haul and it always comes back. then he said he has lost 30% this year. what do you do with that. i wonder how in the hell he ended up with that much money, folks we have met the enemy and it is us . we have been fat dumb and happy. i know i am to blame for not paying as much attention as i should have so shame on me. the really funny thing is the next president will be left ot deal with it. here is my scenario for how that plays out.first thing is if mccain is elected palin resigns to go home and take care of her family emergency. she will have served her purpose. mcacain then appoints his good buddy lieberman as vp. then they discover iran has weapons of mass destructionand is planning astrike on israel. we launch an invasion on iran. while we are distracted with that they finish up the looting. if it is obama his response will be more nuanced. he will immediately fly to beijing get down on his knees and get his instructions. he is a very smart man he will bring knee pad. he will be on his knees a very long time. news bulletin this just in on the deal…the last detail has been hammered out. in a concession to to the american taxpayer and to stimulate them every man woman and child will receive a tube of ky jelly. hunter it has gotten weird enough for me.

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Anybody who votes FOR this bailout is an enemy of current and future taxpayers.

I don’t care what sorts of noises they make before or after the vote, I only care about their vote on the bailout itself.

I am seriously disturbed by this and think that it’s time to let a little emotion shine through. I plan to attend every ‘town hall’ meeting between here and the elections (assuming there are any) and let a little of that taxpayer anger show through. It’s time to send a message.

After all, it’s not everyday that your country is destroyed.

 

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A month ago I was "awake" (or so I thought) and busy living my daily life as wife, mother, employee, and citizen. I felt secure in my knowledge about how the world works, and I felt strong in my ability to navigate my way through. Call this equilibrium, bliss, or ignorance.

Then I was sent an email at work about the Crash Course from a PR firm that ALWAYS send blasts and rarely do I read them all the way through. Luckily it was a slow Friday and for some reason, I sat at my computer and plugged in my headphone and sat through all posted chapters of the Crash Course. Suffice it to say I was shaken to the core. Call this disequilibrium, anger, abject fear, or truth.

Immediately I forwarded the website to every person in my inner circle. Of the handful I informed, presently two went completely through the course and of the two only one gets IT. Not the reaction I expected at all. So much for my community, although I have not given up hope.

Since then, I have been trying to keep up with all of the levels of information posted here. I celebrate and smile with every shared quip; raise my voice in an loud "amen" to the well stated calls for action; scratch my head when acronyms and theory are beyond my reach, and I am back to the library today for more books. All the while trying to get back to equilibrium— because EVERYONE wants to be there. Call it sheeple, Xanax, apathy, but the fact remains we want/need to live our lives PEACEFULLY. But how to do that in times of crisis is truly the question, no?

I was struck this morning by the word "transaction"— trans from the Latin for on the other side of, across, or beyond and action for the state or process of doing or acting. "On the other side of doing"– I think that is key. To me therein lies a truth; my power, my leverage, my revolt is in taking every transaction I enter into with the utmost care because what happens "on other side of doing" is worth a serious examination.

The routine of our daily lives is more empowering than we give it credit. We may not have the resources to have precious metal in hand, we may not have 401k’s, we may not have 3 months of earnings buried in the backyard, but we may have health, talent, skills, and a willingness to think about each transaction we enter into… and by ceasing transactions that are too costly is an effective tool in our collective toolbox.

I send a grateful thank you to Chris, his family for joining/supporting him on this journey, and to each member/subscriber old and new. It’s comforting to be on the planet with you all.

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Hey Ned,

Got a perfect example of how this is going down at church today. The priest is a literate man – three college degrees; can make an extemporaneous speech citing multiple sources; etc. Yet today, he said he read the Times articles about the crisis and about AIG, and the financial/technical terms left him baffled. He didn’t understand a word of it. So, he is at the mercy of ‘experts’ who say that we have to hold our noses and do this.

His one insightful comment was, "I smell greed behind this."

Exactly! But like most educated Americans, he has been taught to let his rational processes override his emotional judgment. His nose – with perfect accuracy – tells him that the bailout stinks. But his head tells him, "I can’t understand all this. Let the experts handle it."

And this scene is being repeated in millions of households. Little do they realize that the key expertise being employed is in propaganda. Baffle folks’ heads, then engage the emotion of BLIND FEAR. "Three million jobs will be lost in a few weeks," as Bonesman Kerry ominously threatened.

The Reichstag is burning, comrades. Pass the Enabling Act for the Relief of the People and the Rich! Quick! Yell

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thats a nice post npeykani,

Try not to feel too bad about friends who don’t get it or don’t want to listen. Most people ignore big problems, it’s quite natural, and add to this a huge propoganda machine that encourages you to ignore problems other than exactly what is presented to you, it really is very hard for most people to make that kind of jump from thinking "we are ok" to " we are in the s***".

And the old saying is true; you can lead a horse to water … .

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Quote:

"A banking system in crisis after the collapse of a housing bubble. An
economy hemorrhaging jobs. A market-oriented government struggling to
stem the panic. Sound familiar?"

As a 21-year old aussie looking in on this major blow up in the US economy I can’t help but say that firstly I am not surprised the bill is going to be passed, well done Paulson (from all your banker mates). I just read a short article on how the Swedes dealt with their similar situation back in the early 1990’s and it seemed to me that they followed the way Chris said it should have happened, having these failed institutions keep the balance of their debts on their books.

"Banks had to write down losses and issue warrants to the government"

It is crystal clear to me that the US could have easily taken some advice from a country like Sweden but predictably chose the more selfish option in keeping the filthy rich/selfish happy, and failed institutions for that matter, by simply buying their bad debt with the taxpayers having to foot the majority of the bill.

I feel nothing but contempt for Paulson and his colleagues and can only thank GOD that I don’t live in USA right now and at least have a bit of time over here in Perth to try and gear myself for what might turn into a disaster that affects everyone. Love your work Chris, I am officially obsessed with monitoring your updates daily so keep up the good work its people like yourself that are needed in the US to educate them in this hour of craziness.

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[quote]I have just become a single issue voter. I will absolutely vote
against any and every incumbent who votes for this bailout package.
Period. I don’t care WHO is on the other side of that ticket.[/quote]

I hate to say it, but that kind of silliness (being a single issue voter) is a large part of the reason why we are in so many messes in the first place. Sorry, but single issue voting strikes me as intellectual laziness and a deep lack of foresight.

The reality is, that a number of individuals that will ‘vote’ against this bill will be doing so on the complaint that it does too much for the taxpayer and too little banks. That is after all, the deducible impetus of the Republican counter offer.

I’d agree though, that ALL the senate and house leaders should probably be jerked. The Democrats, because they have continuously chose safe over right out of fear that it would imperil their election chances . The Republicans because they were, in effect, trying to force the democratic party to strip what little protection this bill has.

In the end though, we should save our outrage until we’ve had a chance to read over the bill, and have reminded ourselves that we should save far more anger for those actively attempting to screw the taxpayer (us) in favor of big business or any other kind of elite, rather than those who were simply too cowardly to do the right thing. (In a perfect world, we’d get rid of both. However, this is not a perfect world).

–

Steve

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This bill solves nothing, other than raiding the Treasury of our good tax dollars for worthless junk. Paulson and his rich cronies are making sure they are not the ones left to hold the empty bag. The inevitable crash is delayed maybe until after the elections. I feel ill, for my children and grandchildren.