srbarbour…you obviously work for Pelosi…like any board monitor…you shall see.
Dambthematrix:
Ugh, I read that and thought that would work. Then I thought about it and now think: Isn’t that what got us in this mess (foreclosures bring the market and tax base and job base down and we the fools pay the bill.)
No, sorry, I think this idea would grant us only a bigger tax bill.
dear prof barbour
i would like to have some of what it is you are smoking or drinking or shooting.
obama is not going to unwind anything bush does(paulson and bernanke)
he is going to wind even more on. if you are living in hope you
have my sympathy.
bo got 4x the dough from wall street that mac got he is in on it
check out his speech on the floor of the senate in favor of the bailout.
none of those crooks even read the bill. it was written last year by paulson and bernanke.
you cant even type a 450 page bill in two days. does the patriot act ring a bell ?
undo the bills by the next pres? WE ARE DOOMED.HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Get used to thinking of government as a criminal syndicate, then the things they do won’t be surprising. Get used to thinking of government as your enemy, because that is what it is.
The tax system itself is a massive looting operation. The Federal Reserve is a private counterfeiting operation. The military takes your children and sends them to get killed for no good reason. They lie about practically everything they do. One in a hundred are in prison, half for non-violent drug offenses. With a few exceptions, most everything government does has parallels with private gangs and warlords.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4A92FM20081110?sp=true
AIG gets $150 billion government bailout; posts huge loss
Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:28pm EST
WASHINGTON/NEW
YORK (Reuters) - The government restructured its bailout of American
International Group Inc, raising the package to a record $150 billion
with easier terms, after a smaller rescue plan failed to stabilize the
ailing insurance giant.
The Federal Reserve and the Treasury
Department announced the new plan on Monday as AIG reported a record
third-quarter loss of $24.47 billion, largely from write-downs of
investments.
The new package, at least $27 billion
more than was previously extended, will leave the government exposed to
billions of dollars of potential losses.
<MORE>
I can’t follow that reasoning… afer all, they can’t foreclose the whole country.
DamntheMatrix: no one’s contradicted you because you’re probably quite right. The problem is that nothing approaching a majority would ever do it, at least not for now, so it’s just not really useful information. Mostly we’re too busy sniping at each other and at the "greedy" people who "bought more house than they could afford" because clearly, you’re only going to lose your house if you deserve to, so why should people who keep up their obligations feel sorry for you? Seriously, it’s like that. Apparently job losses and utility hikes and medical bills and plain, innocent poor planning only happen to losers. So maybe a few of us stop paying our debt off in a noble attempt to beat the system…congratulations to us, we’re now homeless and even more powerless. Maybe once we reach the point where everyone at least knows someone who lost their house, and realizes that "them" is "us", then…maaaaaybe…something like this could work. God knows I feel more hopeless every day that anything less drastic will have much effect, but for the moment, frankly, I knew it was a scam when I signed the papers, and I did it anyway cuz it was the only way to get a house, and I’m keeping that house if I d@mn well can.
Indeed, Davos. I’ve said time and again, its not the expansion of the Fed’s balance sheet that should concern us. Rather, it is what the balance sheet is being expanded with.
Now, even more disturbing is apparently the quality of what the Fed has accepted is so bad they are unwilling to disclose it, even if threatened with legal measures… even after the election…
Admittedly, they are saying that this is to prevent a potential run on some banks, which is a slightly more nobel cause, but just as much a cause for alarm in its own right. Do these banks really need more help hiding their losses?
(The Freedom of Information Act requires they reveal this information… if requested)
–
Steve
YAWN
i have posted on this site for a long time and i have said it many times(i get no joy of being right btw)
if you want to know what is happening stop thinking from the bottom up. think as if you had a vision of a new world order and you had 500 trillion dollars . and this new world order was based on neo fuedalism.
what would you do. you would have all the knights in your service. therefore any attempt by the serfs to get any freedom could very easily crushed. the magna carta did not give george 6 pack any freedom it gave it to the aristocracy because a bunch of them were knights or controlled the knights.
at the time the king had most of the gold but the knights were getting a pretty good share via crusades. (templars)after a few hundred years a merchant class developed because hey we got all these neat things we can ripoff and trade for from the east.(oil sheik, indian weavers and chinese noodles)
so we have a currency in coin (gold) well boy howdy we need a place to keep the gold …voila bankers.
smart guys those bankers they knew one thing "he who has the gold makes the rules" the uh golden rule.
kings were in shock to find out they needed to borrow money and borrow they did …from the goldsmith bankers. now this little thing called the enlightenment came along and some kings and lords and ladies lost their heads along the way and a thing called democracy kinda got a start. but hey democrats need gold too.
fast forward "some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the u.s. , characterizing my family and me as internationalists and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure- ONE WORLD if you will. if that’s the charge, i stand GUILTY AND I AM PROUD OF IT"
david rockefeller
george herbert bush said the virtual same thing. now we have brown saying it. i dont know about you folks but i am beginning to think they are telling the truth (for the first time)
you want to know what comes next? you want to know what this is going to look like? read the shock doctrine by naomi klein.
you have a choice you can be a willing serf or an unwilling serf …but you will be a serf nonetheless.
you will till the bankers fields, you will mine his mines, you will write his software and provide his amusements. and in return you get a little food, a little dirty water, a TARP over your head, and if you are a good serf the banker may turn his head once in a while so you can have one of the bankers deer.
and if you are a bad serf well… then you get a vacation…a gitmo vacation. and if you make it back you will be a very good serf.
so now we are regressed to stage 2 --anger. not too long ago we were in 6 --acceptance.
i think i will dip into depression for a while myself and contemplate whether i want to be a good serf or a bad serf. (where’s my soma?) your loyal info serf from the serf info network (SIN)
om shanti
joe
[quote=Squrrl]DamntheMatrix: no one’s contradicted you because you’re probably quite right. <SNIP> God knows I feel more hopeless every day that anything less drastic will have much effect, but for the moment, frankly, I knew it was a scam when I signed the papers, and I did it anyway cuz it was the only way to get a house, and I’m keeping that house if I d@mn well can.
[/quote]
The way I see things developing in a revolution is that you would get to keep your house even if you default. ALL debts must be forgiven.
Why pretend they can ever be repaid when it is clearly not the case?
Of course things have changed somewhat Joe.
For starters we now outnumber the bastards millions to one.
We’re also a bit more knowledgeable (though I agree you wouldn’t know it the way some serfs’ behave sometimes!).
There’s one more very important thing that’s changed now. In the past TPTB promised the serfs ecer more ‘stuff’ in exchange for ever more slavery.
But now it’s going to become very difficult, nay impossible, to deliver more stuff.
So when the people work out they’ve been conned (and we are already numerous on this site), I think the shit will hit the fan, but it might all blow up in the elite’s face this time 'round…
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1048860120081111
Fed OKs American Express as bank holding company
Mon Nov 10, 2008
By Juan Lagorio and Patrick Rucker
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - American Express Co (AXP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
said it won approval to become a bank holding company, in a step that
could cut its borrowing costs and give it more access to government
money.
American Express, the fourth-largest U.S. credit card issuer,
offered more credit to more customers even as the housing crisis began
last year, and is paying the price as delinquencies rise.
Adding to its difficulties, its main sources of funding have grown
more expensive as secured and unsecured bond markets have shut down.
Investors are wondering whether financial companies that loan money
but fund themselves mainly in the bond markets are a thing of the past.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) both became banks in September.
As a bank holding company, American Express can issue bonds that are
government guaranteed through the end of June 2012, and apply to
receive money under the U.S. Treasury’s $700 billion Troubled Assets
Relief Program, which is making direct investments in banks, insurers,
and possibly other financial companies.
The company will also find it easier to buy banks now, and take
deposits from consumers and companies, which can be a cheap source of
funding.
"Given the continued volatility in the financial markets, we want to
be best positioned to take advantage of the various programs the
federal government has introduced … to support U.S. financial
institutions," said Kenneth Chenault, chairman and chief executive
officer of American Express, in a statement.
"With Federal Reserve oversight we should gain greater access to the capital on offer," he added.
But investors cautioned that being a bank does not solve all of
American Express’ difficulties. A growing number of financial
institutions are looking to buy banks and gather deposits.
"There’s a lot of competition for deposits now, and pricing for
deposits is still high," said Blake Howells, director of equity
research at Becker Capital Management in Portland, Oregon.
American Express’ borrowing costs relative to a benchmark rate have
risen dramatically this year. The company is paying about 1.65
percentage points more than one-month Libor to fund itself, compared
with its average in recent years of 0.20 to 0.40 percentage point.
The funding pressure is combining with credit pressure. The default
rate among its credit card clients in the United States almost doubled
in the third quarter of 2008 from a year earlier.
AIG execs go on yet another resort junket
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/10/19123/424/208/658802by SusanG
Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 04:40:04 PM PST
This morning, we learned that AIG received yet another $150 billion handout.
And this afternoon, we learn that last week – last week, people! – AIG sent its top executives to a "secret gathering" at a posh luxury resort in Phoenix:
Even as the company was pleading the federal government for another
$40 billion dollars in loans, AIG sent top executives to a secret
gathering at a luxury resort in Phoenix last week.Reporters for abc15.com (KNXV) caught the AIG executives on hidden
cameras poolside and leaving the spa at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak
Resort, despite apparent efforts by the company to disguise its
involvement."AIG made significant efforts to disguise the conference, making
sure there were no AIG logos or signs anywhere on the property," KNXV
reported.
The cost of the secret junket?
The AIG spokesman said the meeting in Phoenix was for independent
financial advisors and "was the kind of thing we have to do to run our
business."Company officials confirmed the company spent an estimated $343,000
to sponsor the 2008 Asset Management Conference. A spokesperson said
much of the cost would be recouped from product sponsors at the
conference.
I’m sure that the second that $343,000 is recouped, it’ll be passed
right along to taxpayers, right? Put back in the government kitty for all of us?
Is this being discussed much in the mainstream press? If so, what is the tone of the analysis?
[quote]This morning, we learned that AIG received yet another $150 billion handout.[/quote]
Its not another $150 billion. Its the same money, albeit, slightly larger under new, improved, Anti-taxpayer rules!
(sarcasm)but at least its not as socialistic(/sarcasm)
NakedCapitalism’s explanation is the best. (yes, I linked to it above…)
I’m sorry to say, but boohoo. I’m not going to cry over the penny they stole from me when they are busy hauling away my entire bank account.
Lets get our priorities straight, and shore up TARP first, and the $150 billion controlled by AIG next. Then we can worrying about the stupid, but ultimately frivolous, expenditures these morons conjure up.
–
Steve
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/11072008_warsh_financial_structure.asp
Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh said the U.S. financial sector has to be rebuilt, and banks have to adapt to new credit models for a recovery from the ongoing economic crisis to take place.
He said in the wake of the crisis, markets have been re-assessing "virtually every asset."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iRxZox4GFoIweckPDP1oRhKBlHOwD94CCDU00
Georgia congressman warns of Obama dictatorship
By BEN EVANS – 12 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship.
Broun cited a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.
"That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did," Broun said. "When he’s proposing to have a national security force that’s answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he’s showing me signs of being Marxist."
Best commentary EVER, Dr. M! I know you appreciated the blurb from Massachusetts’ own Barney Frank, in the Bloomberg article:
In an interview Nov. 6, House Financial Services Committee
Chairman Barney Frank said the Fed’s disclosure is sufficient and
that the risk the central bank is taking on is appropriate in the
current economic climate. Frank said he has discussed the program
with Timothy F. Geithner, president and chief executive officer
of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a possible candidate
to succeed Paulson as Treasury secretary.
I talk to Geithner and he was pretty sure that they're OK,'' said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat.If the risk is that
the Fed takes a little bit of a haircut, well that’s
regrettable.‘’ Such losses would be acceptable, he said, if the
program helps revive the economy.Frank said the Fed shouldn’t reveal the assets it holds or
how it values them because ofdelicacy with respect to pricing.'' He said such disclosure wouldgive people clues to
what your pricing is and what they might be able to sell us and
what your estimates are.‘’ He wouldn’t say why he thought that
information would be problematic.
"Delicacy with respect to pricing."
"DELICACY with respect to PRICING."
Funny, I don’t get much "DELICACY" when it comes to taxes. They send a very explicit, in-your-face bill, with an explicit deadline and explicit threats about what will happen if it ain’t met.
But not to worry. Just let kind old Uncle Barney grope your money and mind your kids, or is it vice versa?
And here’s another howler from the same Bloomberg article:
Ultimately, the Fed will have to remove some securities held
as collateral from some programs because the central bank’s rules
call for instruments rated below investment grade to be taken
back by the borrower and marked down in value. Losses on those
assets could then be written off, partly through the capital
recently injected into those banks by the Treasury.
Not gonna happen. Because as explained in the Crash Course, the monetary system is based on EXPANSION – as in the more-than-doubling of the Fed’s balance sheet since summer. Deleveraging would bring back financial crisis overnight.
So what’s a dice-rolling, mad-hat bankster to do? Simple; slip in another obscure five-sentence notice in a 400-page mental health bill to make the Fed’s purchases of junk securities permanent. When you’ve got a winning criminal modus operandi, exploit it to the max before copycats move in. In the morally-twisted world of central banking, every sharp player needs an angle, ya know?
Problem, reaction, solution. Only the solution is often the next problem, but people are too emotionally distracted (over reaction) to realize it at the time.
Problem: an economic ‘crisis’. (we all know who started this)
Reaction: the public demands the government ‘do something’
Solution: New accounting rules, free money to the banks, and long term? Potentially a ‘new world order’?
This is the way the game is played. I just fear that at some point the ‘solution’ is the final solution; things are locked, any sort of meaningful and actually good change is impossible.