AMERICAblog: Will bailout fever drive the US into a depression?
debrazza
· 1 year ago
Should never have bailed out Bear. There would have been a serious market correction once Bear went down in flames that would have been well deserved and would have shocked the rest of these clowns into getting their acts together and cleaning up their books. Now it appears that everyone just decided to continue the same business practices and queue up in the bailout line. There is nothing more disturbing than a government that privatizes profit and socializes losses.
Milli
· 1 year ago
Well put.
jimfromthefoothills
· 1 year ago
don't disagree, so why did bernacke, greenspan's mini-me bail them out? Culturally, everyone on the street hates the Bear so it probably was not nepotism.
He bailed out Bear debt holders because th credit default swap market is teetering. Letting the bear die would have killed the 42 trillion CDS market.
paul94611
· 1 year ago
See the ft.com for an articleconcerning the OMB declaring Fannie & Freddie "on budget". Also, take some time to look at the market action surrounding Washington Mutual or WaMu, the nations largest thrift. By some estimates it will take about 100 to clean that mess up and the FDIC only has about 40 left after IndyMac. This will be the big financial story in a week or two... The FDIC running out of money and needing tens of billions to continue to insure deposits, which it must and will do. Just another hole for more dollars.
Indigo
· 1 year ago
Government bailouts for corporations and significantly wealthy people is a characteristic of fascism. There's been a flury of cat-calling that wants to describe the situation as "communism" for the wealthy. That approach clouds the discussion while imitating McCain at his most stupid by redefining words and confusing the issue.
Communism and Fascism are both forms of socialism: Nazional Sozialistische Arbeiter Partei was very clear about their name. Read it and weep because that's the direction we're heading in and step number one is turning out to be the nationaliization of numerous financial industries through "bailouts."
Sidebar for folks who got edumacated during the Reagan Era: Communism doesn't bailout plutocrats. Communism rises up in violent revolution.
Reason0Politics1
· 1 year ago
Chris...
you seriously can't be this naive', can you? Seriously?
"O gee, I always thought you folks were just tin foil hat wearers that have been talking about how bad it's getting now, and will be in the future, but maybe now I see you may not be"
DO some freakin research man.
Indigo nails it. The US IS, I repeat IS, a fascist Country now. And news flash..most likely Obama ain't gonna do shit to change that.
And yes, economically..the sky has already fallen. They are merely postponing the collapse as long as possible..but there ain't no fixin' this shit man.
jimfromthefoothills
· 1 year ago
Chris is one of the best economic reporters anywhere.
slw0606
· 1 year ago
I agree we currently have a fascist government in power - probably not to the level of the Nazis in the late 1930s, but given the wanten law breaking to spy on citizens and eleiminate Habeas Corpus for ALL Americans (Yes, Virginia, the Military Commissions Act took Habeas Corpus away from ALL people in the US, citizens included), surely a severe economic collapse would be reason enough to declare quazi marshall law (maybe to nationalize the banks or something extreme) and take more of our "freedom" away.
I hate being tin-foil, but only idiots refuse to see the economic abyss ahead of us.
The government is like a rat in a wheel running faster and faster trying to avoid collapse, but eventually it will give way out of exhaustion.
Meanwhile the new season of "Dancing With the Stars" is about to start. Hot damn!
Milli
· 1 year ago
I much prefer thinking about Sarah Palin's choice of lipsticks than all this economy mumbo jumbo. Must go do my nails..........
jimfromthefoothills
· 1 year ago
chris, the national debt is about 12 trillion, nearly the same as 1 year of U.S. GDP.
Shak_El
· 1 year ago
Let's get it over with NATIONALIZE all financial institutions NOW! And then declare a bibilical Jubalee year. Abolish all debt! Start over at year ZERO. What you occupy you keep. All homes/apartments to those who live in them now.
slw0606
· 1 year ago
Yes, this talk scares the shit out of me.
I am a high paid IT project manager for IBM and my area is starting to outsource my work overseas (lovely). So I am scrambling trying to figure out if I can move to another "more secure" area at IBM.
Meanwhile, if we enter a depression (in my simple MBA trained mind quite possible indeed) IBM's business will dry up and I can kiss my over-mortgaged house goodbye and look forward to declaring bankruptcy.
What joy.
slw0606
· 1 year ago
Oh, and even though I really hope Obama wins the election, whoever the next President is and his political party is, they may bear the brunt of the blame for any economic collapse, fair or not and become the Hoover of our day.
So an upset McCain win might nail the final nail in the Republicans coffin, or an Obama win could result in a still-birth for the resurgent Democratic party.
It took 232 years of our history to accrue a national debt of 3 trillion dollars, Bush has trebled that in just eight years of his disastrous policies and programs. The current accounts deficit is approaching 430 billion dollars, probably is much higher, we have squandered over 600 billion in Iraq and growing daily, personal debt is out of control, credit markets a disaster, the economy headed for a land fill, heavy borrrowing in the trillions from abroad, energy costs thru the roof, galactic trade imbalances, infrastructure crumbling, unemployment rising, outsourcing continuing, social security and medicare costs growing, etc., etc. There are other negative economic indicators, but those paying attention to our decline as a once viable economy and democracy know the score. Vote republican at your peril!
Talos
· 1 year ago
I'd buy gold just in case but then, I got seriously reamed the last time I bought gold about a month or so ago. Bought above $900/oz and the next week or two, *plook*, gold plunged down to below $800/oz. Now I'm gun shy.
WTF?
The US economy is unsustainable, the government is exploding its debt and doing nothing to stem the deficit, and yet the dollar strengthens and gold plunges. Makes no sense to me.
All Comments
He bailed out Bear debt holders because th credit default swap market is teetering. Letting the bear die would have killed the 42 trillion CDS market.
By some estimates it will take about 100 to clean that mess up and the FDIC only has about 40 left after IndyMac. This will be the big financial story in a week or two... The FDIC running out of money and needing tens of billions to continue to insure deposits, which it must and will do. Just another hole for more dollars.
Communism and Fascism are both forms of socialism: Nazional Sozialistische Arbeiter Partei was very clear about their name. Read it and weep because that's the direction we're heading in and step number one is turning out to be the nationaliization of numerous financial industries through "bailouts."
Sidebar for folks who got edumacated during the Reagan Era: Communism doesn't bailout plutocrats. Communism rises up in violent revolution.
you seriously can't be this naive', can you? Seriously?
"O gee, I always thought you folks were just tin foil hat wearers that have been talking about how bad it's getting now, and will be in the future, but maybe now I see you may not be"
DO some freakin research man.
Indigo nails it. The US IS, I repeat IS, a fascist Country now. And news flash..most likely Obama ain't gonna do shit to change that.
And yes, economically..the sky has already fallen. They are merely postponing the collapse as long as possible..but there ain't no fixin' this shit man.
I hate being tin-foil, but only idiots refuse to see the economic abyss ahead of us.
The government is like a rat in a wheel running faster and faster trying to avoid collapse, but eventually it will give way out of exhaustion.
Meanwhile the new season of "Dancing With the Stars" is about to start. Hot damn!
I am a high paid IT project manager for IBM and my area is starting to outsource my work overseas (lovely). So I am scrambling trying to figure out if I can move to another "more secure" area at IBM.
Meanwhile, if we enter a depression (in my simple MBA trained mind quite possible indeed) IBM's business will dry up and I can kiss my over-mortgaged house goodbye and look forward to declaring bankruptcy.
What joy.
So an upset McCain win might nail the final nail in the Republicans coffin, or an Obama win could result in a still-birth for the resurgent Democratic party.
Oh happy day!
Warren Buffet is jumping ship.....
WTF?
The US economy is unsustainable, the government is exploding its debt and doing nothing to stem the deficit, and yet the dollar strengthens and gold plunges. Makes no sense to me.