Politics
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- ukit0
I hate to say this, but looking at the plan as leaked, I have to say no deal. Not unless Treasury explains, very clearly, why this is supposed to work, other than through having taxpayers pay premium prices for lousy assets.
As I posted earlier today, it seems all too likely that a “fair price” for mortgage-related assets will still leave much of the financial sector in trouble. And there’s nothing at all in the draft that says what happens next; although I do notice that there’s nothing in the plan requiring Treasury to pay a fair market price. So is the plan to pay premium prices to the most troubled institutions? Or is the hope that restoring liquidity will magically make the problem go away?
Here’s the thing: historically, financial system rescues have involved seizing the troubled institutions and guaranteeing their debts; only after that did the government try to repackage and sell their assets. The feds took over S&Ls first, protecting their depositors, then transferred their bad assets to the RTC. The Swedes took over troubled banks, again protecting their depositors, before transferring their assets to their equivalent institutions.
The Treasury plan, by contrast, looks like an attempt to restore confidence in the financial system — that is, convince creditors of troubled institutions that everything’s OK — simply by buying assets off these institutions. This will only work if the prices Treasury pays are much higher than current market prices; that, in turn, can only be true either if this is mainly a liquidity problem — which seems doubtful — or if Treasury is going to be paying a huge premium, in effect throwing taxpayers’ money at the financial world.
And there’s no quid pro quo here — nothing that gives taxpayers a stake in the upside, nothing that ensures that the money is used to stabilize the system rather than reward the undeserving.
I hope I’m wrong about this. But let me say it again: Treasury needs to explain why this is supposed to work — not try to panic Congress into giving it a blank check. Otherwise, no deal.
- jjoeth60
Can we credit the source at the beginning of a post? I keep reading these copy-and-pastes thinking they are the posters' own words.
- hallelujah0
I'm dumbfounded that a vast majority of americans aren't terrified by the prospect of a McCain/Palin administration
- emukid0
- too bad the rnc bought the rights from their label last yearBonSeff
- that's classyredant
- is this for real?monkeyshine
- robotron3k0
$700 Billion!!! or around $2000 per person in the US.
This is a SHAM!!!!!
This is Facist stuff we are talking about.
...militarism, fascism, conquest, widespread spying on citizens, use of corporations and propaganda to control national interests and ideas, etc.
any of this sound familiar???
lot's of people are skeptical about this proposal. If I could only figure out how to use the internet as a vehicle to somehow create a wave of influence among the media and population...
On a side note, in the 1920s Americans used to do the "Pledge of Allegiance" like this:
- the raised arm gesture was only bastardized by the nazis...it was used by many other cultures. like in ancient rome.sputnik2
- mg330
If McCain wins, how many years will you have total lack of faith in this country?
- seriously, this could create riots... people got free time on their hands now that they don't have mortgages...robotron3k
- Like the destructive riots in 2004?tommyo
- Tark0
Most people on QBN are smarter than the average bunch out there so really it's just preaching to the choir.
- acescence0
Ron Paul is right, we need to abolish the unconstitutional Fed and return to a sound money system. no more colossal asset grabs. this was all carefully orchestrated and is going exactly as planned for them.
- 5timuli0
Know what? Shit floats.
- ukit0
"total lack of faith"
- acescence0
Obama seems to be talking tough on the bailout, lets see if (when) he rolls over like on FISA
- Tark0
you think greenspan knew all this shit was going to happen so our country could impose marshall law eventually?
- It's spelled "martial law" by the way...Marshall is an amplifier. Or a person.TheBlueOne
- thanks blue one. Like martial arts?Tark
- ukit0
You assume conspiracy when it's actually just stupidity
- acescence0
RFK jr on all the dirty tricks the repubs are using to get hundreds of thousands of voters off the rolls...
- 250, thousand Denver-ites are taken off the ballot??!!! this is unreal...robotron3k
- sorry, that's 1/4 of Denver voters got removed from the ballots via GOP tatics... now that's news!robotron3k
- AAAGGHH!!!! This is infuriating!jjoeth6
- robotron3k0
- Ohh, comon, There are lots of people more sinister than McCainGeorgesII
- Yes. Like the people guiding his campaign.TheBlueOne
- Yeah, like his buddies Bush and Cheney!DCDesigns
- TheBlueOne0
Paulson this morning in the NY Times in response to changing the language of the proposed bill:
""If we design it so it’s punitive and so institutions aren’t going to participate, this won’t work the way we need it to work," Mr. Paulson said on "Fox News Sunday." "Let’s talk about executive salaries. There have been excesses there. I agree with the American people. Pay should be for performance, not for failure." But he quickly added: "But we need this system to work, and so we — the reforms need to come afterwards." "
Uh huh. Afterwards. Sure I bet. Just like the Iraq War is paying for itself. Just like FISA will all be sorted out, eventually. As soon as the Patriot Act is, you know, adjusted. When New Orleans is rebuilt. Afterwards.
After what exactly?
This is handing the entire economy over to the Executive branch with no oversight by courts or legislature. This is absolutely batshit insane. This isn't an economic crisis - this is a Constitutional crisis.
Of course the media isn't reporting it that way.
- TheBlueOne0
WTF? US Army called back from Iraq to have missions on US Soil for Crowd Control and to be issued first "non-lethal crowd control weapons"?
http://www.armytimes.com/news/20…
"Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks....In the meantime, they’ll learn new skills, use some of the ones they acquired in the war zone and more than likely will not be shot at while doing any of it.
They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.
Training for homeland scenarios has already begun at Fort Stewart
The 1st BCT’s soldiers also will learn how to use “the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,” 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them."Seriously WHAT THE FUCK Why is the US Army going to field an active force on US soil???
Jesus...I'm turning into a fucking conspiracy nutcase...please I just want my country back...
- kelpie0
"Col. Roger Cloutier"
My God; that animal gets everywhere!
- GeorgesII0
700th billion posts!!