$700,000,000,000
 

Have you any idea how awesome my dungeon would be with that kind of money????

sigh

If you do the math, make an assumption about how many US households pay taxes (not on federal assitance), it'l almost $5 K per household. To bail out the banks and financial institutions that were "minting" money two years ago.

Sigh.

To bail out bastards who have made their millions and ran away. There isn't a pit in Lil's dungeon deep enough for these parasites. They make out they're living the American (and OZ and Brit) dream, but it's to the detriment of the rest. Gordon Gecko's spiritual children.

I hate to say this, but perhaps its time for a recession. To be perfectly honest, in my own personal life, I can't imagine it being any worse. Perhaps a recession would open the eyes of the people to the reality that it isn't the governments job to dish out handouts and fix everyones problems! IMHO it is because people continue to over extend themselves and then expect that the government will bail them out that only proves to make things worse!

There was a time not long ago (let's say 25 years ago) when my father would have (and often did) do whatever it took (including working 3 jobs) to ensure that our family was taken care of.

Skip ahead to today, when 50% of marriages end in divorce and of those that have children, most are failing (by choice) to support their children. Instead of supporting the families by hard work and sacrifice, they are depending on our government to feed, clothe, and support their families. Our system of hand ups has not only turned into hand outs but is being abused.

I urge anyone to go spend a day in your local social services office. Watch how many able bodied people are coming in for their hand outs! I promise you that the out number those who truly need a hand up by 9 to 1!

After that outing, go to your local social security office. You will find able bodied people there as well!

Our system is busted all the way around! The financial-morgage-investment bailout is only one part of it.

Personally, this bailout isn't helping me.

Off my soap box! I apoligize if I offended!

not at all jenna! when we express our opinions with class and tact, there's no reason to appologize. i just call it sentience. :)

i'm wondering how many worthy students that much money could put through trade school or univeristy and grad school.

personally, i think it's needed, but i am worried they're going too fast. nothing great ever comes from legislation made in haste and worry. and i have some better ideas about where they could gut the money from.:rolleyes2

Just remember, the government is supposed to keep out of people's business, people aren't entitled to a future, and the redistribution of wealth in the form of taxes is a horrible way to run a society.

...except when it comes to bailing out corporate fat cats. Then it's all worthwhile.

If it is good is quite different from if it is needed. I wonder what might be the result of inaction.

First let me say I'm not the least happy about anything even vaguely connected to this bailout...that it's going to happen, or that things got to such a state that it needs to happen, not happy at all. But...

We do have a test case for the consequences of doing nothing. It was in 1929-30, & the consequence was called the Great Depression.

jenna, I respect what you're saying, & if just a little recession was the worst of it, I would agree that we should just take the hit & get it over with...but that's not what we're facing now, & frankly, I think Main Street has already seen the recession for most of the past year. Tweedle-dee & Tweedle-dum (aka Fed Chairman & Treasury Sec.) have been saying for months we can get thru this ok, because that's their jobs, to try to calm the markets; now that they can't placate everybody with soothing sounds, they've got a credibility problem, & I don't blame Congress for dragging their asses thru the coals...

Tightening the regulations back to where they were before is the best we can do now, but it's still closing the barn door after the cows have gotten out...

Scots I am afraid that the Great Depression would look like a joy ride to what would happen today. In 1929-1930 era this country was mostly rural farmers, they could grow there own food. That would not happen today.

I think that no CEOs in charge of those companies should be paid. If you fuck up like that on your job no $$. I will be furious to see how much of the money ends up in the pockets of those who are already our countries wealthiest criminals........ er I mean citizens :p

The thing I keep coming back to, is that the same people who have been screaming for years for deregulation are not singing a different toon.

The same people who wail against socialized medicine are now all for socializing the banking, and mortgage industry.

The free market can be a great thing as long as people show some moral restraint. Unfortunately stupid met greedy, and now it's a huge shit sandwich that we all get to take a bite of.

Valid points all, jude...
And of course, as always, those with more bread won't have to eat near as much shit...

Maybe not so much in the Dust Bowl stricken areas, which occurred almost simultaneously, further complicating matters. But your point is well taken, I was raised by two children of the Depression, & learned enough at their feet to know that we don't want any part of that steaming pile...

it's a drop in the bucket, but the principle of the thing! what a slap in the face. piss on a cut. spit in your eye. low down dirty trick.

wyndhy,

I agree. It is a pity that back in July Secretary Paulson had argued to the Senate Banking Committee in favor of a formal mechanism to take over and wind down non-banks, such as investment banks and insurers, in an orderly way, similar to what exists for retail banks. But Congress was only prepared to consider that as part of a bigger regulatory overhaul under the next president.

If Congress had taken action when they were briefed, they would have had an extra two months to develop a plan.