Posted on 01/08/2009 6:49:01 AM PST by ex-Texan
According to Bloomberg, the federal government has made commitments worth a total of $8.5 trillion in the bailouts of 2008. That includes actual expenditures as well as loan and asset guarantees.
I suspected this was the case. But I could not find a mainstream news report that spelled out my suspicions. The cost of these bailouts exceed all the major wars in history. And greedy corporate crooks are still lining up for more 'free money.' Obama wants to stimulate the economy with another $ 2 Trillion immediately. That ought to bring the total cost up to more than $ 10 Trillion.
Freaking insanity prevails in D.C. The government is going to print money until the US Dollar is worthless. Then they want to print Ameros and wipe out all debt with new currency. Insanity !
I want my personal bailout, too. Where is my bailout _______ ?
They are Fools and we should mass and toss them all out on the streets on there arsssss
*Ping* ! . . .
Just Damn!!!
Just as I had expected. Feckless stupidity.
"No one suggests that the cost of the bailouts will by $8.5 trillion . . . "
You are incorrect. That $ 8.5 Trillion is official. Check out the headline below.
It was featured on FR and many freepers commented . . .
The total cost of these bogus bailouts will easily exceed $ 10 Trillion. The 50 States are waiting in the wings, begging for more bailouts. That includes the cost of the royal shafting that Americans received thus far.
Bernanke and Paulson lied in testimony before Congress. They ought to be arrested and charged with perjury. Then Bush and Congress conspired to rape taxpayers for excessive costs for the next thirty years!
A Trillion Here, A Trillion There, Pretty Soon We’re Talking About Real Money !
Is there an exit strategy?
No I’m not. People throw around the $8.5 trillion number because it’s eye-catching, but far less has actually flowed out of the Treasury, most of it never will (since most of that number consists of guarantees of things that aren’t going to fail), and even much of what did flow out—such as the $350 billion in equity investments in banks—will surely bring some return to taxpayers when those stakes are eventually sold or redeemed.
Are
So
Screwed...
No.We.Are.Not.
The final bill will not be even close to 8.5 trillion. Maybe we will show a slight profit.
Guarantees do not represent outflow, just the potential.
8.5 Trillion sells advertising, government grants and more viewers. You figure it out.
This is the point of the left
THE DC INSIDERS ARE WHISPERING THAT A BIGGER NEW DEAL COULD HAVE PREVENTED WWII.
(Hitler would have won but war would have been prevented)
SPENDING EQUALS POWER FOR THE LEFT.
The set up for 2010 and 2012 will be the “republicans want to take your handout.”
That's your opinion, but remember Bush and McCain saying "The economy is fundamentally sound" before telling us that it was all going to fall apart unless we coughed up $7B.
Guarantees do not represent outflow, just the potential.
If you think we are going to recoup these trillions - or even half of it, I have a bridge to sell you.
Most of these "guarantees" consists of shoveling our money down a bottomless rat hole of depreciating debt or failing business models to try and prop up failure. All it does is put us on the hook for more when this fails, which it will.
It's like trying to catch a falling knife. It's stupid and is likely going to hurt, real bad.
Well I guess if every major bank in the country catastrophically fails and every company goes bankrupt and defaults on its commercial paper...
And even so, it looks like that $8.7 trillion number includes monetary stimulus, which is completely different from expenditure of taxpayer dollars. They obviously wanted a headline-grabbing number, not a serious estimate of the cost of the bailouts.
Good luck trying to convince people of that when most of them don’t know the first thing about accounting.
My arguments have been falling on deaf ears for months.
You're thinking of things like the automaker and AIG bailouts, but a far larger share of this number comes from things like the guarantee of money market funds. The vast majority of these are not going to fail, and even when they do "fail"--as the Reserve Primary Fund did--actually losses were only a few percentage points.
Got my wife's car serviced today.
Paused while reading my latest W.E.B. Griffin book to listen to two "economic experts" conclude that Obama would bring about a better economy because he will be in charge of the money printing presses.
Nearly cried out loud when one said, "He's not even in yet and look at what he's done for the price of gas!"
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