The wages of conservative deregulation--worldwide.
The funny thing is that this is basically a replay of the Crash of '29, it's the same mechanisms of intentionally created asset bubbles, extreme leverage, and basically valueless securities peddled by bamns and finance houses to people who didn't know what they were buying.
The difference this time is that the securities involve hopelessly overbought mortgages taken out by people who had no hope of paying, but the theory was the houses would keep rising in value so the lenders wouldn't be hurt. Ooops. And these are our finance genuises, who run the country and its fake economy.
The other difference is that "we" (i.e. the unelected Fed) has apparently decided it has the power and mandate to bail out the banks and (more importantly and outrageously) the unregulated Wall Street investment banks.
But a funny thing is happening. The new unprecedented credit "facility" the Fed set up to save these investment banks is steadily moving to the supposed "maximum" amount the Fed was willing to risk---50 billion each day. The Wall Street investment banks are already up to borrowing just under 40 billion of the facility each day, and every week the amount has gone higher from the 13 billion borrowed the week it was first set up.
So how long until the Boyz are "borrowing" the entire 50 billion each day? And what happens after that? Do we just keep "lending" these (likely) insolvent operations even more?
McSame: "No bailouts!" (applause)
(aside to advisor Phil Gramm: "Jeez, I don't unnerstand this stuff, Phil, but I guess ya just don't have to---look at that idiot Bush."
Gramm: "Exactly, Johnny Boy. Just say No Bailouts and let the Fed handle everthin'! They're smart. Hey, lookit those two hot babes! Get them to come over here...."
McSame: "Yowza! Hello, ladies! Meet a coupla real conservative deregulatin' he-men! Wanna take a shoppin' trip to Iraq, courtesy of America's Heroes? Nuthin' safer than bein' with me."
(squeals of delight).
Posted by euzoius at April 8, 2008 02:43 PMI have written in these comments before that bail out of both homeowners and banks in this country kills poor people in developing nations. As predicted, widespread riots have broken out across the world over food prices. Not because people are feeling ripped off but because people are being threatened by starvation. Both the dems and the pugs are up to the same thing. (I am a die hard dem). But to feel sorry about people being moved into a smaller house or having to rent and believing these folks should be bailed out, as Barney Frank is doing, is unbelievable in my eyes. The more dollars and credit extended here, the worse inflation will be. And in other countries, inflation kills. Who cares what John McCain says about Hillary's plan. Obviously she has a much bigger heart than McCain, but will she do the right thing in this situation? In this situation, I can't see who is worse. The Pugs or Barney Frank and company.
Posted by Fen at April 8, 2008 04:54 PM"McCain cited the $30-billion plan by New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to aid homeowners and communities threatened by foreclosures, saying that it sounded "very expensive" and that he would "like to know how it's paid for.""
gee, I don't know, where's the $12 BILLION we're spending every month in Iraq and Afghanistan coming from? oh that's right, Bush is just using his Chinese Express credit card
perhaps Fen would like to explain how helping homeowners who were steered into taking sub-prime mortgages is causing food inflation
and I guess perfesser jay is now endorsing much higher mileage standards for cars and trucks (snark)
Posted by gay veteran at April 8, 2008 05:33 PMGay Faggot
Present! ....uh...was this a roll call?
Posted by phidipides at April 8, 2008 07:19 PMYou really are an Obama man, right down to voting "present"!
Posted by TIKI AL at April 8, 2008 07:49 PM"Wanna take a shoppin' trip to Iraq, courtesy of America's Heroes?" (oozo)
...too bad that carpet shop is too dangerous to return to now. A small cranial rug would improve his stumpability.
Posted by TIKI AL at April 8, 2008 08:06 PMA trillion lost here, a trillion lost there, pretty soon it adds up to real money. I'll bet Ev Dirksen is spinning in his grave.
Posted by Meteor Blades at April 8, 2008 09:44 PMMcSame raising his eyebrows over a proposed $30 billion "cost" for a homeowner mortgage bailout as we contemplate the $2 trillion pissed down the rat hole of Iraq is laugh-out-loud funny.
We are a living satire at this point. Our news has as much "reality" as one of our brain-dead "reality TV" programs.
If only America had an Oscar Wilde or even a Twain. At least we'd get a laugh out of our economic and political destruction.
Posted by euzoius at April 9, 2008 06:10 AMI love it when perfesser jay shows his inner bigot, and rants about M3 (like the troll knows what that is!).
Posted by gay veteran at April 9, 2008 06:18 PM