$800 Billion More
It’s gotten to the point in America where headlines like “another $800 billion” don’t even phase us anymore.
It’s not that we’re incapable of outrage at the skyrocketing price tag of the USA’s current socialist experiment (far from it), it’s just that the scope of the government-created, government-perpetuated and now government-prolonged economic disaster is so great that even minds as nimble and expressive as ours are struggling to comprehend it and put it into clear, unambiguous common sense wisdom for you.
Such is the incomprehensible (and still soaring) cost of America’s ongoing culture of interventionism … a multi-trillion dollar investment in saving the very institutions that have placed this nation on a fiscal ledge … and then pushed us off of it.
Oh … and as of this morning, we can throw another $800 billion into the fire.
From Bloomberg.com:
The central bank will purchase as much as $600 billion in debt issued or backed by government-chartered housing-finance companies …
“They’re trying to put funds into the system, trying to unfreeze these markets,†said William Poole, the former St. Louis Fed president, in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Clearly, the Fed and the Treasury are beginning to take a large amount of credit risk.â€
The Fed will purchase up to $100 billion in direct debt of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks and up to $500 billion of mortgage-backed securities backed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie Mae, the statement said.
The other $200 billion is going to a “government program to support consumer and small-business loans,” which sounds great until you remember the “government program” part of it, which pretty much ensures that it’s not going to work.
All this, of course, is in addtion to the $700 billion Treasury Department bailout of the Wall Street firms, financial behemoths which were either forced by the government (or stupid enough) to take a piece of the action associated with Fannie and Freddie’s politically-correct lending practices.
Seriously, why not take all $800 billion of this new money and put it directly into American families and small businesses … along with the other $2.3 trillion we’ve blown trying to recussitate these government-backed mortgage firms and fallen corporate titans?
Add all the Treasury, Federal Reserve and related government-bailout cash outlays together and we could have given every single citizen in America a $10,000 rebate … within the last two months alone, people.
We’re not experts, but our guess is that taking this approach would have instantaneously generated a massive explosion of economic activity that would have created thousands of new jobs, stimulated millions if not billions in additional economic investment and raised people’s income levels … and hopes.
Bingo. Problem solved.
That’s “change you can believe in” as well as change in your pocket … for everybody.
Of course, our plan wouldn’t have actually helped everybody.
In fact, it would have left a small handful of bureaucrats, brokers and government economists (i.e. the people that got us into this mess) holding the bag, but we think we speak for the vast majority of Americans when we say “f*ck them.”
At some point in this bailout fever we need to figure out that if we’re going to blow billions to get the economy back on track, we should at the very least give it back to the people who are ultimately responsible for picking up the tab.
Which is all of us …
Comments
By AR on November 25th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
You did your math wrong…take out convicts, minors/infants, people making over 150k a year…and your looking at nearly 25-30k in returns per person.
The only problem is massive inflation, but hell, they just printed $800 billion for the bailout today…and we know what that does.
By liz on November 26th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Considering that there is considerable and signficant evidence of financial crimes inside one particular federal government system, that are going absolutely unacknowledged, what do you expect?
FYI: The Social Security Trust Fund and Medicare Trust Fund are supposed to be real. In the last few years, information was placed in society indicatingthe Trust Funds ” were gone”. Everyone has heard this. You’ve heard “Social Security is going broke”, right?
In 1984, accountability was added to the oversight of these funds by establishing two “Trustee” positions. In 2008, for the first time since the positions were established, they are vacant. No Trustees.
Considering I hold evidence that my old 1987 Social Security Disability account was left IN PAY the entire time I worked as a ” disabled American”, eleven years, and considering that I was required to wait an additional four years to get the opportunity to have my benefits restored, I know for a fact that the Trust Funds are being emptied as fast as possible. I know someone stole money in my name.
Additionally, as a sick lady sitting at home in Columbia SC, I have hard copy evidence of a second Social Security Account left in pay for a period of twenty years out of the same office here in South Carolina.
Our local Social Security office( Columbia) is aware of these matters and will most likely continue to cover up these crimes, as most of our elected leaders are doing as well.
I’m the person who tried, then lost everything for my efforts.
I say give as much money as you want away. It’s all being depleted on purpose anyway.
(( There are approximately 2000 pages of documentation to back up every word in this post- I’d be delighted to share it with anyone that cares.))