Thursday, September 25, 2008

Can Someone Loan A Billion (Or Two)?

It has been a stunning week. I was telling M last night we are watching history in the making. That the next depression could happen when we thought we would never see another. I wonder to myself if my generation, and the next and my son's are "make-do" enough to survive such hardships that my grandmother saw, that reflects in the way she raised her own children ... to make-do and be thrifty. I also ask M if they were even talking about this at his school? I kept telling him, THIS IS Big. Big news, big happenings, we are shaping our destiny and I am not sure I want to think about the near future view. To hand over $700 billion, without over-sight to shore up failed banking systems when they have walked away with billions themselves seems to me ridiculous. I am not a financial wizard ... and I don't have any thoughtful alternatives. But if I hear that some CEO is leaving his company in ruins and walking away with millions of dollars in our loaned out tax monies, I am going to be really pissed off!

D and I were pretty much left speechless after W's explanation of this mess we are in ... here is an Analysis by Terence Hunt: How did it happen, America's grave financial crisis? President George W. Bush offered a bunch of explanations but held Washington completely blameless, painting a picture of a government standing innocently on the sidelines as the economy went off the rails.

Somehow, under Bush's scenario, the country wound up at the precipice of "a long and painful recession" at a time when, apparently, the Congress, the White House, the regulators and the Fed were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Now that the economy has tanked, Bush says the federal government is responding with "decisive action."
(Right, that is about the time last night that I was going ... "wwhhhhaaa?"

If Molly Ivins were only alive to write about this!

Seven Better Uses For $700 Billion.

What they got away with

6 comments:

Visual-Voice said...

I just read Robert Reich's blog... might want to take a look at his analysis of what they'll try to pass here: http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/09/deal.html

It's more than stunning what brought us here.

Erin said...

I can't help thinking about something Bono said recently...

"It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to saved 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases."

Anonymous said...

Thx for your take on the present mess. A lot of today's grandparents are children of the depression. Things turned around in the World War II area when factories making munitions after the war continued production creating jobs. We were raised to skimp and not buy what you couldn't pay for - and so hopefully we will survive till things turn around. We have a friend who says it's a good time to be old. Luvyall

Crafts a la Mode said...

The ones who got away with millions should go to jail for LIFE for ruining so many lives. The good thing about the $700 billion is that WE are buying land (mortgages)and that will eventually pay off (land values should rise soon). Will the money be returned to the people? If they take enough time to create a bill with provisions of such.

Crafts a la Mode said...

To visual-voice. We certainly don't want socialized medicine here. My Mom had to have an operation in Ireland when she was on vacation. They asked if she had insurance - there were 2 hospitals - the free one and the one for people with insurance. Right now, even the poor have the same healthcare (by going straight to the hospital) as anyone else. They just don't pay for it, that's all. We pay for it, but we don't have to pay for all the government machinations. My son has no insurance and had to be hospitalized for a week. He received the same care as someone with insurance.

Jerez Sherry said...

Interesting 700 billion was a figure that was the most they could ask for, arbitrary in that way, And during election time, and Bush is a crook looking to further line his pockets and his buddies pockets. I don't believe this is real for one moment.

Crooks give me the creeps...if you or I couldn't pay, thanks to BUsh, and went bankrupt, we have to pay it back, but the wealthy get paid for what they do, so no wonder so many are crooks, It pays so well!