So what exactly is the government doing with your money? Fox Business Network's Alexis Glick would like to know.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced Nov. 12 he would be redirecting the $700 billion bailout to focus on propping up financial institutions instead of buying troubled mortgage assets, which was the original intent of the rescue plan.
Glick, the host of FBN's "Money for Breakfast," told the CBS's "The Early Show" Nov 13 that the Treasury Department's move away from the original plan to buy up troubled mortgages "does not make sense" and was "actually pretty outrageous":
[T]he markets responded to that yesterday ... Look, the original intent of this Troubled Asset Relief Program was to purchase troubled assets. And I think the marketplace started to adjust several weeks ago when we started to see the size and magnitude of the capital injections.
Glick said the real problem lies in the fact that Treasury wasn't doing anything to "stem the tide of foreclosures." The anchor made the point that if Treasury made the decision not to purchase troubled assets as the government, then it has no leeway in telling banks they need to start lending again:
They right now have no real guidance or oversight to say it's a must. They've already given the capital injections, so what you see right now is a potpourri of housing conversations between Fannie and Freddie, Hope Now, FHA Securities, the FDIC chairman has a different plan. It is so complicated and it's a mess.
Glick developed her complaints about the use of TARP further on her blog, "The Glick Report" at FoxBusiness.com. She had a lot of questions and criticisms of the bailout plan:
Three, didn't Paulson say the root of the problem is housing? So why are we still arguing about the solution? There's a plan called Hope Now, FHASecure, thru Fannie and Freddie, by the FDIC, by private banks. Are you confused? Is it a mess? Is there one central well thought out solution? No. Ask any borrower or home owner how to figure this out? They're at a loss. Should we do something to help homeowners? Absolutely. Why didn't we address this from the start? How come there wasn't language in the original TARP program that required financial institutions to refinance homeowners if they took TARP funds. It's a mess!!!
—Paul Detrick is a research analyst at the Business & Media Institute.
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Its a mess ...
November 13, 2008 - 15:31 ET by MillerTimeWarp... go figure. Maybe Obama can on tv and aksed (thats right) his followers to buy a Pontiac (will help the automakers), and form group homes (fewer mortagages).
i thought we had
November 13, 2008 - 19:43 ET by TruthMongeri thought we had intelligent adults running our country - where did they go....?!?!?
obviously they CAME FROM DNC PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES
NRA: 50 MILLION GUN ANNUAL MARCH ON DC
The TARP fund has not lived
September 30, 2009 - 13:07 ET by hanahThe TARP fund has not lived up to anyone’s expectations. Its original purpose to purchase troubled assets failed,” said Glick Nov. 20. “Many people in the industry said it was a failed concept from the very beginning because there was no way to figure out how to sell troubled assets in the open marketplace through multiple reverse auctions.”
surety bond
Because it's a massive givaway!!!
November 13, 2008 - 15:35 ET by c5thenIt's a massive re-distribution of wealth from the American taxpayer to the super large and international banking and finance giants. This is Robin Hood in reverse. It takes from the average Joe and gives to the finance conglomerate with no oversight, strings, or even disclosure.
Hey, I got the wrong "CHANGE"!
Alan Keyes / Sarah Palin - 2012
Not only a giveaway, but
November 13, 2008 - 17:20 ET by motherbeltNot only a giveaway, but they basically gave the money to Paulson and said Here....do whatever you want with it!
No oversight....this is what happens when you give one person the authority
to purchase and insure certain types of troubled assets for the purposes of providing stability to and preventing disruption
in the economy and financial system and protecting taxpayers,
and for other purposes. (emphasis mine)
This whole thing...
November 13, 2008 - 15:43 ET by BiasedGirlStinks to High Heaven. First it was "The Greatest Financial Crisis of our Time", and they Had to pass this Stupid package immediately. Now they can't call it T.G.F.C.T., now they should be calling it Obama's recession starter. Since his election the Stockmarket just continues to tumble....
http://www.withbias.net
We have the twits in charge
November 13, 2008 - 15:49 ET by c5thenWe have idiots that are in charge of the Federal Government now who think it's their job to control, direct and manage the economy of the US.
It's like riders on a roller coaster trying to control the cars that they are riding in
The immediate result...the stock market is pulling back in an historic correction because no one is sure what these idiots are going to do.
Hey, I got the wrong "CHANGE"!
Alan Keyes / Sarah Palin - 2012
Off topic, but.. Alan
November 13, 2008 - 20:25 ET by ckc1227Off topic, but..
Alan Keyes / Sarah Palin - 2012?
Are you're kidding? Maybe we should forfeit and just go ahead and give it to Obama now, and start planning for 2016.
If that's the best we can do, Conservatives are screwed for a long, long time.
"First it was "The Greatest
November 13, 2008 - 16:44 ET by celator"First it was "The Greatest Financial Crisis of our Time..."
This pre-planned subprime crisis, is the first "crisis" in what will be a long list of crises justifying Obama's future Executive Orders or the immediate action of the Democrat Congress. There is the auto industry "crisis", the health care "crisis", the global warming "crisis", the education "crisis", the poverty "crisis", the energy "crisis", the overweight kids "crisis". And so on. All of the actions taken by Obama and his Marxist friends will be for our own good, doncha see?
Obama's end game is a set of enforced decisions/solutions aimed at a complete take over of the private capital assets of American citizens and industries, the banking and financial houses (already well underway), and anything else that they want.
In other words, it's the final socialist/Marxist takeover of the United States of America.
I mused on the point using
November 13, 2008 - 16:48 ET by dscottI mused on the point using crisis management to enact policies no one would ordinarily agree with a while ago:
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
Yes, "crisis management",
November 13, 2008 - 16:53 ET by celatorYes, "crisis management", that's what they will call their actions.
I meant to add a false flag "crisis" to my list (probably what Biden was trying to reference in his remarks). Oh, yea, that one's coming at us fast. Probably Feb or March.
Government
November 13, 2008 - 16:12 ET by iveseenitallIs this a mess? Need you ask. This is a GOVERNMENT failout,er, bailout. Not to worry, however.Like all government programs, it is doomed to "success". Just asked those who caused the mess in the first palce: Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Franklin Rains, et. al. Now we have another genuis entering the picture, Barry (the Savior of Mankind) Obama with his trusty Chicago sidekicks, never -so- proud Michelle and nasty Rob Emanuel (ready and willing to "rob" you). Maybe we should do what one group has proposed: "Forgive" 40% of all credit card debt. Oh hell, make that 100%. Again, "Is this a mess?"... Nah.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Surprise! And now for the
November 13, 2008 - 16:15 ET by dscottSurprise! And now for the next trick, ta-da, the fed will print money...
I recognise that this seems dangerously profligate. Surely the very same tactic, so beloved of countless South American dictators, cannot be the right solution for a sophisticated and stable western democracy in 2008? If you are sceptical about this, I refer you to the work of a sober, mainstream economist who has gone on to greater things.
In an uncannily prescient speech in 2002 (Deflation: Making Sure It Doesn’t Happen Here), he laid out a detailed plan for avoiding deflation in a western economy. This involved printing money to bail out failing banks, and buying troubled assets such as mortgage-backed securities. If necessary (and we are not quite there yet, in my opinion), he advocates printing more money to finance an increase in the budget deficit and pay directly for tax cuts. That man was Ben Bernanke, now the chairman of the US Federal Reserve. Read his speech on the Fed’s website. So far, about two-thirds of the plan has been implemented, and he clearly stands ready to complete the job if needed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/13/economy-inflation-deflation-bank-england
And why are we hearing about this from overseas and not in the US MSM??? don't tell me, don't tell me...the information was out there, you found it, it's not like we we're trying to cover it up. (to paraphase Alan Colmes)
Oh and let's not forget another trick that will dazzle them: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2008/10/06/open-thread#comment-738008 Print money and buy back US bonds like in a stock buy back plan when companies have lots of cash on hand in order to increase share value.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
I just heard on FBN Asman
November 13, 2008 - 16:42 ET by bigtimerI just heard on FBN Asman say that they just had put in a FOIA for the release of where all this money is really going ect to the Treasury Dept./Paulson, if they don't release the information they are going to sue in the whatever district it is in lower Manhattan...
going to be interesting...we deserve to know...this whole thing has been much more than a total mess, let alone a huge rip-off to us tax-payers, it is outrageous with what congress and others are and have been getting away with in all of this BS.
Saw where the stock went up 550 or so today, oil up more than 3.00 something a barrel last I saw...after it was down so much...something is really wrong with all of this picture.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Bush Comments
November 13, 2008 - 18:46 ET by sawing battaObama (govt is the solution) elected President - vows to dramatically increase the size and scope of govt programs, taxes, protectionism, etc....Market goes down further than any newly elected president - ever.
GWB (govt is the problem) makes some very strong - i know it sounds crazy these days, but he's the lone voice it seems - comments about the importance of LIMITING government in the financial markets and presto,
DOW up 552 points after being down several hundred - a swing of 900 points!
causal? who knows, but interesting.
I'm curious, where does
November 13, 2008 - 19:01 ET by dtaI'm curious, where does Paulson stand financially with respect to this bailout? Does he have a documentable conflict of interests such as owning shares of Goldman-Sachs?
Too many questions.
November 13, 2008 - 21:11 ET by ahusserWhy are we bailing out one group of companies over another? Who decides who gets bailed out? Why GM and not Circuit City or Lehman Bros? What criteria is used to determine the bailees and for how much, in what way? Too much complication, chance for corruption, (kickbacks, bribes who knows, there is a lot at stake and a lot of money floating around that probably no one will ever be able to account for). Let the companies fail, go into chapter 11 or whatever, they may come out ok. It probably will be cheaper, easier and less complicated to just pay the unemployment benefits and wait for the economy to right itself. So if every time we have a recession all with hands outstretched whine and cry for their handout er bailout. Then government, deciding which industries, companies, and mercantile entities shall live or die, will be the ultimate determiner of the economy. It will be a state run economy. I don't think we should go there.
"...no civilization, no matter how rich, no matter how refined, can long survive once it loses the power to meet force with equal or superior force." - Bernard Knox
"Why GM "?...
November 13, 2008 - 21:59 ET by Andante...Because unions vote dem. I was a member of ALPA and I still get the union rag. It made me sick when they endorsed Zero because they think he'll fatten pilot's wallets. Why does that bother me...see note below?
-------------------------------------
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury."
I agree Andante
November 14, 2008 - 07:33 ET by ahusserMy questions were mainly rhetorical. We dabbled a bit with this game with the bailout of Chrysler, nibbled at it during the S and L crisis, and that hedge fund in the early nineties that imploded and destroyed the asian currencies. But this is really virgin territory. So political corruption will be the determiner of life and death for corporations. You better contribute to so and so's campaign or we let you drown, or here is my swiss bank account number because a little piece of the action is all I want for doing you such a great service. In the vernacular of Colombian drug lords: "Silver or Lead"
"...no civilization, no matter how rich, no matter how refined, can long survive once it loses the power to meet force with equal or superior force." - Bernard Knox
Can We...........................
November 13, 2008 - 19:44 ET by HoosierEmas American citizens initiate a class action lawsuit against the government?
Alexis Glick
November 13, 2008 - 19:55 ET by jcheneySorry, but I watch Money for Breakfast almost every morning and she is my least favorite of all the anchors. She speaks up on another channel, but not on FBN?
Maybe she speaks with stronger language on her blog, but certainly not on her program.
A look to the road ahead?
November 13, 2008 - 20:20 ET by MNotaroObama sure has a long road ahead of him and is sure has started EARLY. My opinion is he will eventually crash and burn. He is unprepared and uneducated and the most inexperienced President ever to take office. That being said, I only can wonder how much the left wing illuminati are going to screw things up for our country.
We Need Customers
November 13, 2008 - 20:19 ET by melpolhttp://www.associate...
Wizards of economics are now trying every trick to make American corporate giants profitable. But with no customers for their products it is an impossible task. Export-led growth has failed and pushing credit on the poor has proven to be a band-aid that has produced only a short burst of domestic demand. The U.S. has to increase domestic-led growth in a more responsible way. That can only be done with more equal income distribution and labors democratic rights.
news bias?
November 14, 2008 - 01:56 ET by nicholas nicklebyHi Paul,
Thanks for the info/link. I'd heard before about the confusion over the bailout/buy-in--like, legislators purposely set up positions to have oversight, but no one is in those positions. This is much more of a mess than it needs to be.
However, I'm not sure what the liberal media bias is that you're pointing to with this post. I mean, I heard some of the same complaints about the bailout/buy-in/jerk-around over on the left-wing blogs I go to. As far as I can tell, no one is happy about this, left or right.
Yes, it is a disgrace the
November 14, 2008 - 18:59 ET by dtaYes, it is a disgrace the bailout passed. Not handing 700billion to a bunch of mismanaged banks is one issue the left and right can agree on. And somehow it passed. It is disgusting.