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Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - mikeylikesit - 09-19-2008
NYTimes. com News Alert to me
eply
Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Friday, September 19, 2008 -- 7:56 AM ET
-----
Treasury to Provide Temporary Guarantees for Money Market Mutual Funds
Seeking to deal with the financial crisis, the Treasury
Department announced that for the next year it will use up to
$50 billion to insure the holdings of eligible money market
mutual funds.
I'd hope they'd planed to use Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs or even Bill Gates money for this. Think maybe they'll use our money instead?
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - MacMagus - 09-19-2008
The fed wasn't going to bail out Bush's rich banking friends, so he stepped in.
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - Kiva - 09-19-2008
what hypocrites....deregulation, free market, etc....unless it doesn't work..
what a joke....
kiva
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - BCam - 09-19-2008
Well, since I now own most of Wall Street, I propose the following:
1. Any Financial entity that enjoys my "investment" will agree that all executives (from Manager level on up) will keep their jobs, but will work for Minimum Wage until every dime I invest in their operations is repaid, plus interest.
2. If those executives leave their present positions, a Lean will be placed on them (based on Gross Income) until the above noted situation is resolved.
3. All "Golden Parachute" or Retirement/Release contracts with executives are immediately null and void.
4. No executive, or member of their families, may personally participate in any form of Wall Street money or market activity because it is obviously a conflict of interest situation vis-a-vis their relationship with their "investors", i.e. Me. Essentially this will prevent "insider trading".
5. Every executive will provide 20 hours per week of Community Services until every dime is repaid, plus interest. This will aid Wall Street understand the actual lifestyle of Main Street.
6. Every executive will sign a Pledge that they will do everything possible to eliminate the present business practice of Privatizing Profits while Socializing Debt. If they choose to not sign this Pledge, they will immediately forfeit all of their and their family's personal assets.
7. This time - it's personal. Those who have created this financial crisis will, for once, be responsible for their actions.
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - guitarist - 09-19-2008
I know Bush is a likable guy, but I don't think he has millions of friends.
I like most of BCam's tough list, though I'm sure he meant Lien instead of Lean. Maybe we can create a law that requires a Sumo Wrestler to Lean on them until the above noted situation is resolved. Since six of the even items on the list is aimed at gratifying personal revenge against individuals and their family members, rather than actually addressing the underlying structural causes, sending Sumo Wrestlers to over to lean on them---perhaps stripping their clothes off first, and doing it in the public square, while mobs of angry bystanders throw stones at them--seems like a perfectly worthwhile exercise of vigilante justice.
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - swampy - 09-19-2008
Pretty tough list there, BC.
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - $tevie - 09-19-2008
I like it.
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - MacMagus - 09-19-2008
> I know Bush is a likable guy, but I don't think he has millions of friends.
Not millions of friends. A few friends with billions.
Some of his friends are now positioned moderately worse in the market than they were last week. They might have lost a few million of their billions and billions of dollars. He had to act fast!
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - BCam - 09-19-2008
Two Things for Guitarist:
1. Lean was pun.
2. Revenge? Hardly. The word is responsibility. Showing my age, I refer to an old TV series called "Baretta". The theme song had this lyric: "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Don't do it."
These people went right ahead and did it anyway. To his credit, even the "I don't know anything about economics" presidential candidate John McCain saw the handwriting on the wall in 2006 when he warned that Freddie and Fannie were heading for disaster. Did anyone listen, much less do anything about it? No.
And now I'm supposed to bail these people out? Nope - not the people. I understand the greater goal of protecting our financial "fundamentals", but not the people who actually caused the problem. And make no mistake, PEOPLE caused this problem. And, for once, and since I'm now an investor in their enterprise, I honestly believe they should do the time.
Christianity just didn't happen, it blossomed from the teachings of one man.
Communism? Karl Marx.
Nazis? Adolph Hilter.
Remember the old days when you could invest in American business when you purchased stock? You handed over cash, you got a printed certificate, and you were part owner of GM, GE, or Gee Whiz. No "instruments" or "derivatives" or "sub-prime loans" or "short selling" or "options". It was a straight forward deal.
Remember the old days when you got a pension from the company you worked for? Remember when your pension fund wasn't something to be sold or traded for the enrichment of the company and its executives?
But no more. To justify their very existence, the Wall Street people and Bankers made it much more complicated and murky. A sure way to protect your jobs. Well, you blew it. And now the Piper gets paid.
I have two 17 year olds. You tell me how the hell I am supposed to teach them personal responsibility when they watch this disaster unfolding? Go ahead, tell me, I could use the help and advise.
They've grown up in an era where they've witnessed 9/11, Iraq, Anthrax attacks, Valerie Plame, Katrina and now Wall Street. Guitarist - you tell me one person who has gone to jail over these disasters? Give me one name of someone who was fired because of their complicity in any of those calamities?
NOTE: Scooter Libby doesn't count because he's already been pardoned because he's a nice guy with a family.
Do I think the Captains of Industry are heroes? Hardly.
The passengers aboard Untied Flight 93 were.
Ben Sliney is. Who is he? He's the FAA Administrator who, on his own, without direction or command from the President of the United States, Vice-President or Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to ground every airplane in the sky on the morning of 9/11 because he knew it was necessary for the country's protection.
People are the root of good and bad. The people in Washington DC and Wall Street Brokers and Bankers are the root cause of this crisis and they should be held accountable. I have hammered five basic rules into my kids since they were old enough to understand language:
1. You're responsible for what you say.
2. You're responsible for what you don't say.
3. You're responsible for what you do.
4. You're responsible for what you don't do.
5. You always give your very best effort.
If those are good enough for my teenagers, they damn well better be good enough for the fat cats and politicos in the Washington/Wall Street cabal.
Revenge? No.
Personal Responsibility? Yes.
Re: Another bailout - I thought they said enough was enough... - guitarist - 09-19-2008
Hey, don't get me wrong, I liked your prescription. I was just calling it what it is. I've been known to use TV shows like Baretta to make important philosophical points, too, though lately I get more mileage out of Dick Van Dyke one-liners. Words like fat cat and cabal are especially convincing, too, along with the rest of the impassioned populist rhetoric. Dang man, ask anyone here, your lectures aren't nearly as punishingly long and righteous as mine are. Count me in! I support inspired stump speeches!