Our financial system is crumbling this week.

[Hungary Jack]

From: Minister of the Treasury Paulson
Subject: REQUEST FOR URGENT CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson


http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/09/ ... -treasury/

It really should open with "Dear Foreign Purchaser of US Government Debt". That is where the loan will come from when this plan gets hammered through.

[G. Keenan]

We need a blank check.

Ironically, that's not too far from the truth.

[Freed Roger]

We need a blank check.

Ironically, that's not too far from the truth.

With this bailout, I've heard the next president might as well give up on any plans for expanded healthcare, extension of tax cuts or continued financing of Iraq etc.

not that either one of them will admit as much. If anything, McCain will admit that we can't afford Obama's healthcare programs, and Obama will admit we can't afford McCain's tax cut extensions and Iraq deal.

[letsgocards89]

From: Minister of the Treasury Paulson
Subject: REQUEST FOR URGENT CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson


http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/09/ ... -treasury/

ROTFLMAO

[Hungary Jack]

We need a blank check.

Ironically, that's not too far from the truth.

With this bailout, I've heard the next president might as well give up on any plans for expanded healthcare, extension of tax cuts or continued financing of Iraq etc.

not that either one of them will admit as much. If anything, McCain will admit that we can't afford Obama's healthcare programs, and Obama will admit we can't afford McCain's tax cut extensions and Iraq deal.

In theory I'd agree. But the state of our public finances has not stopped Congress from pork-laden, deficit-increasing budgets for two decades. It more likely means more taxes to pay for this fiasco.

It'd be a darn shame if this thing does crowd some comprehensive healthcare program that addresses 50M uninsured.

[Freed Roger]

It'd be a darn shame if this thing does crowd some comprehensive healthcare program that addresses 50M uninsured.

Yep, just think what could be done with $700 billion? not that we had it in the first place

[Kasko]

A few questions.
Does the timing of all this bother anyone besides me? Congress is set to adjourn in one week and suddenly it hits the fan. They are told that they must sort out this complicated mess before they adjourn or all will be lost. I' m not buying it. It sounds too WMD. We need congressional hearings to determine the exact imminence of this "danger", and, of course, the hearings should be public.
Secondly, if congress does see fit to authorize hundreds of billions for bailouts, shouldn't congress be the ones administering this bailout and NOT the Treasury Department? There are constitutional questions about allowing the Executive Branch access to the public purse strings.
Third, whose gonna pay for this, our children and grandchildren? That is unacceptable. Before one penny of our tax dollars goes to bail out these clowns, the Bush tax cuts must be repealed imediately. The mere threat of relpealing tax cuts may put an end to the "crisis."
Last, if we're going to go socialist and take over financial institutions, wouldn't now be a good time to nationalize the oil industry? Drivers in Venezuella pay 13 cents for a gallon of gas. And let's not forget universal health care. Socialize the losses, socialize the profit. Problem solved.

[Hungary Jack]

Remember that the Executive Branch is (in theory) the right arm of the Legislative branch (congress). So the Treasury should be implementing the plan. They also drafted the plan, and now Congress is putting its stamp on it [gulps]

And there is fairly rigorous debate in Congress on the necessity of the bailout plan. I'm actually a bit heartened that nothing has been formalized yet. Congress will probably have to work some overtime to get this done.

In the end I think the bailout is necessary because of the short-term credit system is essentially frozen, if you buy Paulson's testimony (which I do). The thinking is that moving the toxic assets out of the system will unclog banks' balance sheets and enable them to raise capital from investors and start lending again.

There are some parallels with the S&L bailout. In 1987 the federal government took ownership through seizures of failed S&Ls of a huge portfolio of distressed assets (real estate) and in due time found a market for them. This time the assets are mortgage-backed securities.

An article in today's WSJ tries to put some parameters around the likely net cost of the plan. It all depends on if/how a market recovers for the bad securities. $700B appears to be a higher estimate, while some economists say the likely net cost to taxpayers will be around $250B. We probably won't know for several years.

This plan will be funded by money borrowed from foreign investors who buy US government bonds. The taxpayer will pay the interest and principal.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Here's my question:

What is this 700 billion dollars buying? From what I understand, bad mortgages were given out and that is the beginning of the problem, correct? Then these bad mortgages were sold and insured and that is causing the big freeze because there's all these bad investments that are somehow going to have to be paid for. But, is there no equity or no assets along with that 700 billion dollars? Shouldn't there be a few houses among other things that the government is getting with that big check they're going to write? If the problem is bad mortgages, then the people borrowing have defaulted and forfeited their property, correct?

Which brings me to my next point: WTF? First off, I'm not letting these nitwits who took out mortgages they couldn't afford off the hook. If someone took out a sub-prime loan and couldn't afford it, they deserve to be booted out of their house and on to the street. That's just stupid. But, I find it highly illogical that taxpayers are being kicked out of their house, paying taxes that are saving the banks that they owe and the bank gets the house. Not to say the original nitwit deserves to live in it, but still, it's mind boggling.

[jim]

Here's my question:

What is this 700 billion dollars buying? From what I understand, bad mortgages were given out and that is the beginning of the problem, correct? Then these bad mortgages were sold and insured and that is causing the big freeze because there's all these bad investments that are somehow going to have to be paid for. But, is there no equity or no assets along with that 700 billion dollars? Shouldn't there be a few houses among other things that the government is getting with that big check they're going to write? If the problem is bad mortgages, then the people borrowing have defaulted and forfeited their property, correct?

Which brings me to my next point: WTF? First off, I'm not letting these nitwits who took out mortgages they couldn't afford off the hook. If someone took out a sub-prime loan and couldn't afford it, they deserve to be booted out of their house and on to the street. That's just stupid. But, I find it highly illogical that taxpayers are being kicked out of their house, paying taxes that are saving the banks that they owe and the bank gets the house. Not to say the original nitwit deserves to live in it, but still, it's mind boggling.

Many of these people really had no idea what they bought. And before you go and blame them, have you ever bought a house? The paperwork is absolutely ridiculous, if you read everything in there it would take you weeks. Simply flipping through all the pages and signing everything takes close to an hour. Some people certainly did bite off more than they could chew, but a large number of people were completely blindsided by crooks selling them loans that earned them the highest commision and just flat out lying to them.