bailout

A Bank Bailout That Works

The news that even Alan Greenspan and Senator Chris Dodd suggest that bank nationalization may be necessary shows how desperate the situation has become. It has been obvious for some time that a government takeover of our banking system--perhaps along the lines of what Norway and Sweden did in the '90s--is the only solution. It should be done, and done quickly, before even more bailout money is wasted.

Posted in bailout, nationalize banks

Scandal at Treasury: Official Quits Amidst Fraud Scandal

The man at the center of a fraud scandal at the Treasury Department has been allowed to quietly quit and retire from his job as a government regulator, despite allegations that he allowed a bank to falsify financial records and amidst outcries from investigators who say the case shows how cozy government regulators have become with the banks and savings and loans they are supposed to be checking on.

Posted in bailout, financial crisis

Wall Street's Best Investment: Paying for Policy in Washington

Financial deregulatory mania over the last three decades led directly to the current financial meltdown.

Were the deregulators acting out of principle? Perhaps.

But it couldn't have hurt that the financial sector invested a staggering $5.1 billion in political influence purchasing in the United States over the last decade.

Posted in bailout, banks, lobbyists

AIG: Billions Dished Out in the Shadows

This is crazy! Forget the bleating of Rush Limbaugh; the problem is not with the quite reasonable and, if anything, underfunded stimulus package, which in any case will be debated long and hard in Congress. The problem is with what is not being debated: the far more expensive Wall Street bailout that is being pushed through—as in the case of the latest AIG rescue—in secret, hurried deal-making primarily by the unelected secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Posted in bailout, financial crisis

Ellen Tauscher (D-BofA) Helps Bank Lobbyists Write Our Laws

I've talked to probably a dozen people involved with the bill allowing bankruptcy judges to write-down mortgages, which would reduce foreclosures by 20% and wouldn't cost the taxpayers one dime. Every single person I spoke to said the same thing -- it's disgusting that banks are writing the legislation, watering it down so it is meaningless with the help of Ellen Tauscher and the New Democrat coalition.

Posted in bailout, foreclosures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 2009
12:38 PM

CONTACT: Congressman Dennis Kucinich

nathan.white@mail.house.gov (202)225-5871

Kucinich Requests Assurances Regarding Treasury’s Plan for Citigroup

WASHINGTON - March 2 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) Friday sent a letter to Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, asking questions regarding his plan to convert up to $25 billion of Treasury owned Citigroup preferred stock to common stock.

On Friday, February 27, Treasury announced the third major bailout for Citigroup in five months. The government will convert up to $25 billion in preferred shares, increasing the government's ownership stake in Citi from eight to thirty six percent.

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Posted in bailout

How Bank Bonuses Let Us All Down

One of the arguments one hears in the compensation debate is that the bonus system used by Wall Street - as John Thain, former Merrill Lynch chief executive, put it - is there to "reward talent". While I find this notion of "talent" debatable, I fully agree that incentives are the heart of capitalism and free markets - but certainly not that incentive scheme.

Posted in bailout

US Wants to Keep Banks Private in New Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators pledged Monday to do all they can to shore up the struggling banking system while keeping banks "in private hands" as they plan to launch a revamped program to inject capital into financial institutions on Wednesday.

Posted in bailout, financial crisis, nationalize banks

ACORN Urges Civil Disobedience in Foreclosure Evictions

A national community organizing group Thursday announced a campaign of civil disobedience designed to help families resist eviction and remain in their homes after foreclosure.

Activists with ACORN, the Assn. of Community Organizations for Reform Now, said they would encourage people facing eviction to use text messaging and cellphones to quickly summon volunteers to their homes. The entire group would resist orders to leave, forcing sheriff's deputies to arrest large numbers of people to complete the eviction -- and drawing attention to the evictees' plight in the process.

Posted in bailout, financial crisis, foreclosures, housing

We Need a Bailout Too

Brother, can you spare $22 billion?

Back in the Great Depression, the song "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" epitomized all the hurt that was going around:

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.

Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

There's been some inflation since the 1930s. Today's panhandlers don't humbly ask passersby for a dime. Instead, they go to Congress and ask for a spare $22 billion or so.

Posted in bailout