Okay, so the banks are in trouble because they messed up the management of other people's money. Now they are coming to other people and asking for money to straighten out the mess they made with other people's money in the first place.

The implied threat is that if other people don't give them more money to straighten out the mess they have made with other peoples money in the first place that worse things will happen than have already happened. This is like being shaken down by the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges--except at least their routines have better entertainment value.

Poet

All of America will be looking for a detailed explanation of exactly where that money went and how it was spent.

Congress: don't stop the questions until this information is provided in complete detail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating the $3.7 billion of our bail out money going to Merrill Lynch executive bonuses. Evidently, they gave themselves bonuses just before shareholders got the bad news of a fourth quarter crash and burn and then the Bank of America buy out. What would your rationale be for bonuses? Most corporations would FIRE executives involved in the corporation being bought out a few inches short of bankruptcy.

I think we are really talking about criminal charges being brought against these crooks. But lets get to the underlying problem. It seems that if you have a bunch of money grubbing sociopaths involved in loan sharking and amassing a staggering amount of toxic loans that you would be acting totally in character to see free money and then award yourselves bonuses. I think this ultimately goes back to Paulsen and Bernake perhaps purposefully in authoring legislation with no accountability at all written into it. They should no better, as they are both ex Goldman Sachs executives. In short, people from the industry they are supposed to be monitoring, a typical government formula that has never worked to the advantaged of taxpayers.

It is time to hold a few feet to the fire (unless like Cheney you prefer waterboarding) to get 100 percent of the truth. But don't stop there. There should be criminal charges on the Merrill Lynch THEFT of bail out money. A few people need prison time.

Why would I want to hear anything a liar says?

The best you can hope for is that he will tell the truth when it will do him no harm. Such mixtures of truth and lies is confusing, and worse than hearing continuous lying.

Here's some"

QUOTE

From the taxpayer dollars at work department: Fresh off of receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer cash, American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) has decided that it will pay $450 million in retention bonuses to 400 employees in the financial products unit. That just so happens to be the part of the company that was involved with the credit default swaps that destroyed the company.

In a statement, AIG said that "We adopted and disclosed this contractual retention program months before the government provided support to AIG. We did so because it was clear, given the market environment, that we would need to retain employees to manage the complex issues arising in our Financial Products business, which we are now unwinding."

UNQUOTE

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/28/aig-set-to-pay-450-million-in-retention-bonuses-to-cds-salespeo/

Thats right, the guys that ran AIG into bankruptcy are getting bonuses, not pink slips.

READ SOME OF MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON HOW TO SAVE UNITED STATES FROM SINKING LIKE THE TITANIC:

What USA needs is a gradual change toward a participative-democratic socialist system of the XXI Century, thru a Constitutional Reform by a Constitutional Assembly like many modern nations today are reforming their own political and economic systems in order to change this country from a corporate-kleptocratic plutocracy of the few into a participative-democratic social economic democracy for all americans, not for the few millionaires and billionaires.

A Political Reform would not be complete without a democratic economic reform, so that USA could move from a corporate-capitalist country toward a real democratic workers socialist economy by the workers in favor of workers who are the creators of wealth like Karl Marx said.

The wealth of this great land belongs to all US citizens and specially *workers* who are the creators of wealth, but they won't be able to claim that wealth without a nationalization program under state and workers-control of the key elements of US industries like oil, water, communication, electricity, gold, mines, etc.

Americans also need access to subsidized or free Universities and Colleges, this country needs more public socialist education instead of private education. It would also be a great idea for US government to regulate right-wing stations like CNN and FOX and also to create a state-owned progressive TV station with progressive media people like Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, in order to spread the ideology of the US founding fathers, to teach americans democratic egalitarian values, so that thru a good education programs americans truely be free individuals and architects of of our own destiny and wealth. On the international level it is worth studying the closing of most US military bases, the incorporation of USA in the ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas), and it would be a great idea to consider Jimmy Carter as peace missioner on the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

.

Let others american citizens know socialism! Spread the word... the more people who know the truth, the greater the force against the capitalist system! Resistance forever!

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STICK UP YOUR MIDDLE FINGER TO US IMPERIALISM AND CAPITALIST OPPRESSION!

USA was a very developed nation producing a lot of wealth, and statibility for most US citizens compared to third world nations which have less rational, orderly, and scientific political and economic systems.

USA has never been a socialist nation, however the capitalist-welfare american system provided stability for most americans thru the a "trickle down capitalist welfare system".

Unfortunately, thanks to the mafia-cartels of both capitalist parties (Democrats and Republicans)this 'trickle down welfare capitalist system' which has provided stability, food, cars, pleasures, toys and wealth for majority of americans is coming to an end ending !!

Sooner or later this 'tricke down welfare capitalist system' will not provide bread for all, and will morph a plutocratic corporate capitalist system that can only provide stability, food and wealth for the upper bourgeoise classes of America.

when that time comes we will see a revolutionary situation, when the proletariat take the bull by its horns and overthrows the corporate corrupted capitalist system for complete emancipation of the workign classes of this country

HERE ARE THE MAIN 3 TRAITS OF A REVOLUTIONARY SITUATION IN USA:

# 1 - When it is impossible for the rich people of this country (like Bill Gates, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Cruise, Donald Trump, Al Gore, Ross Perot, Dick Cheney, etc.) to maintain their wealth without any change; when there is an economic crisis, in one form or another, among the rich people, a crisis in the policy of the rich ruling class, leading to a fissure through which the discontent and indignation of middle and lower classes of America burst forth. For a socialist-revolution to take place, it is usually insufficient for the middle and lower classes not to want to live in their old comfortable and stable way; it is also necessary that the rich upper millionaire class should be unable to live in their old comfortable way.

# 2 - When the suffering and the needs of the middle and lower working classes of this country have grown more acute than usual

# 3 - When, as a consequence of the above causes, there is a considerable increase in the activity of the middle and working classes, who uncomplainingly allow themselves to be robbed in peace time, but, in turbulent times, are drawn both by all the circumstances of the crisis *and by the upper classes themselves* into independent historical action.

The bank bailouts make a mockery of the whole U.S. financial system. Why should we even bother to pay taxes? If Congress is simply going to give away billions and billions of dollars to filthy-rich, failing CEO's, what do I as a citizen get out of it? Where's my healthcare? Where's the money for colleges and universities? For road repairs and infrastructure? I might as well put all my tax dollars in a big pile and burn it for all the good I get out of it!

My enthusiasm for paying taxes has reached a dangerously low ebb. Do they take us for a bunch of fools? If the IRS wonders why they're having such a hard time getting people to pay up, they need look no further than Congress and idiots like Barney Frank, who I used to have some respect for.

Okay Obama, if you believe in using extraordinary renditions, here is your chance to use that practice for the good. The bastards will be right where you know where they are, so you can have them bundled up and sent to someplace where they know how to deal with such vermin. Maybe they could be sent to China, with the request that they be treated the same way Chinese criminals are treated when they have defrauded the people and the government out of billions of yuan. That should work.

"Where'd All That Money Go?" Why they stole it. What do you think happened to it? In the United States of 'Murka, all men are created almost equal and we hold this truth to be self-evident: that if you are a little more equal than the rest, you have the God given right to loot, pillage, despoil, humiliate and, if you so desire, kill all those just a little less equal than you. These are the words of The New Founding Fathers and Mothers: George Wanker Bush, Cheesedick Cheney, Phil Gramm, Richard Fuld, John Thain, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Wretch Limberger, Mitch McConnell (how did that geek ever have the stones to call himself "Mitch"?) and the whole unending cast of vile MoFo's and dipsticks who brought this nation low.

The banks are going to face "tough scrutiny"? Yeah, then there'll be a few gentle verbal slaps on wrists before they get another few hundred billion dollars. Hallelujah!

The legislators are overlooking the biggest bank scam of all - the Federal Reserve; never been audited; never pays taxes; never lets any financial statements see the light of day; the biggest private for-profit banking scam in world history.

The banksters are economic terrorists. Osama bin Laden marvels at their effectiveness at destroying the infrastructure of the US to the point that he and the rest of the al Qaida leadership probably figure there is no more to be done, as attacking the US now would be like beating a dead horse. I just want to know why these economic terrorists are still roaming free and being allowed to cause even more damage?

Let's see if I can summarize the article. The professional class (legislature) who willfully softened the investment and banking rules is now going to give a tough-love talk to the executive class who took advantage of the sweetheart openers? And apart from throwing the country’s gold at the problem how is the professional class going to serve the populace? Well, it appears they demand that the public witness the staged groveling by the executive class. Hat in hand, by way of public transportation, the top CEOs will kneel and beg for forgiveness. There won’t be any soft landings (wink-wink).

And that will suffice. And we will be fed feel good conclusions by news editorial boards of MicrosoftNBC and MurdochFOX, and GE. Then the two classes will go back to their respective country clubs, pontificating about the hard work this country will have to face. We’re feed how reassured we should all be to have good honest jobs like ditch-digging and asphalt making and energy tech support jobs in the pipes. That ought to compensate all those out of work construction workers left over from the last bubble –(homebuilding market)

There will be more pulpit pounding and more lectures about taking responsible action and how honest Americans demand change. The solution handed down will be that we continue to buy homes at inflated prices while being raped by the credit industry. APR on revolving credit will stay at usury rates of 33%. After all, let's not forget pushing up the APR was the first bill the President voted for when he was a Senator just 4 short years ago.

Congress is so...cute.

What was that Ross Perot once said about a "giant sucking sound"?

I realize he was, at the time, referring to US money going southward to Mexico, but I think of that quote every time I hear about these bailouts. My toilet sounds a lot like the whoosh I hear whenever the symphonic chorus of bailout propaganda explains why our money needs to go to the banksters yet again.

A friend recently reminded me that all countries that eventually go socialist were robbed of their wealth by the fat cats and cronies on top who escaped, or tried to, with all the money...capitalism is based on an underpaid middle class as it is...

Where did all that money go?

The best answer is that it wasn't there to begin with. As other articles have pointed out the last thirty years of economic 'growth' have been made using a form of a ponzi scheme. You're the victims of a fraud brought about by the reliance on promises made by those who advocated a 'trickle down' economy. Well actually all of us have been the victims of one of the biggest bank heists ever.

Ya gotta love the tories, they claim to be fiscally responsible. Yet turn out to be the biggest thieves on the planet, tar and feathers are too good to be wasted on the likes of them; a jar of honey and an anthill in Nevada would work much better.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants. ....Thomas Jefferson

Nothing will stop. The theft will continue as long as we are under a debt based currency system and the fear mongers have their way. And many Amerikans will believe this dog and pony show. The entire circus is going down and the elite are lining up to get what's left from us and our children and their children before the bread and soup lines begin.

I wonder how many Americans have actually lived in a modern First-World nation - in Northern Europe, for example? And I readily admit that those countries could be doing a lot more for their own people if they weren't controlled by the international criminal (banking) class. That's why banks MUST be nationalized - especially the Fed. How many Americans know ANYTHING about our own economy, let alone that of a modern nation? Too busy watching ESPN. That's what they teach in school - SPORTS are more important than anything else, and you MUST work at slave-wages just to get the biggest TV available to WATCH 'pro' sports instead of actually PLAYING yourself... talk about stupid. And some people wonder why many of us call Americans stupid and ignorant? Well, the rest of the world thinks Americans are stupid, ignorant, arrogant, and violent too. (I know, I've traveled a lot - and LIVED in other countries, as opposed to doing the tourist-bit.) Believe you me, you get an earful about fascism (predatory capitalism with the military in bed with corporations) and it ain't pretty. I've also been asked why Americans don't care about their children - no healthcare, no decent (free) education, no decent family relationships - and I don't have an answer, other than 'stupid, ignorant, arrogant, and violent' Don't even bring up transportation - we are the laughingstock of the world - barbarians, at best.

Not another dime to Wall St!

For some of the best analysis and proposals around, including elimination of Wall St. finance, check this out:

www.davidkorten.org

the US has a half trillion dollar bdiget deficit and a 700 billion dollar trade deficit. We are completely reliant on foreign capital inflows to offset this. Those flows enter the system through the secondary debt markets and Wall Street. they have us by th short and curlies. The big reason they are too big to fail.

Mortgages are securitized, structured and moved off the books. The structure securties are "managed by the originating banks but they have no liability.

Insurance companies want structure debt and debt positions they can get out of easily. Securitization allows banks to pool mortgages in any structure the insurance industry wants. Buyer meet seller.

Infaltion in insurance = inflation in housing

Credit Default Swaps are unregulated insurance. The revenues received for selling this "insurance are invested in other derivatives and in equties or more mortgage derivatives. as mortgage defaults rose, hedge funds or sellers of insurance had to deleverage to pay off.

Its a web of financialization that noone and I mean noone can adequately explain. the models used to hedge these insruments are inadequate for market volatility. The volatility is cause by the savings in emerging markets lack of savings in the US.

The system is shot. A person robs a bank and doesn`t get the oppurtunity for bail, yet, Bernie Madoff can run a ponzie scheme and defraud thousands of people and banks out of 50 billion dollars and remains free on bail at his comfortable penthouse laughing at us as he spends money that he robbed from everyone. As Yackoff Smirnoff says "What a country".
As long as the system stays, so will the abuses.

Guggzie
Here's an Australian suggestion to get us out of the mess created by Wall Street and the Politicians
A TREASURY CREDIT MONEY BILL
Introduction
It is quite obvious to any rational person that the current financial system, as inflicted upon the world, has developed terminal cancer. No amount of treatment will result in a cure and the longer Governments try to prop up this incurable patient, the longer the world will have to suffer though the death throes of this spreading disease.
There is an answer and it involves CHANGE – a change that the world wants to embrace and a change they will have to embrace if that want to avoid the destitution and suffering of another 1930’s style Depression.
No amount of tinkering with the present system will correct the fundamental flaws – we must break clear and look outside of the box and beyond the straightjacket of traditional economic thinking that has brought this demise upon us all.
There is an alternative – in fact, a painless and simple alternative of delivering the creation of credit and “money” into the rightful ownership of the people of every Nation.
One practical proposal to achieve this is the creation of a Credit Money system administered and controlled through a rigorous, logical and mathematically sound basis by the Government Treasury Department of the Nation.
It can be done – it is practical – and all it requires is the will of the people to force their Government to act.
The key elements of a Treasury Credit Money Bill
1. The Australian Treasury shall be the sole source of original monetary issue.
2. The Federal Reserve Act and all of its amendments, codes and regulations are repealed. The Federal Reserve Banks' entire properties and assets are transferred to the Australian Treasury.
3. Private Banks, Institutions and individuals are prohibited from creating money.
4. As designated in Part 5, Article 51, Clause (xii), of the Australian Constitution, Parliament shall coin, create, provide and regulate money and money credits for all the requirements of Australia, both public and private.
5. Money and credit needed to pay obligations of the Commonwealth Government shall be spent into circulation debt free.
6. The Treasury shall service the financial needs of the private sector through loans to banks and other private entities.
7. The interest rate charged by the Australian Treasury on all loans to the private sector shall be regulated mathematically to withdraw money from circulation at a rate that will maintain a balance with Treasury expenditures. Taxes will be levied as needed to withdraw money from circulation.
8. State and local government treasuries will qualify for interest free loans direct from the Australian Treasury to finance State and local voter approved projects.
9. All legitimate financial obligations in effect when the Treasury Credit Money Bill becomes law shall remain in force until paid.
10. Federal government borrowing is unnecessary and is hereby prohibited.
The transition to the Treasury Credit Money System
Treasury will become the only source of money creation in the economy.
At the 'zero hour' banks will no longer be able to create money and it will become illegal for them to create deposit credits.
All of the bank created money in circulation will constitute an illegal use of the Treasury's money creating prerogative. Therefore, all this money must eventually be repaid to the Treasury.
In other words, the banks owe the money that they created to the Treasury.
If, for example, a bank has loans outstanding of $100 million. At the 'zero hour' of transition to the TCM System the bank will issue a $100 million bond to Treasury. Interest will be payable by the bank on the bond. As the loans are repaid to the bank, the bank will in turn repay portions of the bond and the Treasury will extinguish the money.
Eventually all the outstanding debt of bank created money will be repaid to the Treasury and withdrawn from circulation.
During the transition period, Government expenditure money will be flowing into circulation and payments to the Treasury will be extinguishing money.
There would be no sudden decrease or increase in the money supply.
The change over will be gradual and will, no doubt, take several years to accomplish.
At the same time the check clearing function will be transferred from the banks to a Department of the Treasury. A Revolving Reserve Account will be set up for each financial institution and the clearing process will take place with no apparent change to bank customers.
There will be no change in general banking services to the public and fractional reserve deposit expansion, being no longer necessary, will cease.
Conclusion
Abraham Lincoln was the only President in modern times to be responsible for the issue of debt free money because he understood that the Nation had the sovereign right to create money.
The authority to create and issue money is the supreme prerogative and responsibility of a Nation’s Government, but it is the Government's greatest creative opportunity.
All our lives are controlled by economics delivered to us through the financial system that is designed by man – and – like all man made systems – they are supposed to be for the benefit of mankind – mankind is not designed for the benefit of the systems.
Economics and the financial systems that are part of everyone’s daily life aren’t really as complex as the experts, the bankers, the politicians and the spin doctors of the media would have us believe.
In the hands of a privileged monopoly, the finance system becomes the most subtle form of tyranny to which every nation on earth has fallen victim.
The only defence against this tyrannical use of money creation is a correct understanding of the sovereign right of a Nation’s elected Government to create money for the benefit of all the people.
The establishment of a Treasury Credit Money System provides this defence.
Once established, this system will eliminate inflation, usury, the national debt, the deficit, involuntary unemployment, business cycles, and the Government’s dependence on corporate and personal income tax.

The GOP’s balance sheet for America and its banks has two sides, with liabilities on the left, and assets on the right.

The problem is that on the left, there’s nothing right, while on the right, there’s nothing left.

James A. Swanson, Los Altos, CA
“The Bush League of Nations”
www.bushleagueofnations.com [for FREE download of entire $25.95 book]

PRIVATIZE Oversight and Recovery of those public funds.

Incentivize with a finders fee and award for recovery to firms/individuals who provide info, etc and testimony.

barney frank, you're like the guilty dog that barks the loudest. you have, quite frankly, sir, turned yourself into nothing more than a pathetic blowhard. where the fuck do you think that money is? where's bush? cheney? ken lay? if you really want to redeem yourself, grow a set of cojones and go after these thieves. banking on this country's populace to do what they always do, nothing, is a surefire way to get the cold dose of reality all of you elected officials so richly deserve. and then we have your sidekick brad miller joking about the situation. we, seemingly, do not yet have your undivided attention. trust me, though, that time is fast approaching.

oh, so that you have a better understanding of some of the public's dismay and outrage and disappointment and disgust over these "bailouts" that you support, you might have one of your staff go over the comments here on this article. you and your fellow blowhards are forcing an angry dog into a corner. pay a-fucking-ttention.

Not MY idea but I saw this on anothers site.....

Limit the compensation of all execs of banks receiving Taxpayer money to 100K max...

Any extra compensation should be in the form of those "Toxic assets" they were selling..

Instead of the FEDS buying all this bad paper up......

I just read that approximately 64% of Americans believe that 'Creationism' should be taught along with Evolution in classrooms.

Let's see.... that is A LOT of people.
Do they..... vote? .... and we have our Representatives asking where this money has gone. hhhmmmmmmmmm

The apple, my friends, DOES NOT fall far from the tree. ... And so the cycle goes.

We are done. There are just too many stupid people in the world. Too many. Apathetic. Depressed. Brainwashed. Is it their fault? .... I don't know.

Someone tell me I am wrong (and throw in some sort of statistical fact that states that incredibly large numbers of apathetic, moronic people HAVE figured it out in history). Thanks.