March, 25 2009, 11:30am EDT
Who Are We Saving -- Banks or Bankers?
It seems to be public-private partnership when you hand money to banks; it's socialism if you give money to ordinary people
WASHINGTON
As investment bankers and accountants assess the latest government
proposal to clear the so-called toxic assets off the banks' books, the
overarching question that continues to beg an honest answer is whether
the plan will help the economy and subsequently the average consumer?
This latest stage in the ongoing bailout saga simply involves the use
of taxpayer money by hedge funds and private equity firms so that they
can bid on toxic assets.
The Real News Network sits down with Prof.
Thomas Ferguson, political scientist and economist at the
University of Massachusetts Boston, to discuss the latest government
plans to help banks rid themselves of their troubled assets. Calling
the economic situation simply "bad", Prof. Ferguson insists that the
size of the stimulus is not capable of addressing the range of pressing
issues that is facing the U.S. economy. With the unemployment rate
nearing the 10 percent mark and the world economy continuing its
downward momentum, Prof. Ferguson says that the size of the stimulus
should have been at least 1.2 trillion dollars, if not more.
Based on Ferguson's assertion, the
consequence of this small size package is that it won't be able to
correct the downward pressure on the economy, making a lot more people
a lot more unhappy. Prof. Ferguson further explains the problems he
sees with the public-private
partnership to buy the toxic assets, arguing that a lot of them sit in
the banks' shadowy system that today are not worth what they were.
The government is essentially subsidizing the purchase of these toxic
assets by pushing public money into the banking system without
appearing to be doing so.
Watch the full interview with Prof. Ferguson on The Real News Network
The Real News Network is a television news and documentary network focused on providing independent and uncompromising journalism. Our staff, in collaboration with courageous journalists around the globe, will investigate, report and debate stories on the critical issues of our times. We are viewer supported and do not accept advertising, government or corporate funding.
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