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Bush's Boondoggle

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Anonymous

Guest
House Republicans voted down the first bailout bill because they were afraid it would become just another government boondoggle. But after it was loaded up with more pork than all the pigs in Iowa, they changed their minds. Guess what? It has become just another government boondoggle. Sec. Henry Paulson's idea was to buy up all the toxic mortgages to get them off the banks' books. He long since shelved that plan. His next idea was to buy stock in the banks so they would have fresh capital and could start making loans again. However, instead of making loans, some banks are using the money to pay dividends, give executives bonuses, and buy other banks. For example, PNC Financial Services received $7.7 billion in government money and promptly spent $5.6 billion of it to buy National City Corp. Lawmakers are protesting but they should hardly be surprised since they gave Paulson unlimited authority to spend the money any way he wanted to, with hardly any supervision and no restrictions on what the recipients did with the money. In addition, Paulson hired the Bank of New York Mellon to run the program. On the same day Bank of New York Mellon received $3 billion itself, apparently deciding that it could use some cash. Hardly anyone noticed.
Full story:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-10-25-bailout-plan_N.htm
 

Mike

Well-known member
This looks like more of problem for Pelosi & the Dems, since she pushed the package with all of her might.

Do you read from "left to right" like the rest of us do? :lol: :lol:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Mike said:
This looks like more of problem for Pelosi & the Dems, since she pushed the package with all of her might.

Do you read from "left to right" like the rest of us do? :lol: :lol:

Bush/Paulson/Cox were the ones that came crawling to Congress saying the ship they allowed to run aground was sinking and needed all kinds of help- and it had to be fast since they'd been on an 8 year vacation and wasn't watching where they were going allowing it to be at "crisis" status...And if I remember right- the Repubs like McConnel, Hoyer, Boehner, Blunt,Shelby, Gregg were all right there in all the conference pictures with the Dem leaders...
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Mike said:
This looks like more of problem for Pelosi & the Dems, since she pushed the package with all of her might.

Do you read from "left to right" like the rest of us do? :lol: :lol:

Bush/Paulson/Cox were the ones that came crawling to Congress saying the ship they allowed to run aground was sinking and needed all kinds of help- and it had to be fast since they'd been on an 8 year vacation and wasn't watching where they were going allowing it to be at "crisis" status...And if I remember right- the Repubs like McConnel, Hoyer, Boehner, Blunt,Shelby, Gregg were all right there in all the conference pictures with the Dem leaders...

The dems were po'd that Bush's plan didn't pass...blamed the repubs. Then they came up with their own plan and that plan is the one you see being abused. You ignore that Carter ramroded and signed CRA bill, Clinton was totally for Glass=Stegall repeal (the two are the root of this evil), yet Bush signs the Pelosi, Reid, Barney Rubble, bill and everything is his fault. Your'e not only "Old" timer you're stupid as well....we ain't swallowing this crap.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Your Bailout Money Feeds Bonuses

The Wall Street bailout bill has some bankers grinning: Their bonuses should have fallen by 70 percent this year.

Instead, thanks to the taxpayers and mergers that didn't happen because the government stepped in, they might only slip by 40 percent
, according to a new Time magazine report.

"Year-end pay on Wall Street will be higher than it would have been had it not been for the government and mergers," Alan Johnson, a compensation consultant, told the magazine.

"You would expect it to be down much more."

Johnson told Forbes that he expects the bonus pool to end up between $19.9 billion to $23 billion, down substantially from the $33.2 billion paid out last year.

According to Johnson's numbers, a managing director at an investment bank can expect a $625,000 bonus, down from $1.1 million last year.

Meanwhile, a novice bond trader is going to see $170,000 hit the bank account in December.

"It's not the government's money directly, but in the case of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, they were facing a severe crunch," analyst Brad Hintz at Sanford Bernstein told Time.

"Had it not been for the government's help in refinancing their debt they may not have had the cash to pay bonuses."

Deutsche Bank already has said it would cancel bonuses this year. JPMorgan Chase says its bonuses will be down 30 percent to 50 percent.

American International Group, recipient of $85 billion and counting in federal loans and stung by ill-timed executive junkets, says it will "claw back" any bonuses in violation of state law, including $54 million scheduled for two former company leaders.

Congress is considering action already.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) has called for a freeze on Wall Street bonuses.

And former presidential candidate and House member Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) was angered by a report in The Guardian that tallied bonuses for the first three quarters at $70 billion - fully 10 percent of the original bailout bill's cost.

"When Congress placed restrictions on excessive executive pay, it had no intention of permitting business as usual with respect to bonus structures," he told The Guardian.

"It would add insult to injury to ask taxpayers not only to bail out a firm, but to pay for bonuses as well."
 

Yanuck

Well-known member
Who's Really Backing Barack Obama?


Early on, both Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain promised to limit their fundraising - but Obama reversed that pledge when he won his party's nomination.

Now he ranks as the greatest political fundraiser of all time: More than $603 million, compared to $358 million for McCain.

Obama's broken another record: he's gotten more money than anyone in history from unidentified donors - with names like "Doodad," who lists his employer as "Loving" and has given more than $17,000 dollars - way over federal limits.

Obama has said: "Ninety percent of our contributions are from small donors."

And lots of Obama donors don't have to be disclosed at all under federal law because they gave less than $200.
McCain's posted his small donor list online - an imperfect list that has some cities listed as "anonymous." But Obama hasn't given any details at all about whom his small donors are, drawing extra criticism after he raised a record-shattering $150 million last month alone.

"The fact that the Obama camp has not provided more information about who these small donors are really run counter to his 'transparency' message," said Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics.

And you might be surprised to hear who else besides those unnamed small donors is on the Obama team. Like McCain, Obama's corporate donor list looks like a Who's Who of the Wall Street collapse - except some have given more to Obama. Lots more.
The Obama campaign has just vacuumed up the money in this cycle, specifically from Goldman Sachs, Obama has received over $740,000, as opposed to McCain's $220,000," Krumholz said.

Not to mention that the former head of Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin, is Obama's chief economic advisor - and two current executives are bundling for him (David Heller and Bruce Heyman). "Bundlers" are mega-fundraisers who, critics say, get special access.
Another big Obama bundler is Citicorp's Michael Froman. Obama's even tapped him to help put together his new administration.

Obama has tripled McCain's haul from Lehman Brothers interests.
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase? More, more and lots more to Obama.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/eveningnews/main4550728.shtml?tag=rightRail;rightRailInner
 
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