The Big Bang of Bailouts

Isn't the real problem a massive lack of accountabilitty. Consumers spending money they don't have for products and services they want and don't need. Business grew to meed this demand; banks lent money they should not have to fuel their growth. All of this in turn led to corporate greed and escalating compensation with no accountability. This in turn stifled creativity and problem solving and led to further waste of just hiring additional people rather than training existing employees and holding them accountable. The end result - we have businesses filled with employees and management that aren't capable of doing their jobs and consumers aren"t able to pay their debts.

This isn't a crisis that was made on Wall Street. Yes, Wall Street enabled it and made it worse; in addition, there is no place where the greed is more apparent than on Wall Street. I agree with the remedie's suggested in the article, with the exception that consumer habits wasn't really addressed. Yes there needs to be massive job training and not just for people who have lost their jobs so they can get other jobs, but also for individuals who have managed to hold onto their jobs. In addition, there should be a massive education program regarding consumer finances so individuals will realize they can not continue spending more than they make indefinitely. This is a crisis that was fed from all areas of the economy and not just Wall Street.

I keep hearing the phase, "we have no choice" when it comes to these government mandated bailouts. Like a heroine addict, we keep injecting more drugs to prevent the symptoms of withdrawl, deceiving ourselves that we won't have to pay a bigger price in the future. 50+ trillion in debt as a nation and these bailouts just keep adding to this enormous sum. The only way out is to declare national bankruptcy and get off the drug of debt and stop these useless bailouts that only deepen the problem.

Let me introduce myself. I am sixty-four years old. I am a retired Economic Analyst, Financisher, Businessman,Investor,and Author. I have over forty years of being in the financial and business world.
There is a major flaw in our economic theories!
I wrote a book and several articles outlining new policies to cure economic crisis, now and in the future. A guide to correct a major flaw in our economic theories. John Maynard Keynes the British economist gave us a guide to help the economy out of the recession economic cycle. The problem is, he did not leave a handbook on how to correctly slow down the economy when it is so strong that it is creating an economic crisis. If you agree that these changes need to be enacted, support me in getting them enacted. In this way you will be doing something that will really improve the lives of the people of and families of America. The stock market should go up, replacing some of the value they have lost.
We dont need a government jobs program or a bailout to cure the economic crisis. Recently we had the housing bubble, that got us into this mess, and the oil bubble in the commodities market. The Federal Reserve could not do anything about them, without killing our economy and disrupting the world economies. Find out why! The book INFLATION THE ECONOMY KILLER by Leonard Tekaat is available at Amazon.com more info. www.American Solutions.com articles by happyashell
Sincerely, Leonard C. Tekaat

Every day we find more evidence that the supposed capital does not exist, what economic system will replace failed capitalism? The stock market has always functioned on the greater fool theory. I buy the stock sure that down the line there will be a greater fool ready to pay more, and he will wait for another greater fool. Trillions of dollars change hands constantly while nothing real is created or exchanged. What could be more Ponzi than that?

**** bailouts. Where the hell did all the money from the last bailout go? I mean, besides $70 billion for "executive compensation"?

The word "need" is used excessively these days. First it was "every American 'needs' to own a home" and look how well that turned out. Does the Sub prime mortgage ring a bell to anyone? And now supposedly major companies "need" bailout in billions. Really, I must ask. Where is all this money coming from? This "need" is being used to cover up a "want". Every American didn't need to own a home, they just wanted one they couldn't afford. These major companies don't need a bailout, it sounds more like a "want". They need to over-work those high-paid executives of theirs to ditch out their own plan and money to save themselves.

I am sorry but I need my tax money to be saving me and not those major companies. And quite frankly, I sorta do need a car. If anyone needs a bailout it is those people who work two jobs yet seem to living from one paycheck to the next.

If banks won't lend now, where, exactly, is the money for a 1 TRILLION dollar bailout supposed to come from? Are there printing presses in the basement someplace?

To the average person, all this talk of billions and trillions is so far out of our realm of understanding - we might as well be playing with monopoly money. It certainly feels like our government is - and next time they roll the dice, nobody will pass 'go'; we will all end up in jail. Or worse.

Has all this bailout money actually been spent, or is it just virtual money? Who is signing the checks, and who is cashing them?

Maybe we were better off when we traded beads and pelts for food and clothing. At least, you knew could actually count what you gave, and what you got.

In response to the latest pposts.

Bernanke understands the inflationary problems he is creating down the road, not t mention the U.S. Dollar assured devaluation. In my view that is part of his "plan" to inflate our way out of the worst financial crisis in our life time. A crisis that if left to be resolved (in his view) to the natural Capitalists forces will no doubt send the world Economy into another Great Depresion, only this time on steroids.

In his view the price to pay for our Economic salvation will be a devalued Dollar that losses it's status as the world's International currency, and years of inflation fighting policies that will no doubt take us back to the Seventies.

In all honesty, the are no sure answers to our problems. If we inflate our way out the pros are : Our debt payment, and our budget deficits down the road will become much easier to be paid back. Foreign investors will be attracted at an America "on sale" do to it's devalued Dollar moving our Stock market to new highs. A devalued Dollar will make American products more competitive, and jobs in the export industries will be created, not to mention our balance of trade will finally go positive.
On the flip side tough we will have; We will enter a very inflationary decade (2010 and beyond) that will reduce our purchasing power, will increase interest rates for all borrowers, and will create enormous problems with commoditie prices going to the roof. We will see a jo-jo Economy effect that will have the Fed trying to reduce inflation by rising interset rates, while at the same time fighting to keep the Economy from stalling. The Dollar will be in a mixed period fighting with other currencies for egemony. having lost it's unquestioned place as the International exchange& reserve currency of the world.

What bad solution do we take ????

As you guys can see we are in for one hell of a ride into the future, and I have not even mentioned the unfunded responsibilities that our Government has looming just down the horizon..... Social Security for Baby Boomers as an example of just one of the train recks that can, if left unresolbed and combined with inflation, make our present problems look like the good old days.

Like I said, we are in for a hell of a ride. Good luck to us all. We are going to need it.

I disagree with the author that inflation is a problem to be dealt with later. Inflation is the greatest risk to an economy and needs to be considered alongside any proposals to ease the economic crisis. Borrowing trillions of dollars is very risky indeed. Particularly when you consider the unfunded liabilities associiated with Social Security and Medicare. Trillions now may prop up the patient right now, but will surely kill it later. I agree that global action is required to stabilize the wiorldwide economy. However, that must include reconfiguring the economic system - drastically alter the capitalist system so that wealth is more equally distributed. There is enough wealth worldwide for everyone on the planet to have enough to sustain themselves - a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs, and food in their stomachs. The problem we face now is that so much of the world's wealth is concentrated in very few hands. When a shock to the system occurs there is little slack to sustain many of the world's people.

Why do I always see the headline on MSNBC, "Newsweek: Why This or That Won't Work." Invariably, the author postulates as to why the topic of the day is going to be fatal, bad, inadequate, poor, and on and on. If these authors are such experts, why aren't they helping to solve the problem? I speculate that, like sports writers and theater critics, they may know what they are talking about, but, God forbid, you put then on the playing field or the stage.

To me, the solution to the mortgage mess is to get the payments low enough to where the debtor can make payments again. In other words, do what it takes to get the cash moving again and keep him in the house. Work out the other details somehow, but get the money moving again. Some movement is better than none at all, yes?

I'm no economic expert. I have read a lot of history, and while Roosevelt's stimulus programs may have reduced the pain for many, our recovery began with the beginning of WWII. If you peel away all the cash flows and everything, the effect WWII had on stimulating the economy was essentially directing all of the resources we could find into activating and building the factories that produced the things (mostly war materials) we needed during that period. As a result, a very large percentage of the workers in this country were paid with government money by the companies that employed them. The people that worked in that time lived in substantial austerity. And yet they invested (war bonds, etc.) heavily. When the war was over we had a skilled workforce (which was further enhanced by the GI Bill), a huge state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure and families that had money from their investment (war bonds) to fuel the incredible growth that followed the war. So it would appear that what really brought us out of the depression was not simply stimulus, but stimulus (war expenditures and investment), a population which was willing to postpone current personal consumption and invest in the industries which would serve them in the future. It wasn't so much about building hiking trails and highways as it was buying the machines and acquiring the skills that would serve the country in the future. And it was definitely not about looking to consumer spending to lead us out of our problems. It was about deferring our current personal needs to pay for the tools and skills which would ensure a prosperous future. I'm not suggesting that it was planned to work out that way. It probably wasn't. But if we are looking for a template from the Roosevelt past, our ultimate salvation was not entirely the result of just stimulus, but of learning to pool those resources, and restrain our individual (consumer?) needs. Bailouts will not work without a significant change in the priorities we place on providing for the future. Simply spending now, without changing the way we work, spend, save and live will make the ultimate solution more painful and difficult.

If we gave 300 million people each one million dollars, that'd be $300 trillion, goat. The whole idea of the government bailing out any and everyone (businesses, individuals, etc.) is absurd. The argument for it is that if the government doesn't help, then we're headed for another Great Depression. But if the government bails out everyone who's been making mistakes-- whether it be greedy bank CEOs or a million people like wem who thinks the government should give him a break because he overspent on credit--then we're still just prolonging the inevitable, because the government can't pay for everyone else's mistakes.

The heads of the institutions involved in the housing crisis should face criminal charges. The Big 3 automakers should have to restructure, including cutting salaries for the top execs. Instead, we're bailing them out and promoting them to presidentially appointed offices (see http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6201900 --our new Chief of Staff, who was on Freddie Mac's board when that company was lying about it's profits). Our leaders are digging our graves for us. Putting the whole country deeper into debt is not the answer. The ones who put us here should be punished--not the entire nation, and indeed the world.

We the people of this planet especially the United States are finally seeing the results of the fivolity of consummerism and bad leadership.. I would like to say it was all there fault but that wouldn't be true. There bad behavior just reflects are soceities "ME ME ME" attitude. They have sold their ethics and ideals to the cooporations, lobbyists, PACs and special Interest groups rather than represent the people that they were supposed to.and now were shocked to see the results. Pucker up people there is more to come.No I am not saying somethig like armagedon but some might. I am saying that for nearley 20 years we have been spending irresposibly, not just our government but we as a society and now is the time to pay the perverbial "Piper". .

Goat, you are a stupid f**k. Where do you think money comes from? Trees? Printing more money means the value of the dollar declines. Borrowing more money is not the answer. Please do the world a favor and kill yourself. The answer is only buying things you can afford with cash. I know its a difficult concept cause the government has created a bunch of brainwashed monsters but its the only way to get out of this mess. USA = SH*T All hail Al Queda.

This is a good argument for exactly what not to do to save the world economy. Too much meddling in our economy by the government is what got us into this mess in the first place. Artificially low interest rates for loans which allowed bad credit risks to "purchase" homes they could not possibly afford is why we have the housing crisis.

FDR's New Deal did not end the Great Depression but only temporarily lowered unemployment rates. When unemployment began to rise again within a few years of the 1st New Deal a 2nd New Deal was implemented which didn't work either. Only our historic involvement in World War II saved the economy that time. There is no enemy to declare World War III on this time around.

We'll have to ride it out. Let the bad economic actors get shaken out and welcome the newer more innovative institutions that will emerge.

cut my taxs so I can pay off my charge cards and then start spending again.
until then I need to pay by charge card bills

it is not rocket science guy's ...........