The Federal Reserve's 'breathtaking' $7.7 trillion bank bailout

But the hundreds of million$ the bankers got to bonus themselves, and the fact that their banks were not liquidated and now being run responsibly by new owners is definitely noticed by them.

They should be in prison and their families scrounging for food

 

I believe the investors and depositors should have taken a deep hit. At the very least a 30% hit to their accounts. (You may argue they shouldn't have been bailed out at all, which I'm not going to attempt to argue with)
It's the only way to incentivize investors and depositors to be more careful about putting their money into risky banks, and a big part of the burden should fall on them, not just the taxpayers.

 

I would put none on the taxpayers

 

My proposal would still have been much better than what actually ended up happening.

The Fed didn't want them to take any hit at all. They felt it would create too much insecurity in the system.

The people who actually lost their homes didn't get any bailout.
The homes went into foreclosure when they couldn't keep paying the money on their mortgages and their homes were repossessed by the banks.

 

You didn't answer the question. Which is to be expected for someone who whinges constantly about people not understanding socialism.

 

I did answer the question. And I was clear over the nature of the problem: the free market is used as a trojan horse for neoliberalism, engineering severe inequalities that max the chances of economic crisis.

I could just tut and reply "it's not my fault you can't understand my answer". However, I won't do that. Indeed, I have some sympathy for your predicament. Given your ideological splatter is based on the myth of free markets, the reality of market fundamentalism must properly sting. Sorry.

 

The FED is a private corporation that serves the interests of its shareholders' investment banks.
If the misdeeds of these banks were potentially so damaging to the global economy that it became necessary to hand them trillions of dollars, the perps should have been jailed and their banks nationalized

 

Neoliberalism is perpetrated and enforced by government and market management.
Its whore mouthpieces are tasked with screeming "free market" at every turn.

 

Neoliberalism is the necessary outcome of free market economics. From monetarism to austerity, it has destroyed economic activity.

 

So...you think we invaded in 2003 so Exxon and China could get oil contracts in 2019? I'm sorry, but I don't think that makes any sense.

 

Giggles

 

One of your most in depth efforts. Congrats

 

Say "free markets" again.
You almost sound sincere

 

Might as well refer to unicorn riding goblins

 

it is, but if the lie comes crashing down, it will be painful, we made the feds too big to fail.. they be the "in the Money Gods we Trust"

 

You might as well.
It would about as believable

 

we need the IRS, without taxes we woudl become like Mexico, crime lords woudl be ricer then the government

 

Why would any "brave" and "free" American ever want to face short term pain. Preposterous!

 

Mike
I certainly do not dispute that huge amounts of money from various sources went to banks and other businesses. Nor do I dispute that it was frequently the case that these businesses and there managers profited from those policies. I do not dispute that these policies could have and should have been done differently.

All that said... I remember the absolute economic terror of the 2007 crash. And what was done seemed to calm the panic and stabilize the economy. What is it that you think should have been done as an alternative to what was done?

There are also a couple of details i think most people overlook. Lots of the TARP bailouts were paid back. So the final cost was much lower than the initial cost

The federal reserve monies that went into credit markets served to stabilize these markets. And although it is true that the banks largely skated scot free from irresponsible lending. The brutal reality that the fed faced was that punishing these banks would have wound up punishing the entire economy

Many if not most of the fed balance sheet is interest bearing securities that they bought and securities pay interest to the fed.... just as would be the case if a pension fund owned those securities.

 

Wouldn't bailing out the lower middle class homeowners with mortgages instead of the risky investment banks have done as much to "stabilize the economy"?

Do you think bailing out banks somehow stabilizes the economy more than bailing out common people?

 

If a politician tells him so

 

I remember the economic terror of 2008 ( might have missed something in 2007) but my point is that there was a big public TARP argument about 700 billion dollars and meanwhile the FED was shoveling out trillions of dollars, all without any accountability or transparency; and certainly no Congressional vote. So we really don't know if this secret bailout was worthwhile, necessary or effective. We know virtually nothing about it and never had any input into it.

 

it may be more then short term... all economies are a house of cards, I just wish the fed was part of the federal government under the American peoples control

 

Those who support Fed policies intentionally make the argument that these decisions should be out of politicians and the peoples control.

They don't want economic decisions to be politicized.

Unfortunately these economic decisions are fundamentally very political.

 

The FED allows the Gov to spend beyond measure. It likes it this way