Shame on you
Fool me twice
Shame on me.
Ben and Henry (Benry???) as I blog are pleading their case to the Senate Banking Committee. It’s almost like a repeat of the justification for the Iraq War - If we don’t do something about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) the US is toast. This time the WMD’s are derivatives as Warren Buffet so accurately predicted back in 2003.
This is a complete sham, they should be focusing on the homeowner - cut them a check and hope they don’t default. Instead, their theory is to help the banks and people holding these toxic instruments and make them whole and in turn that will trickle down to the homeowners. Awesome theory, I believe the theory about the Iraq war was that it would pay for itself once we start pumping the oil…we all know how that is going. Iraq is costing taxpayers close to USD 10-12 billion a month with no end in sight. They want USD 700 billion for this bailout, I’m sure that figure will easily exceed USD 2 Trillion if they get this passed in Congress.
I’m not sure what will be more valuable - Monopoly money or the US dollar?
1 response so far ↓
1 Paras // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:24 pm
While the letter was off the cuff and probably not so well thought out, here’s my contribution to trying to steer our lawmakers in a better direction:
Dear Rep. Dreier,
When the tech market crashed in 2001 and I lost money on the bad investments I made, nobody offered me a penny. Fine. I messed up.
Reward institutions that did not invest in bad securities. Give them money to lend to businesses. Setup an institution that refinances bad mortgages directly to give people a chance to stay in their homes. Why give money to a firm that made bad decisions in hopes that they will properly make it available to people and businesses?
While I am not in favor of bailing out firms that made bad decisions (so that they can find ways to make more greedy, bad decisions), if you do bail them out, here’s my 2 cents:
1) No employee ( including executive) working for these firms can make over $100k for the next five years. If the company gets back on its feet, the employee can get a bonus of 20% on their salary after five years.
2) The US government (citizens) get a large ownership interest in these firms.
3) If the firms succeed in regaining footing and thrive again, the US government shares in these profits in perpetuity.
4) No golden parachutes for the next 20 years for anyone employed by a bailout firm.
5) To summarize all of the above, if you’re using my money to perform a bailout, make sure that I get something for it. You just saw how Warren Buffet bought an interest in Goldman Sachs. Be smart and get something for me, you and the other taxpayers too!
If you can’t do these things, send me a bailout package as well. Better yet, give every man, woman and child in the US their share of $700 billion. I think we will spend it more wisely.
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