Comments on: U.S. Announces $85 Billion Bailout Of AIG

Federal Reserve Makes Emergency Loan To Keep Global Insurance Giant Afloat, Avoid Deepening Financial Crisis

[summarex]

I was watching all of this on TV. The government press was working feverishly to sell this wealth redistribution bailout to the unfortunate govened.

[kno-1]

What people need to know is that the money that is being talked about in all actuality does not exist per se. This is the 1st in a 5 part (45 minute) series explaining in simple terms how we as individuals and the country have gotten in this situation. It''s called "Money as Debt." the graphics are simple, but the message is crystal clear as to what happened and where we are going.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8

[Renegade.Rivers]

With the devaluation of the dollar, and the cost rising every day for the essentials, and given that approximately 15% of the work force is or will soon be unemployed the actually taxation will have to be nearer to 70%. So if you make %50,000 a year, you would have about $15,000 dollars to live on. Anyone that cannot see the world of hurt everyone of us will be in, must be wearing blinders. Anyone that believes that the economy is basically sound is an imbecile. Not only are we headed for a depression, but this depression will make the Great Depression look like a walk in the park.

Consider this, in 1929, 85% of the population lived in rural areas and were able to grow a large portion of their own food to survive, while 15% of the population lived in towns and suburbs and many lived only through soup lines. Today the exact opposite is the case. If a depression does come, and most honest economist believe that it is inevitable, there will be mass starvation, and many will not live through it. The United States is on the verge of ruin, much like a car headed for a brick wall with no breaks, and no matter who is elected president, the damage has been done, and the chances that anything can be done are slim to none, and slim just walked out the door. Better buckle your seatbelt, and hang on because the crash is coming, and the odds of you surviving aren''t good.

[rickstas]

Ralph Nader was right - Bush is a corpration masquerading as a human being. There is always enough borrowed cash to bail out the big fish, while they feel that the little guys who got suckered by the same corporations and can''t afford to pay their mortgages have to suffer for thier mistakes. Real Republican justice. The American people are however getting just what they deserve for electing Bush not once, twice. You made your bed, now lay in it!

[Renegade.Rivers]

The truth of the matter is that the American people just borrowed 85 billion to bail out AIG, add that to the 25 billion paid to the Fannies and the price tag is nearly 110 billion. If interest is added in, the actually cost will be somewhere near 10 trillion dollars according to some estimates. Add that to the 59 trillion already owed and that puts the debt at about 70 trillion dollars, or about $50,000 for every man, woman, and child now living. If this is added to the 70% of the GDP already being paid on the debt, iit comes to about 80% of the GDP. Take away the 10% spent on the military, and that means that the United States citizens will be getting about 10% usage on the taxes that they pay in.

If that was a household, that would mean that after paying all of the debt on loans alone, a family would have only about 10% of their income to pay for food and utilities, as well as upkeep and other expenses. Any family in that situation would be forced to liquidate and file bankruptcy.

In other words the US government is teetering on bankruptcy, and their is no clear way out of it, unless taxes are to be raised to at least 50% since the average US worker now pays about 25% of their income on taxes.

Cont

[Renegade.Rivers]

Anyone that believe that these bailouts is in the best interest of the United States is a fool. First of all the United States doesn''t have 85 billion to loan to anyone. As of September 2008, the total U.S. federal debt was approximately $9.7 trillion, or about about $31,700 per ever citizen: i.e. ever man woman and child. Of this amount, the debt held by the public was roughly $5.3 trillion, and in addition, if unfunded Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, etc. promises are added, this figure rises to a total of $59.1 trillion. In 2007, the public debt was 36.9 percent of GDP (The gross domestic product or gross domestic income) with a total debt of 65.5 percent of GDP.

To put that is simple terms, almost 70% of the income the United States takes in from all forms of taxes and other incomes is being paid on the debt. Which means that only about 30% of the total income is being spent on the American government and the populous, and given that the military drag of the budget is nearly 10% of the GDP, the American populous is actually seeing only about 20% or 1/5 of the total GDP.

Cont.

[nler1]

For 48 hours:
No more Bailouts

[nskduke2]

It is amazing that the oil price is continuing to deline,even in these tough times.I still have faith in this economy even though we are all going through tough times.The important thing we all need to do is learn from our mistakes so that in the future this country can advoid repeating it.

[nskduke2]

It is amazing that the oil price is continuing to deline,even in these tough times.I still have faith in this economy even though we are all going through tough times.The important thing we all need to do is learn from our mistakes so that in the future this country can advoid repeating it.

[pirmin3]

$85,000,000,000 should be enough for the executive bonuses for the next couple of years. Large campaign contributions DO pay off in the end. They should put up a sign that says "Your Tax Dollars At Work".

[shanev137]

The fat lady is singing.

[rudy654-2009]

As far as I am concerned, these CEOs and their cohorts need to be serving jail time instead of receiving golden parachutes. I notice how quick they were to influence congress in not allowing poor people to go bankrupt, so in may opinion, they deserve no mercy.

[mediawatch50]

Why should the very wealthy shareholders of AIG take a loss? The US taxpayer is always glad to help out people who worry about making that big tax payment on their estate in the Hanptons, and that big tuition bill to send Junior to Exeter.....This isn''t over, folks. Not by a long shot. And unlike 1929, in the McCain/Bush world we live in, you get to pay to protect these fine capitalists.

[omded]

Notice how these announcements all seem to make the news after the markets are closed. Imagine what might happen if something like this, or the Lehman collapse hit the air waves during normal Wall Street hours. Believe me, no one wants to see that.

[nothappyatall]

"If Lehman Brother''s failure could help trigger AIG''s going down, who knows who AIG''s failure could trigger next."
AIG will eventually fail, as will the others in a chain reaction, as one falls so fall the rest in turn, you can bet we are heading for a total collapse of the US economic system as it currently stands and we could very well see a depression type event like we had in the Great Depression era.

However, like the Great Depression, this is no accident, this is a systematic plan like the depression was- look at the worldbank as an institution, JP Morgan-Chase and the feds for the answers- the collapse during the crash of ''29 was no accident it was designed to get money, take the country off the gold standard and replace it with worthless unbacked PAPER money- many lost their life savings, farms, businesses and jobs, where did all that "lost" money go?
Into the pockets of the crooked corporations, politicians, JP Morgan, the feds and others.

zeitgeistmovie.com

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by Humanavance

Missed ya, ST, glad to see you back, and in form.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by rudy654

You must still possess that fresh quality of youth, I saw it begin when the automakers relocated their factories to Asia, sending ripples of unemployment that eventually reached all US borders, and heard the official announcement of the beginning with Reagan''s now infamous "Trickle down economics" speech.

[rudy654-2009]

Never in history, has ANY government TAKEN money from the working class in such GIGANTIC proportions, and GIVEN it to their wealthy benefactors! This is government GONE BERSERK!
*********

We saw all this begin with Enron. From that moment on, the corporations and the financial institutions knew they had a license to do to us as they please. This is one big rip off. If some poor family needs healthcare, the neocons belittle them for being poor. But if some financial institution decides to take risks, inflate the economy, and then go belly up, why they deserve more money from the hard working taxpayer.

[brianbwb-2009]

It is time to abolish the FED, nationalize any banks and insurers going belly up, use them to create a national banking system, and use it as the means to introduce any newly printed money into the economy.

"Trickle down" should never have been allowed to see the light of day, and it is certainly past time to reverse it.

[mljohns00]

US$85 billion. That''s like each family in the U.S. giving AIG $1000. Nice. I wish I had $1000.