Who'll Bail Out Uncle Sam?

CBS' Mark Knoller On The National Debt, And Who Picks Up the Tab

(CBS)  By CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

---

The federal government may seem like a financial knight on a white steed riding to the rescue of big companies in trouble. The irony is that Uncle Sam’s got enormous money problems of his own.

The government is far deeper in debt than any of the companies it’s bailing out.

As of this morning, the national debt stands at over $9.634 trillion. That’s trillion - with a "T." And that’s nearly $4 trillion more than it was on the day President Bush took office.

This year alone, it’s costing taxpayers more than $230 billion just to pay the interest on the national debt.

And it’s getting bigger every day thanks to the relentless rush of the government spending money it has to borrow. The federal deficit for the fiscal year ending September 30 is expected in the range of $400 billion - close to the all-time high.

In fact, the government doesn’t have the $85 billion needed to bailout insurance giant American International Group.

The treasury department announced this morning it would auction new debt to raise funds for the Federal Reserve’s rescue plan for AIG.

The Fed didn’t need President Bush’s permission for the bailout, but he supports the action.

“The president’s economic advisors had determined that some of these companies were so big - that to allow them to fail would have caused even greater harm and damage to the economy,” explained Press Secretary Dana Perino at today’s White House briefing.

And despite the government’s intervention to keep a distressed company from failing, Perino insists “the free market is alive and well.”

“We have systems in place here in our country to be able to deal with shocks to the system like this,” she said.

The rescue plan means taxpayer funds are being put at risk, but Perino said “taxpayers might be harmed even worse” if the collapse of a major company caused broader economic damage.

She declined to repeat President Bush’s oft-stated assurance that the “fundamentals” of the economy are strong. But she said the economy has the strength to deal with the strains it’s now facing.

“We’ll weather the storm and be better for it,” she asserted.

But where does the federal government go when it needs a bailout? Taxpayers need only look in the mirror.

[vsg4]

"Look at the do-nothing Congress run by Pelosi. Brilliant Pelosi...a woman who can''''t motivate one member of Congress...

Posted by CarlyLaine at 07:54 AM : Sep 18, 2008"

Out of last years, only last 8 months the congress has Ms. Pelosi. Past 7 years we have id...s in the lead in the congress authorizing this Prez, barrow 4 trillions and out of which 1 trillion went to war. And Halliburton is making 2 billions net profit per quarter. What kind of id...s made this mess ? You id...s have any idea how much dollar worth now against international currencies ? When internal debt 9.6 trillions + external trade deficit 6 trillions and budget deficit exceeds the GDP 13.5 trillions that country''s currency is worth less. Mission accomplished is n''t it ?

[sleepyric]

thank you GWB, for allowing your "free market" policies to turn us into a third world country. Thanks again. I know you feel our pain, while you roll around in your profits from the Defense industries and laugh at the little people.

[nyer911]

Ralph Nader foresaw this melt down of the financial markets back in 2000 and in July warned congress http://nader.org/index.php?/archives/1427-Letter-to-Senator-Dodd-and-Congressman-Frank.html that the federal government''s bank insurance fund may be insufficient to handle the developing crisis in the banking industry. He is the ONLY Candidate running for President who''s offered America a clearly defined way out of the corruption the Washington political machine has embraced. His voice is being silenced by Corporate run media and Americans owe it to themselves and their country to listen to what he has to say..
http://www.votenader.org/issues/#more

He''s the only Candidate who is not beholden to corporate interests and offers you REAL CHANGE. Let him in the Debates!

[one8436572]

hmmm, so you are saying that we are fortunate that the white knight uncle sam has bailed out aig so that we wouldn''t have to, but that we might want to consider who will help the white knight if he is ever in trouble?

knoller, you micro mind, tell me again please, who is the white knight?

[samthetvcat]

---"The french have made it mainstream and safe."---
Posted by ainttaken

That''s an awesome point - the fear of nuclear fallout is probably what''s holding progress back, but yeah if France can do it . . .

I wonder what the rate of contamination really is these days, it''s probably one of those things that everybody''s terrified of but in reality you have greater chance of getting struck by lightning or whatever . . .

I don''t know . . .

[samthetvcat]

Does China still want to cover our loans or are we at the point where we''re going to have to start relying on the Saudis or the Russians.

There''s like that dimension too - what would motivate an investor to want to buy up US debt? The return on investment hasn''t been the draw in a long time . . .

Everybody''s talking about regulation, but take a look at it from another perspective. What Wall St does is invest in the most promising growth ventures in the country. So yes Wall St. is greedy, but how promising were the growth ventures in the country for Wall St. to invest in? The overinflated housing market was about it.

Contrast that with the countries who are likely to be picking up our debt - the Saudis and the Russians have oil, and China''s got cheap manpower.

Let''s not lose sight of the need to take action to grow the economy so we can hold our own.

Like in the big picture do more stimulus checks help or hurt? Or does the act of okaying more nuclear power plants as a job creation and energy creation plan make more sense (?)

Tough argument to make though in this climate . . .

[lviala]

BAIL OUT OF AIG: If the government is going to bail out corporations because the executives, officers, and directors were incompetent, then these incompetents should NOT get their millions of dollars in exit packages. If they ran the company into the ground and the employees and investors are left with nothing those responsible should be left with nothing. There needs to be consequences for mismanagement to the extent where the company fails and needs a bail out.

[chrisbieber]

great...socialism comes to America in the name of capitalism....and bipartisan PLANNING....the Fabian Socialists had a good plan which took over England...guess their pals here followed the playbook and took our country over..great..

[bozworth4]

The problem is that not enough people are willing to take a bite. They cower around waiting for someone else to do it.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by cbsfan731

Enough people have tried, but as you know they are branded as zealots, radical, or the modern term used, subversive to the rules of the land. Welcome to the new world order. No republicans or democrats only politicians that would pimp their mother for a euro, yen or dollar.

[bozworth4]

I wonder, will the chinese auction off government property or will they just seize it for their own use? Will arlington be a good site for a shopping mall? Will the pentagon make good public housing? Will alaska make a nice winter retreat for the ruler? Will The grand canyon make a good security prison for law breakers? The list goes on.

[bozworth4]

cbsfan731

You can eat an elephant if you take enough bites. Don''t go to concerts or sporting events, the people participating in these events wouldn''t pay 10 cents to see me, why pay hundreds of dollars to see them.
By the way, in the 60''s we had nerve, but most true freethinkers sold out for the dollar. Became complacent and became afraid of the establishment. Sad indeed!

[farnorth5]

Every Federal govt has a NATIONAL DEBT.The "CATCH"is that it requires interest to be paid.There is nothing wrong if it is limited to an amount equivalent to 30% of G.D.P.or about 12% of the ANNUAL BUDGET.Right now it is 27%.With MILITARY AT 50%,ONLY 33% is left to run all other Federal operations.OUCH!!!!

[bozworth4]

cbsfan731

No orginazition! If everyone done it and everyone was fired, who would do the work for the czars?

[bozworth4]

In 1963 the dollar had the words "Silver Certificate" written across the top of it. Now it has the words "Federal Reserve Note" in place of that, which is a fancy name for IOU.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by cbsfan731

And for all you bible thumpers, the politicians left in god we trust on your money. Guess that made them feel better. What better way to control the masses than to invoke the name of god? Use the name of god and you can just about get people to follow you and do your bidding. What a world! Praise god and send we more money. Does nobody have an original idea anymore? Have we been hoodwinked so long that you can spit in my face and tell me it''s raining and i''ll believe you?

[bozworth4]

If we all refuse to pay income tax, by changing our witholdings, are there enough prisons to hold us if we don''t pay at year end? Guess we could get the money from Iraq to build them. I for one am tired of the gov. deep pockets. Rebuild a city below sea level, buy a tornado ravaged town on a superfund site, fund a severance package to a corporate ceo that he lead into finacial ruin. All the same, STUPID! We are the ones in control, yet politicians are like russian czars, take what they want and leave we the people crumbs. Stop the circle.

[missingamerica]

Isn''t it strange how Uncle Sam wants to rescue those that do not know how to manage money?

Uncle Sam is the most irresponsible handler of money that I have ever known.

Posted by cbsfan731 at 10:06 PM : Sep 17, 2008

lolll...those boyz on Wall Street? The ones in Big Oil?

They HAVE to be protected - ''cuz they bought the boyz in our Executive Branch long before they assumed the Presidency.

[tbweb]

Pres. Bush`s 8 Year Before and After Picture!

When Pres. Bush took office in 2001 compared to now!!

Figures don`t lie but liars sure do figure!!

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 2001 = 4.2%
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE NOW = 6.1%

BUDGET 2001 = $281 BILLION SURPLUS
BUDGET NOW = $357 BILLION DEFICIT

NATIONAL DEBT 2001 = $5.7 TRILLION
NATIONAL DEBT NOW = $9.7 TRILLION

NET RESULT TODAY UNDER BUSH
DOW DROPS 504 POINTS!
DOW DROPS AGAIN ANOTHER 449 POINTS!!
26,000 ADDITIONAL JOBS LOST

VOTE REPUBLICAN!
THE FISCAL CONSERVATIVES!
VOTE McSame/Moose Slayer!!

4 MORE YEARS? YOU MAKE THE CALL!

ALL THIS DRAMA ON REPUBLICAN BUSHES WATCH!!

[tryhonesty]

Lets look up the voters for McSAME and Bushie, send them the bill...they have plenty of pork rinds...maybe they can barter and sell off all the assets of McSAME, Bush and Cheney...

[nirak2-2009]

Who will bail out Uncle Sam?
None other than the good tax payers but the Idiots who voted for Bush and will vote for McCain, will not mind at all.
Actually they deserve to pay and pay, just too bad the sane voters will suffer too.

[easeup-2009]

Who is going to bail us out?...China, of course.
If we were playing Monoply, they would hold all the the cards, except perhaps pay $50 or go to jail.
These games being played by the Fed is going to end with another Great Depression. When George leaves office, all the cards will fall down and America, as we know it today, will no longer exist.

Posted by cattieJ at 09:25 PM : Sep 17, 2008

So Foxy Loxy led Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey across a field and through the woods. He led them straight to his den, and they never saw the king to tell him that the sky is falling.