http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/457.html

Fox in the hen house

I hate to give TheStreet.com any exposure or credence.

It's the home of Jim Cramer, the pyromaniac TV stock picker who led thousands of people to financial catastrophe with his BS shoot-from-the-hip "investment" advice.

That being said this clip of theirs is unusually informative (in spite of the moronically chipper interviewer.)

US Treasury Secretary Paulson is, in fact, one of the small handful of people who is personally responsible for the mess we're currently in. He pushed hard for the conditions that created the sub-prime disaster while CEO of Goldman Sachs.

It's bizarre, to say the least, that he's the person who's been given the job of cleaning up the mess.

That his "solution" to the problem was to give his former employer access to billions of dollars in taxpayer money with no strings attached is troubling.

Also, troubling is where the money went and where it's going.

As predicted by many, the bank bailout did nothing to change the tone of the financial markets. They're still in free fall and there literally is not enough money in the world to bail them out.

The final insult:

Minutes of the meetings in which the bail out billions (trillions?) are being distributed are issued to the news media with key figures blacked out.

*sigh* Fine! Where's Parker when you need him? "Fear Monger!"
G'D D'mmt!

Excuse me, I have to go give birth to another grand idea. Don't worry, tho. I'll turn on the fan (blowing hot air) so you don't get wind of the stink!

This is just an up close view of the sickness that is Washington D.C. It's not like Paulson is the first politician to move into government and then give large sacks of cash to his former employer or industry. He just happens to be in a position to do it bigger and right in front of us.

Fearmongering............ More like Angermongering. Man, I gotta tell ya, this whole bailout just makes me sick. I didnt contribute to the financial dire staights this nation is in, and I really do not agree with giving away billions to big business. I mean, its not like I have the answers, but what is wrong with giving billions back to the people who live in America? Why cant our government give us billions? Why do I have to pay 7.00 for every hour that I work just so that my kids can go to the doctor when they need to? Why do I have to pay to rebuild a piece of sh!t country that I'm never going to visit, like Iraq? Seriously, if we have the funds to bail out mutli billion dollar companies, and we have the funds to wage military campaigns overseas, then why cant we instead be spending that money on taking care of Americans? Why CANT we all have government subsidised healthcare? Why cant we be putting those dollars into our own nations infrastructure? Why do we have to rebuild another counteries' infrastructure when we have Americans in need right here in the Pacific Northwest? All of these question fry my @ss everytime I think of them...... Honestly, could soebody please offer up some insight pointing out how ANY of this is being handled correctly?

You tink Iraq is getting too much of Uncle Sugars' handouts, and you want Uncle Sugar to hand out "free money", hop on a plane to Iraq.


Cry and moan about not enough free stuff !

#1 Problem in America is attitudes like Mike Hawk.

Really? Are you joking? You're joking, you've gotta be. I get a bit bent because I see Americans in need everyday, and I also see our government spending billions and billions of dollars on things like corporate welfare, wars, rebuilding other peoples countries, etc. You might notice that I never made any reference to "free money" as you put it. What I DID say was that we should be keeping those dollars in the pocket of AMERICANS. Why should we build a single damn mile of road in Iraq when we have roads that need to be rebuilt here? How about the bridges? Or healthcare, yeah, I think healthy, wel cared for Americans make a lot more sense than a whole bunch of dead soldiers....... Yeah, I'm the problem with this country alright. I worked 3500 hours last year and haven't drawn an unemployment check in ten years (pretty good for a construction hand) so I know how hard it is to earn a buck nowdays, and I dont like the idea of giving my money away anymore than you do.... I was just talking about maybe taking care of America first. I know that the idea of taking care of your fellow countrymen is probably foriegn to you and that you could probably care less about the rest of the country as long as you've got your tricked out F-350 with the "W" sticker in the back, right next to the sticker of Calvin peeing on a chevy emblem, and you can drive down to a Walmart to buy Chinese made goods. Yup, you keep doing what you're doing...... Its people like ME who are the problem....... Give me a break.

+1 what Mike said.

Mike, what caused the bailout in your opinion? Was it Iraq and the cost of that war? or was it American greed for "more", "better", or "different", or simple disregard for responsible spending in their own lives?

Here's a tip that has pissed off more than one of the folks I know who are in debt up to their eyebrows and still buying. IMO, our gov't could learn at lot from it as well.

"Just because it's on sale, doesn't mean you can afford to buy it."

Slab...... You do have a point. To pretend that the American Populace's own greed didnt have anything to do with all this trouble would be stupid. I brought up the Iraq war, not because I believe the war CAUSED this problem, but because I believe we spent a ton of cash on the Iraq campaign that we shouldn't have spent. I was simp;y pointing out yet another example of money that should've gone to Americans, not Iraqi's, and sure as heck not to big business. But yeah, to give validity to your point, we as a society do have to shoulder some of this blame.

I wish for once someone would point out the fact we are still living better than most of the people in the world. Everyone on this board has it better than they have a right to expect. This is still the land of opportunity...

Oh, really? Exactly to what level do I "have a right to expect" in regards to my living standards?

Mike and O.....I agree with both of you. We can speculate until the cows come home, but it won't change the fact that the money spent on the war is gone, and the war certainly had a huge impact on the economy. War always does.

Heard a comedian say once, "The only way for the US to get out of debt is declare war on France and surrender immediately." (I don't remember what country he used, but you get the point...war is expensive...not just in the warring, but in the rebuilding after as well).

The pursuit of happiness...

That's not a level.

+2

Bailing out big business with trillions of dollars in taxpayer money is downright American...a helping hand to even one American is Socialism...or is it Marxism?...I can't recall what the bull$hit nom d'jour the Republicans are calling it today.

Fish on...

Todd

The GOP is still in charge and trying their best to fix that.
They have 3 months left at the helm and they have an agenda: Keep us in Iraq forever, give away what of Our Government isn't yet privatized, and hand over any money left in the treasury to themselves. The goal is to render Our Government so bankrupt and weakened, it will have no way to regulate their affairs ever again. What used to be known as a "Palace Coup."

If the top 1% who runs the GOP and America's finances & industry has their way, we'll be just like El Salvador. 14 families running the show and 99% of us begging for scraps and being shot and kept under heel by death squads under the guise of stomping out Commie Terrorists.

Speaking of Capitalists, pure laizzes-faire Capitalism failed in 1929. It was on life support before then, after panic, after panic. As a political system, it failed only 12 years after the birth of Soviet Collectivization, which choked in 1991. We decided to return to pure capitalism under Bush II and whadya know, it took a schit after less than a decade. If the defintion of Socialism is SOME government control of finances and a nations economy, then fvckin-A, Im a Socialist Red-Card totin' Mofo.

Oregonian..... You're right on one thing.... This IS the land of opportunity, but as far as having "better than we have a right to expect", I have to vehemently disagree. As far as what we have a "right" to expect, well, let me tell you what I think we have a right to.... WE THE PEOPLE have a right to AN EQUAL SHARE OF ALL WE PRODUCE. Think about it..... Why is it so out of line to expect that we as Americans recieve an equal share of all that we produce? We recieve an equal share when it comes to the COST of being American (B.S. drug laws, having to register for selective service, taxes, shouldering the financial burden of the A.I.G. bailout, etc.) so why should we not be entitled to a proportional share when it comes to the GOOD stuff? We really do have a right to expect better from our government? Irie brings a very good point in that a true "Laizzes-Faire" (that means "hands off" Oregonian) Governmental approach to our nations economic issues IS NOT sustainable. As much as some of you hate the idea, we really DO need a government that has services, a government that is geared towards bettering the collective of Americans as a whole. The general feeling I'm getting from the conservative faction of this board is kind of a "F&$k em, I've got mine and that's all that matters" type of mentality. I think it bears mention that if we are going to continue to move forward as a country then we MUST learn that part of the cost of moving forward is going to be to start thinking more as a collective and less as individuals. I'm not talking about Communal farms or anything like that, I'm talking about simple things like looking out for our fellow countrymen rather than constantly looking out for #1. Imagine all that we could accomplish if we worked together to FIX our nation's problems rather than "just looking out for ourselves". Additionally, I would challenge somebody to explain to me the theory of exactly HOW a system of trickle down economics is going to be a good thing right now. You know, we've been in bad shape as a nation before, just look at all the great things that F.D.R. did to help bring us out of the Great depression, he didn't do it by sitting back and waiting for Big business to fix things. No, F.D.R. did things to get people to work. The Civilian Conservation corp. Big, government funded construction projects, social security, and yes, the welfare system. Was F.D.R. a commie? Keep in mind that there is a HUGE chunk of the political community who believe that F.D.R. was quite possibly the best American President ever. He came in at a tough time and did what was nesessary to get America back on top. That's what we need right now.

I think Welfare was initially intended as a temporary bandaid and has outlived it's design. I'm sure Welfare as it exists today is part of the problem, not part of the solution...

Not sure what you mean about wanting an "equal share"...

Absolutely. 100%.

Mike, explain thyself. Methinks proportionate share based on investment is more apropos. We have equal opportunity (or theoretically). but beyond that it should be up to each individual. Leeches get their due as do the efforts of those who produce. Again......in theory.