[Curlyben]

A SHED load of bad debt and bankrupt companies!!

BBC NEWS | Business | US Fed announces $800bn stimulus

So that's $800 BILLION on top of the $700 Billion already thrown down the money pit of the banks own design.

How much further will the US authorities go?

Now with all of this "cash" being thrown about, why not chuck some in the direction of Ford, GM and Chrysler, after all $25 billion is pocket change!
I know this has been mentioned in other threads so I won't open it up again here, but honestly??

[Fr_Chuck]

And sadly it is not even being spent on what it was approved for. To buy out the bad mortages, not even being used for that.

[inthebox]

A SHED load of bad debt and bankrupt companies !!!

BBC NEWS | Business | US Fed announces $800bn stimulus

So that's $800 BILLION on top of the $700 Billion already thrown down the money pit of the banks own design.

How much further will the US authorities go ??

Now with all of this "cash" being thrown about, why not chuck some in the direction of Ford, GM and Chrysler, after all $25 billion is pocket change !!
I know this has been mentioned in other threads so I wont open it up again here, but honestly ?!?!?!

I don't know how further they will go, but I agree they could probably bridge loan to the big 3 [ reduce management pay, lower wage and benefits to the level of other US non-domestic car manufacturers, and no outsourcing of jobs, parts, suppliers ] force the reduction of home mortgage interest rates fixed and below 6%, and promote increased domestic oil production while commitiing the rest to research development and establishment of all forms of alternative energy in order to ensure energy independence.

[Curlyben]

Just thought I would add this as it gives a clear over view on recent events

BBC NEWS | Business | Finance crisis: In graphics

[tomder55]

Ben ;my response to the auto maker's problems are in a few other postings but best here https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/politi...ng-282881.html
#15 and #19

My only addition is that they also have a huge problem with contracts to dealerships. The problem the way I see it is that Toyota ;Honda ;VW etc. all have single dealerships for their entire fleet of cars . The Big 3 tend to have a separate dealership for each brand. There are too many of them based on the number of cars they sell.

The contracts that they have with dealerships ;suppliers ,and the UAW could possibly be paid off with an infusion of cash from the taxpayer temporarily... but their flawed business model would remain. Only in chapter 11 can they sit down and restructure.

How much further will the US authorities go?

Not one more farthing if I had my way!!

[tomder55]

Is this enough yet ?

The money that's been pledged is equivalent to $24,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. It's nine times what the U.S. has spent so far on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Congressional Budget Office figures. It could pay off more than half the country's mortgages.

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

The $4.6165 trillion dollars committed so far is about a trillion dollars ($979 billion dollars) greater than the entire cost of World War II borne by the United States: $3.6 trillion, adjusted for inflation (original cost was $288 billion).

Big Bailouts, Bigger Bucks | The Big Picture

[Curlyben]

Had to have a look at that one Tom, as the figure seemed slighty odd, but once you take into account ALL of the bail out moneys involved, it's quite staggering!!

There's a good breakdown here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?p...d=i0YrUuvkygWs

It appears that some of this value are guarantees that are yet to be called on, but even so.

Now add the Euro Zone efforts and this figure would undoubtedly DOUBLE

[tomder55]

Now add the Euro Zone efforts and this figure would undoubtedly DOUBLE

That and what PM Gordon Brown ,Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling ,and President-elect Obama are planning as policy for addressing the economic downturn it is staggering .

We really have to give Brown credit for designing the financial institution's bail out plan back in September . US Treasury Sec. Paulson followed suit( until he lost the nerve and refound it again this week).

Labor's new budget calls for soak the rich higher taxes with huge borrowing by the giver-ment in order to pour money into the public sector ;running up the national debt.
Pre-Budget Report: your at a glance guide - Times Online

Then when the economy rebounds within a year,the government will be able to slow down the give-a-ways.A recovery by 2010, a balanced budget by 2015... pie in the sky forecasting .

Foreclosed mortgages supported ;make work jobs programs created ;mild VAT tax cuts for the commoners(except for things that the nanny state thinks are unworthy of buying like booze ,a smoke and petrol).. Much of this sounds very familiar to OB1's campaign promises.
But if that don't work there is always the fall back position... Bank of England printing presses at Debden and US Treasury presses working overtime to pump out that extra cash.

[excon]

$4.6165 Trillion

Hello ben and tom:

Want to know how much that is?

Well, adjusted for inflation, it's what we spent on Vietnam, the War in Iraq, the moon shot, the Marshall Plan, the Louisiana Purchase, the S & L bailout, the Korean War, the whole New Deal, and the lifetime budget of NASA - COMBINED!

Buy gold.

excon

[tomder55]

Add to this the unfunded liabilities in Social Security and Medicare, plus the various state and local pension plans which are hugely unfunded .


Peter J. Solomon, the head of the Peter J. Solomon Company, writes in the NY Slimes :

The pressure from cities, states and auto companies grows daily. Soon, the line will be around the block. How and where are decisions going to be made? What are the criteria? Who is going to monitor the investments? How will decisions to sell be made? …

It would be naïve to suggest that anything based in Washington will be devoid of political content; I do suggest, however, that taxpayers need protection from profligate “bailouts,” which have the potential of making “earmarks” look penny ante.

In suspending further TARP investments, Secretary Paulson and President Bush have done President-elect Obama an enormous favor. This allows the new administration to rewrite its rules. Mr. Obama would be well advised to use this time and the Democratic majorities he has in Congress to establish a new agency, separate the functions of deal-making from policy, allowing his new Treasury secretary to fashion policies that will restore long-term growth.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/20...ient-disaster/
President -elect Obama has been handed an unprecedented blank check to work with ,and evidently the prevailing opinion in the world where decisions are made is that when it comes to bail-outs... the more the merrier. But as Sen.Everett Dirksen used to say [paraphrase] a trillion here a trillion there sooner or later we'll be talking about real money.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone ! This may be the last year I can afford the bird I'm served.