Because I only read magazines and newspapers that other people have thrown out, some of my posts are dated. Like:
It’s not quite a crash, how about ‘The Plunge of 08’
The sky has fallen, but trust the government to prop it up….
Wait a minute. If the sky can fall, do you want to prop it back up, or just get out from under it?
I pointed out in ‘Selling Souls’ that our nation has become a land of sellers and marketers, instead of builders. On Wall Street, where the trading of credit default swaps, CDO’s, and other derivitaves became so prevalent that we are now seeing the sky was held up by – well, nothing.
I understand the need for credit, and the need for banks big enough to loan money to large manufacturers. These are needful for our economy. I just happen to think the Fed and Capitol Hill are going about fixing the system badly.
If the government wants to be certain that credit will be available, all they have to do is guarantee loans, which is not what they are doing. The money from the bailout is not going to cover new lending, it's going to cover losses, and any money left over will go into pockets 'just in case' any more loans crash.
[since I first posted this, Businessweek magazine has run an article confirming that very little of the banking bail out is going to be loaned ]
Meanwhile, there are government programs to baby sit the poor who can not, or will not, take care of themselves.. So the top and bottom of the financial food chain are taken care of, but where are the jobs for the rest of us?.