Well, that plan was not a success. Obama to try a different virgin!

Bush says sacrificed free-market principles to save economy

“I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system,” Bush told CNN television, saying he had made the decision “to make sure the economy doesn’t collapse.” [snip]

But the US president has yet to announce how his administration will proceed amid calls from Detroit automakers and Democrats for a bailout drawing on funds set aside for financial firms.

“We’ve screwed the pooch, committed animal abuse so large,  there’s no sense stopping now,” said ole Georgie. “What’s another couple hundred trillion a day give or take a buck or two. Me, I’m buying gold, ‘cause when this sucker comes down, boy is it going to make a big noise.”

“Gold “n guns, that’s what it’s going to take to survive; glad I’m out of office!”

Banks, the Fed, and the bailout

We hear about leveraging money and how that works. Most people don’t understand how that affects their accounts since they believe their money is in the bank and is invested locally.

Not so anymore; your money is out on the town, lent overnight with others at ¼ of 1% and circulated. Banks lent your money repeatedly many times.

Where is your money? Maryland, California, Canada, Germany, in stocks and bonds, other banks, many with subprime and alt-A mortgages and some with Bernard Madoff. Paulson has your money and soon GM will squander it too.

To simplify this image, picture a very large railroad roundhouse with peepholes all around the circumference. In the center is a spotlighted single silver dollar, viewed by all depositors, each saying, “That’s my money!”

That’s what exists after all the leveraging of money. Now, they’re printing even more money, lowering interest rates to boost credit, which is producing more money that doesn’t exist expanding the money supply further.

What do you think will happen when depositors decide to get their “silver dollar?”
It won’t be a Wonderful Life.

Jim Rogers calls most big U.S. banks “bankrupt”

Jim Rogers, one of the world’s most prominent international investors, on Thursday called most of the largest U.S. banks “totally bankrupt,” and said government efforts to fix the sector are wrongheaded. [snip]

Goldman Sachs & Co analysts this week estimated that banks worldwide have suffered $850 billion of credit-related losses and writedowns since the global credit crisis began last year.
But Rogers said sound U.S. lenders remain. He said these could include banks that don’t make or hold subprime mortgages, or which have high ratios of deposits to equity, “all the classic old ratios that most banks in America forgot or started ignoring because they were too old-fashioned.”

Many analysts cite Lehman’s Sept 15 bankruptcy as a trigger for the recent cratering in the economy and stock markets.
Rogers called that idea “laughable,” noting that banks have been failing for hundreds of years. And yet, he said policymakers aren’t doing enough to prevent another Lehman.

“Governments are making mistakes,” he said. “They’re saying to all the banks, you don’t have to tell us your situation. You can continue to use your balance sheet that is phony…. All these guys are bankrupt, they’re still worrying about their bonuses, they’re still trying to pay their dividends and the whole system is weakened.” (emphasis mine)[snip]

The hovering of the taxpayers’ pockets by Paulson and Congress won’t stop until voters rebel, toss these thieves out of office and indict them.
Actually, I like the Red Queen’s idea, “verdict first; trial later.” It’s suitable for the dirtbags in DC.

The last bump of this size Bush called an adjustment; that was Lehman Brothers tilting over. This is nothing more than another adjustment.
However, this one will involve a bunch of swells cutting up their credit cards, selling (if they can beat the repo man) the M3, the Lexus or the Mercedes, the plasma screen TV and every bell and whistle they couldn’t do without because “Bob had one.”
Have you ever seen a stockbroker bang nails or replace a 20-amp breaker? Life inside the “gates” is going to become amusin’.
Here’s a flash for you. The only ones that will get it in the neck are those living on next year’s income. IRA’s, 401k and pensions will take a hit but only those without diverse holdings will drop severely.
If you were flipping houses or specing condominiums, greed gotcha.

In Europe, the elite, those that can tell all how it should be, have their knickers in a wad.

Bailout failure ‘will cause US crash’

The US stock market could suffer a devastating crash with shares losing a third of their value this week if Hank Paulson’s financial bailout plan fails, US Treasury officials have warned.

The financial system could face a meltdown of 1929 proportions unless US politicians succeed in their efforts for a $700bn rescue scheme, experts added. [snip]

Well they certainly are busy telling us what to do. For good reason it seems when one looks at their markets. But, they seem to have it a bit backwards, for their markets visited the loo quickly and in earnest.

Investors fretted about contagion into Europe, where Fortis, which was part of the consortium that bought ABN Amro last year, fired its chief executive after liquidity concerns pushed shares down more than 20pc to a 14-year low. Holland’s ING and BNP Paribas are looking at buying the bank this weekend.

London investors have warned that the FTSE could suffer falls of as much as 1,000 points - a fifth of its value, if the deal falls through.

Peter Spencer, economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item Club, said: “This is the time you have to bail people out and ask questions later. It is very difficult to see how the US banking system would survive without that.This has the potential to make 1929 look like a walk in the park.”

Of course, it’s the bloody colonials doing it again. Have we no shame! Well, this time we’ll be generous and let the Tories have the soup lines.

[snip]
Markets were anxious about Britain’s fast deteriorating economic outlook and the stability of its banking sector as B&B followed Northern Rock in being nationalised. The worries followed the fire sale of HBOS, the nation’s biggest mortgage lender to Lloyds TSB, and led to the London stock market succumb to a fresh hammering of its leading shares. [snip]

The euro also fell heavily against the dollar amid concern over the eurozone’s banking strife and the adequacy of arrangements for bank rescues in the 15-nation bloc. The euro lost as much as 1.8 per cent against the dollar, falling to levels of about $1.4340 from a US close of $1.4613 on Friday.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index was down 1.3 per cent at 11,743.61, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 2.1 per cent to 18,286.90.
“They’re worried that another fire is starting in Europe,” said Castor Pang, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong.

Democrats to try again on bailout: Rep. Van Hollen

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives are going to try to move another financial rescue bill after a $700 billion plan was rejected in a House vote, a senior House Democrat said on Monday.

This time it will work, we guarantee it!

Congress depleted this weekend administering anesthesia to the taxpayers; the actual fiscal bailout device is a suppository wrapped in #60 grit sandpaper.

Please use these to prevent severe lower back injury from sudden attempt to stand erect. Secure wrists and ankles before BAILOUT is administered!

No irritation protection necessary, this will take your mind off the insertion!

For this, what do we get? Bad paper, paper the banks don’t want and no ONE can sell. What anchors this paper? Foreclosed houses, which cannot be sold now, will not be sold in the near future and after standing empty, become even more desirable, correct.
Has anyone ever seen abandoned or closed government property? Slums have higher resale value. What do you think a stripped house is worth as collateral to John D. Taxpayer?
This is what your collateral will look like, euphemistically called a “fixer-upper” by your friendly Realtor.

Imagine a $400,000 mortgage securing this wonderful three story country farmhouse with mountain views on a country lane.

Listen to Chris Dodd or Barney Frank, or your congressman/woman entertain you with caring tales of past sensitivity to taxpayer plight. In a pig’s brown eye they do. Paulson certainly doesn’t. Bush read his idea of a good deal off the teleprompter. Bail out my buds and all is swell. (Paulson’s idea of getting along)
However the mushwits in DC tell us we need to jumpstart the housing industry, get them going to put the economy “back on track.”

” HUH?” What are they smoking?

Call your congress critter; tell him/her to be generous. Let the banks and Wall Street keep their great deals for themselves. We need this crash to get people off this insane living on this house of credit cards. Credit tightens up, people drive beaters (just like the Jones’) and they’ll take jobs the illegals won’t do.
Let Paul pay for his sins now. Leave Peter’s pockets alone.