While people are losing their jobs....

[Ed62]

we continue to hear new stories about the ones who got bailout money, buying new jets or giving large bonuses. What's it gonna take for the public to start boycotting these companies? The bailout money was not used for this? Then they didn't need it, did they? I hate to see more jobs lost, but maybe it's going to take some very drastic measures to get these people to the point where they "get it".

Ed

[Uncle Cracker]

What irritates me is that there seems to be no way beyond raw public opinion that bailout recipients are held accountable for what is done with that money. It's supposed to be keeping people working, but millions are still laid off, and the fat-cats are just living fatter. How did this happen? And how are the taxpayers gonna foot the bill when unemployed people don't pay taxes? It's like the Fed is just printing worthless money in a back room someplace... And when the banks are asked where the money went, they just say "No comment,,,".

[docrowan]

I believe this is precisely what the Fed is doing. "Expanding the money supply" sounds so much nicer though, doesn't it?

[BrazosJake]

The outrage to me isn't what they're doing with it, but the fact that they're getting it in the first place. Yes, there's a recession, yes, people are losing their jobs, but we've been living in a bubble economy for years. It's time for everyone to take their lumps, let the markets adjust, and deal with it. Instead, we're creating "bailouts" and "economic stimulus" that will pass on tons of tax obligations to our children & grand children, all in the name of "doing something".

[gad5264]

Being one of the many recently unemployed, this is a great source of anger for me. Did you see the one bank exec that transferred ownership of his $14M house to his wife for $100 so he wouldn't lose it if he got sued?

[LCHIEN]

companies that sell corporate jets need business, too...

[Alex Franke]

buying new jets or giving large bonuses

Doesn't this help stimulate the economy? (Not that I think TARP money should be used for this stuff, but if they're American made jets, then it might just be reasonable...)

Did you see the one bank exec that transferred ownership of his $14M house to his wife for $100 so he wouldn't lose it if he got sued?

Seems to me that some people -- rather than getting thrown into some overcrowded jail -- should be forced to live their lives the same way the "average American" does.

EDIT:

companies that sell corporate jets need business, too...

Ha! I should have kept reading before my first reply!

[Ed62]

Doesn't this help stimulate the economy? (Not that I think TARP money should be used for this stuff, but if they're American made jets, then it might just be reasonable...)

For some reason, I think that would be a hard sell to most people.

Ed

[docrowan]

The outrage to me isn't what they're doing with it, but the fact that they're getting it in the first place. Yes, there's a recession, yes, people are losing their jobs, but we've been living in a bubble economy for years. It's time for everyone to take their lumps, let the markets adjust, and deal with it. Instead, we're creating "bailouts" and "economic stimulus" that will pass on tons of tax obligations to our children & grand children, all in the name of "doing something".

I completely agree Jake. There's no evidence the bailouts and stimulus are doing anything to help unemployment, but there's plenty of evidence they are propping up the lifestyles of the captains of finance that got us in this mess to start with.

I think all the politicians are trying to do anything and everything simply to avoid being plastered in history the way Herbert Hoover was due to the Great Depression. However, FDR did something only after more than 4 years of government doing nothing. It is a matter of dispute that what FDR did really made a difference, anyway.

Government has a fairly poor track record of spending tax dollars wisely. Government has a much poorer track record of HASTILY spending tax dollars wisely. Meanwhile neither side of the aisle is doing much about the deficit or worse yet the debt.

[MilDoc]

Greed. Isn't it wonderful?

[newood2]

The outrage to me isn't what they're doing with it, but the fact that they're getting it in the first place. Yes, there's a recession, yes, people are losing their jobs, but we've been living in a bubble economy for years. It's time for everyone to take their lumps, let the markets adjust, and deal with it. Instead, we're creating "bailouts" and "economic stimulus" that will pass on tons of tax obligations to our children & grand children, all in the name of "doing something".

Exactly. Remember the Peasant Revolt in the 16th century? It can happen again.
To stabilize the economy you give money to the people who have the money then rationalized it with poppycock intellectual garble. These highly educated intelligent financial experts with "above average" IQ are the same ones that messed up the economy and we have rewarded them graciously and sumptuously for their unquenchable greed.
The economic balloon has burst, but only for the poor and middleclass families who will never fly in a corporate jet. And I don't need one right now, I'm cutting out grocery coupons.

[germdoc]

To wit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/bu...9bonus.html?hp

True, wealthy businessmen buy or lease jets and employ people in the luxury goods services. That is a very inefficient way of stimulating the economy, however, not to mention inequitable.

I have read studies that show that a huge percentage of recent tax cut money went into financial speculation, AKA hedge funds, not into expanding business and producing jobs. Nowadays most people with wealth want to hoard their money, like we all would if we didn't have to eat and send kids to college. Anyway, back to the issue at hand, if your bonus is supposedly based on performance, and your performance sucks, how can you justify your money?? Seems pretty straightforward to me.

[leehljp]

What we need is for someone to win the nobel prize for economics for a NEW Business Theory of sustained profit due to quality products and satisfied customer base instead of E X P A N D I N G - M A R K E T - S H A R E.

It seems like most all (even diversified) investments are geared to the EMS route instead of investing in sustained but mature markets. We are reaping the benefits of "rapid growth" investment. Not only does it mature, top out and decline, but it breeds greed from within - instead of good management! And when the whole economy is tied into it on such a large scale, it drags the whole economy down.

[gjat]

And the even sadder thing is that the US Government is processing another $815 BILLION dollar 'stimulous' package. This is on top of the $700 BILLION previous package. That's $1,515,000,000,000.00 (yes, the zeros are correct). The current population of the US is about 306,000,000. Effectively, the US Government just took out a loan for $ 5,000 for every man, woman, and child that is currently alive in the US. Consider how many people are on walfare, retirement, fixed income, social security, un-employment compensation, or just too young to work, such as children and students. Who the **** is going to make the payments? These are real numbers, I looked them up. Just google US Population and Stimulus Package.

This is absolutely the stupidest thing the Government has done. The stupid Republicans did it first for $700,000,000,000 to try and get re-elected, then the stupid Democrats are doing it for $815,000,000,000 to show how they're more caring than the Republicans. Meanwhile, half the population are grateful that the Government is 'doing something', while the other 1/2 are too busy working and paying their bills to worry about it or being written off as mean-spirited *******s that don't care about the poor or unemployed.


The above edited due to being over the line in reference to no politics; even if this was factual, which it is not! The house and Senate have been out of Republican control for more than 2 years! Folks if ya want to have this discussion on this site be very careful. Leave the politcs out of it, if that's not possible do not post.
Nice.

[Kristofor]

Well into the political there.

Without giving my (strong) thoughts on that side of it, I'll just point out that not all of the dollars involved in those packages will disappear. Much of particularly the TARP is structured as loans. Many of those will default when companies go broke, but some will be repaid eventually. (few, some, most, that's the 64 million dollar question).