totally OT - TARP

sf wrote:


Almost makes one think the US federal government should make commercial,
financial investments with a portion of the taxes it collects.

Unfortunately, and especially if it were as successful as the TARP it
could very easily lead to another, and even greater "too big to fail"
scenario.

The modern, global economy is more dependent on the perception of it
than it is the actual creation & transfer of wealth as symbolized by money.

http://www.enotes.com/secrets-temple-salem/secrets-temple

"Closely related to the Fed’s power is another major theme: the nature
of money and the modern financial system. Indeed, the social, political,
and economic importance of finance is so profound that the book could
have been aptly subtitled “the triumph of money” (which is in fact the
title of the final chapter). The discussion includes a daunting
psychohistory of money (Sigmund Freud makes a surprise appearance) and a
fascinating history of the Populist movement active at the turn of the
century."

For bit more humourous, tabloid take on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2kjuC7oSvA

"You write a check for 10 million dollars.

Hand the check to a Wall Street bank, and ask them to make us a CDO.

Step two: they create the CDO, using risky stuff, very risky stuff,
extremely risky stuff.

Step three: other investors commit hundreds of millions of dollars to
the CDO.

Step four: we bet against the CDO, using a credit default swap.

Step five: the housing market crashes. The CDO’s value goes to zero, our
bet pays off and we make hundreds of millions of dollars and before you

can say step six, we’re rich!

We’re going to bet against the American Dream, we’re going to be on the
winning team, purchase risky debt on a massive scale.

Then place a bet that the debt will fail. Hundreds of millions for
Magnetar, the economy collapsing like a dying star.

No one will know till it’s on NPR, and who cares? It’s time to hit the
town, this sucker could go down. The housing market’s losing steam.

And all we got to do to make our dreams come true is bet against the
American Dream!"
--
JL
 
On Apr 7, 1:07?pm, sf wrote:


I'm hardly a Bush fan, but I recall that the TARP legislation was
Bush/Paulson concoction passed in the fall of 2008
 
On Thu, 7 Apr 2011 17:11:36 -0700 (PDT), KevinS
wrote:


I was talking about getting the money repaid, not the loan.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:07:04 -0600, Janet Bostwick wrote:


I heard Obama announce it on every broadcast national TV station the
day of the Japanese earthquake.

I wonder about it's validity. Or rather, I seriously doubt Americans
have been paid back in full. 500 million doesn't sound like that much
money - not what I was led to assume. 500 million is chicken feed for
banks. And banks play more underhanded games than Gordie Howe. They
probably borrowed it from fake accounts and payed for it funny money.

Watch the movie "Inside Job". The government can't control banks.
The banks own the government (jointly with a few other large
industries).

-sw
 
On Apr 7, 3:07?pm, sf wrote:


The banks have been on the receiving end of all sorts of free money
and Cash For Trash programs. Trillions of dollars have just been
shoveled at those stupid punks since 2008, but TARP is the only
program that's ever mentioned on TV. If they're really paying back
TARP money, they're probably paying it back with funds they're
receiving from some other government handout program.
 
On Apr 7, 5:28?pm, sf wrote:



"This administration" didn't "do" anything. It happened in the
ordinary
course of business. You recall the expression about the rooster taking
credit for the dawn. They can claim it as an accomplishment if they
are otherwise bereft of accomplishments.
 
On Thu, 7 Apr 2011 20:58:58 -0700 (PDT), KevinS
wrote:


NOBODY is talking about it being almost completely repaid. I doubt
you knew either.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On 4/7/2011 10:28 PM, Sqwertz wrote:

Fannie and Freddie "absorbed" billions of dollars of bad assets which
are now conveniently ignored.

I think most people are annoyed at the whole concept of the "too big to
fail" marketing campaign where we bailed out greedy pirates who gambled
too heavily allowing them to keep their jobs and huge bonuses for the
"great job" they did.

I would say it is pretty clear that the banks and brokerages made wise
purchases. Both the red and blue teams joined in to save their owners.
 
On Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:31:17 -0400, George
wrote:


Fannie and Freddie are the only ones that will refinance even though
people are underwater and that's fantastic. Both my kids do not have
Fannie or Freddie backed mortgages and can not refinance. It would
really help them to pay off the full amount if they could lower the
APR but that's not going to happen - ever. Why? Because they can
afford it. Guess what? They'll end up selling short or walking away
because they're just putting their money into black hole now. Too bad
they were responsible buyers. They got screwed going and coming.

It chaps my hide to see the *unearned* bonuses those CEOs are getting.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
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