That's it - I am enraged!

Two things I have read today:

1) the individual cost per tax payer of all of the likely-projected costs of all of the bailout activities is about $22,000.

2) (on leader for a local news broadcast) that financial institutions are about to raise the rates on interest on credit cards.

Look I have a lot of empathy for folks on and below the edge of this financial crisis, and recognize that I could slide onto the edge or downside any minute. At the same time - I lived at poverty levels for more than my first ten working years out of college. When my income went up, I took the lessons learned in extreme budgeting and saved most of the rest of my income - because I knew I had no savings for almost two decades. I have tried to make wise decisions such as saving about 30% for my pretax earnings (I can only do this by still living by the lessons of living on less than 20K in the Bay Area through the 1990s).

I bought a foreclosed house in a transitional neighborhood, and own the home. I have no credit card debt, car loan debt, etc. While I still believe that my money is "safe" in my local bank - it earns next to no interest in a savings account. - When I checked last week the best savings rate (in a money market account) only climbed to 1.2% if one had $50,000 in the account. I haven't invested anything in mutual funds since about 2002 - and those funds only earned on average 2.8% due to the extreme volatility over the past 6 years, and I believe they are worth less today than what I originally invested. Thankfully my 'test' into Mutual Funds was only a couple of thousand dollars. While I could use that money, my austere budgeting has let me save more than that - so those dollars are my personal canary in the coal mine (that is - don't invest anything as long as it is this volatile.) But with moderate savings - there is NO place that I can put money that is both relatively safe and can earn more than 1% interest.

I don't carry debt (thank goodness no health nor employment crisis has caused this situation to change), I spend well within my means, but my "debt" to the government per the projected bailout costs is more than 20K - and the same institutions that are being given my tax dollars are simultaneously raising credit card interest rates and paying next to no interest on savings.

Seriously?

But such institutions as citibank are going to keep spending tens of millions (now tax payer dollars) on naming rights for pro sports stadiums? Where in the h*ll am I going to get ANY benefit from these dollars?

If we are going to invest MORE than citibank is worth - than fricking nationalize citibank. Why the h*ll should I owe more than 20K to protect shareholders of citibank when I can't even earn more than 1% on a savings account - and citibank and others are amping up the rates that they charge for credit (even if I don't buy on credit.)

The final days of the bush regime show us that the effort to pillage the 'commoners' to protect the wealthy is in one last HUGE wave - and the vast majority will be pillaged again.

Clearly something had to be done to stabilize the economy (though it isn't clear that this will do the trick), but the method seems to be grossly expensive to the average citizen and provides only more punitive consequences. No value for our individual debt that has just been assigned. Can you afford to pay the government an additional 20K on top of the annual tax bill? Can you afford the additional credit interest hikes coming down the pike EVEN Though these institutions are receiving bailouts?

There seems something seriously wrong with the structure of these bailouts to financial institutions - as to date there is little to show for the huge share of debt being thrust onto taxpayers. Yes there *might* be short term stabilization - but for what -to give these institutions the ability to charge us even more? Charge 20% on a credit card but pay only 1% (or less) on savings account?

Sorry for rambling and ranting - but I hope that Obama shifts directions quickly as the current bailouts seem to laden most individual with more debt while freeing financial institutions to "save themselves" and then turning around and further screwing the very pubic that is bailing them out. WTF?!

:evilgrin:

:spray:

caught one typo - probably still missed the one I should catch.

Nice to see you - I remember discussing your experience with the cleanup with the now minisclue (compared to the dollars being bandied around this time) of the S & L bailout. I am not around as much as I used to be - so have missed your commentary on the current efforts. If you have written about it - I would be much obliged if you pointed me to the direction to where I could read your thoughts.

:hi:

It's promulgated by alarmists and shoddy fucking reporting.

there are no *real* costs to HUGE expenditures. The projection of the ongoing bailouts reaching more than 3 trillion dollars seems believable, when one reads one multibillion dollar deal after another. If you can point me to a source that crunches the dollars so that our individual debt doesn't increase by thousands of dollars, I would be more than happy to read it. I am not one who is rash or extremist, but I have written about my concern for the extreme debt levels being carried by individuals, financial institutions, local, state and the federal government since reading the reports per the enron implosion in 2002. There is a real cost. When then costs become extreme (as has happened in this financial implosion) there is a real debtor. Ultimately that debtor is you and I.

proof of that? btw what about the deficit spending for lil georgie's wars?
Actually I heard that same figure on the tv news, I forget which show as there were a couple of mentions one of 20,000 and a couple of 22,000 on different news programs.
on edit - We lost our jobs to outsourcing in 2002, could not find jobs, let alone ones that paid what we were earning before. Our house hold has taken a 45,000 hit.
I then got sick and am on 800 a month disability, my partner is making half, doing the same job as he was before. We had savings and used that as wisely as we could no new debts or purchases, moved to a cheaper place. The works. When he found a new job it paid much less,
we are not extravagant either. We expected this economic situation and sat down and tried to plan out what to do on what we had. When he went back to work we paid what we owed off.
The truck, a couple credit debts, which were relatively small. When we got through that we started looking for a place we could at least have a garden. Two years ago in Feb we found a place got a fixed rate loan, it was a foreclose 4/3 w 9 acres for well under 100,000 valued at a bit more than that. We could have taken an APR, but since I have never seen an adjustable rate lower, always go up we insisted on fixed, used our VA loan benefit to get it.
Now we could have qualified for a much larger loan and a nicer place. Yea it is a largish house, but needs lots of work. If we have to we have rooms we can rent or have relatives live here with us. My grandmother was supposed to, but passed, his mom is supposed to but likes her independence, for now anyway.
Now we are turning it into an organic farm, working out an Eco Farm plan to use as little and eventually almost no fossil fuels. We have already cut energy use by almost 40% with a more efficient car and low cost projects round here to improve the insulation. CFL and LED lights, Energy star or better appliances as the old ones die, the new front load washer uses 15 gallons of water per load instead of 30-50 gallons per cycle. I could write a book or at least a booklet on things you can do that do not cost much or even cost nothing to save energy.
If we could see this mess coming why in the world does it seem like almost everyone else is staken by surprise?

My phone company is playing games with *new* offers, dropping the rate of my internet access by 2 bucks, but re-instating PER MINUTE charges for long distance (I've had unlimited long distance for 5 YEARS). This company is AT&T. Oh yeah -- Comcast is trying to charge PER MINUTE for land line long distance charges. It looks like a bit of price-fixing is going on in my area.

People really need to start watching these companies like hawks. :grr:

The first was the reality that when I moved I had no time to be home for an installation - and after living via cell phone for more than a year - why get a land line? I eventually got a landline for my home security system - but got the barest bone plan (I don't use that phone for anything but the security system). Per cable, I live in a city and get enough channels (and can always rent) to fill the little time that I have to watch tv. Its just that cable got so expensive that when I realized I watched it for about an hour a day - it seemed a ridiculous expense. If I find that it is an extreme depravation after the switch to digital, than I might reconsider.

www.fancast.com is a great resource for watching online, it works better than a direct feed to a lot of the shows on the three major networks.

We dropped our satellite a long time ago, I don't watch TV and my wife watches her shows online, saves us about $60 a month.

This is bullshit. It's time to petition the government for redress of grievances, or whatever. You know what we found out today? No body gives a fuck about the average American.

you're not the only one who is pissed at what is going on.

these cos. are merely extending their bankruptcy to the rest of the nation. more and more people are losing their jobs - where is the money going to come from to pay for this debt? Tax payers will also be asked to meet unemployment insurance needs - and with more and more layoffs, there will be fewer and fewer tax payers.

it's absurd, when you really think about it.

This is a set up that simply cannot stand. This financial artifice will fall -- and who knows what will come after it.

On pbs yesterday, economic talking heads were saying that Obama will introduce legislation immediately - and this will be related to this economic mess - like FDR's first 100 days.

The truth is that this is a crisis that cannot be abated by the usual "put the burden on the middle class" tactics by corporate cronies.

I myself am outraged. I too live like you.

to the filthy rich buttholes who got us into this mess in the first place. Seems like they are only suffering loss of some percentage of their incomes that still leaves them well off; whereas, Jane Doe is losing her 401k, her job, and her half-ass medical benefits. Plus, she now gets to pay for CitiGroup's $400,000,000 stadium naming rights.

Ain't Amerika wonderful?!

And what is really scary is that Obama just jumped on the bandwagon of "the automakers must present a plan to restructure to get their bridge loan". While they're handing out HUNDREDS of BILLIONS to the financial wizards with no visible strings attached. Where is Obama's demand that Wall Street restructure or reform or even repay?

who caused this disaster in the first place, how about paying each taxpayer $22,000? I'm fairly certain THAT would get the economy rolling again.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth