How bad was it?

When Barack Obama was sworn into office? I know it's been almost two years and time has a way of messing with our memories.

When Bush and Paulson asked for the $700 billion for the banks, was it really that serious? As I recall, the Bush Administration gave half of the $700 billion to the banks and left the other half to the incoming Obama Administration?

They said they needed the money to take care of all the "bad mortgages". But, once they got the money, they did nothing about the "bad mortgages". They are still bad even to this day. They left it up to Fannie and Freddie to take care of those. In other words, you and me, and all the taxpayers of America.

The banks were making no loans to anyone, no matter what kind of credit they had. Employers were worried they could not get credit to meet their payrolls. Remember?

The stock market was above 14,000 at its high point and started dropping like a rock. People's life savings and 401K's were losing all their value. The market went down to about 6500 before it stabilized. By then, trillions of dollars had been lost.

There was an urgency of now. Were you angry? Do you remember why? What was your opinion of Wall Street and the Big Banks? Is your opinion different today? Have you forgotten?

I'm sure it saved civilization. :eyes:

and the depression would have surely happened otherwise.

But you cannot run on that. You cannot prove what didn't happen.

a kinder, gentler collapse awaits. God help us.

we got damn close... but hey, it is a different technical reality.

If we were in a depression people would be hoping for the BAD TIMES that we currently have. Nobody has a clue what a 1929 depression would mean.

But that is neither here or there. Most Americans don't understand this, nor know history, or economic theory, or even basic economic history. If we did... things would be very different...

As history does indeed repeat... and badly.

Bernanke can't shovel the money out fast enough to get any improvement (but then, he won't shovel it where it might do some good, either).

There is no effort to rebuild the economy, to fix the gaping structural defects. There is just a holding pattern, hanging on, quarter by quarter, and whistling past the graveyard....and it's all graveyard.

If you do here is an APP I highly recommend:

bailout stimulus

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bailout-stimulus/id383564675?mt=8

You will be able to actually like follow what money is being spent. You are not being told all you need to know as a citizen.

Of course from the same company the Economy is highly valuable too, for us stats geeks.

But it seems a lot of folks on the left have forgotten also.

things like mercantilism to more modern economic systems... I know for a fact they have no clue.

Americans... no party affiliation... are proudly ignorant. Sad but true, and that is a fact Jack, take it to the bank.

People aren't always looking at the big picture when they are suffering.

CEO's and Wall Street got record bonuses.

It's 9.6% now. Unemployment hasn't improved as much as it needs to, most certainly, but this is a problem Obama inherited as well.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=433&topic_id=443304


The Little Picture: Economy on the Brink.



The cover of the Wall Street Journal September 15, 2008. Two years ago today, the economy teetered on the brink of collapse as the nation’s largest financial institutions began to fail.

particularly for Americans who work for a living.

All of that sovereign debt we took on to save the zombie banks has had a real and negative impact on our ability to spend in more effective ways, and in fact this massive intervention had virtually no impact on M3 (which is what it was specifically designed to do). In other words, the bailouts failed to do much of anything except further entrench the corrupt financial institutions that dominate and suffocate our productive economy.

Could have been done far more cheaply, and with far less risk.

As Krugman says - they did what was needed in the worst way.

which is far more correct.

A stim package should have been double the size it was.

:mad:

You remind me of me trying to find a job; throw shit on the wall and see what sticks. :evilgrin:

And btw, you're doing a fine job! :rofl:

It seems like a lot of folks have forgotten how serious the situation was at that time and how serious it still is. If you are not angry, you aren't paying attention. But, no matter, nothing that a good taxcut won't help fix...

But, let's not be critical. They are doing the best they can do. We just need to have a little faith in the people we send to Washington to vote the people's interests. We just need to be patient.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

you were part of the team.

I kid! :D

They did not want any government input when they decided to give their bonuses. They gave the money back at the same time they were selling their bad mortgages to Fannie and Freddie. The taxpayers back the Fannie and Freddie assets. Nothing has really changed.

They said they needed it for banks and insurance companies who had lost all of their money due to "investing" in mortgage securiteis and derivatives. It was a whole lot worse than just some bad mortgages.

Helping folks with the mortgages was to help those people, the mortgages are worthless AND the real estate is worthless. I shouldn't say worthless, just not worth enough to do anything for the assets of the banks. There's really nothing to be done with real estate to help banks. That's just going to have to work its way through the economy and it's going to take years.