Before become Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson was CEO of Goldman Sachs for 8 years, where he earned about $10 million dollars a year. It seems unlikely his idea of an "emergency" is the same as the rest of the world that *doesn't* have millions of dollars.
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9 commentsReplies
adam said, (107 days ago)
Also, I don't understand how we can even seriously be debating this bailout.
Did we become fascists sometime and I missed the memo? Are we going to selectively nationalize beyond finance and insurance and real estate?
I mean, why stop with banking, housing, and insurance!
OH WAIT LET'S NOT DO HEALTH CARE THAT SAVES LIVES THAT WOULD BE SOCIALIST CRAZYTALK.
Actually fascism would probably be better -- at least they generally took ownership instead of just handing out money for nothing.
America: money for nothing, chicks for free.
adam said, (107 days ago)
Also, wtf, he worked in the Nixon administration. He was assistant to John Ehrlichman.
WHY DO WE LET THESE PEOPLE BACK INTO GOVERNMENT.
WHY AM I SCREAMING AND NOT MAKING ANY NOISE.
MisterDarcy said, (107 days ago)
"It seems unlikely his idea of an "emergency" is the same as the rest of the world that *doesn't* have millions of dollars."
Well my response is:
1. credit crunch > zero growth > no jobs.
2. general market panic > mutual funds break the buck > your 401k is screwed > good bye retirement
3. failing banks > china pulls out of buying T-Blls > US Government defaults on debt > No Jobs + Hyper-Inflation + No Nothing
So yeah it's no fun. And yes, we're potentially postponning the problem with the bailout. But what you going to do? Force a US firesale to sell everything we have to pay debt? Then move into a Hooverville village and set-up a tent? You can pry my 62-inch LCD screen, XBOX, Wii out of my cold dead hands!
And honestly, I dont really care how much CEOs get compensated as long as the mailroom employee gets paid well or gets good benefits and the rich folks are taxed heavily.
adam said, (107 days ago)
1. We already have a credit crunch leading to a contracting economy, but the given the excessive bad loans of the past decade maybe we *should* contract the economy a bit and re-evaluate the leanding risks.
2. I assumed the market was overheated by the time I made any money and avoided the real estate and stock markets. Conservative people like me who assume less risk for less reward shouldn't be forced to bail out everyone else who made the mistake of believe the market was infallible or the absurdity that mortgages for shacks in Ohio for $350k *wouldn't* be defaulted on.
3. I call bullshit. The Chinese and everyone else are too invested in the US surviving to actually cause a run on the dollar and a default on US debt. It would hurt them as much as us.
adam said, (107 days ago)
Also, the fact that we have 401k's instead of real pensions is part of the reason we're *in* this mess. Too much funny money in too high risk bullshit. People shouldn't gamble with their retirements, but that's the accepted practice, and then we cry foul when the roulette wheel ends on double zero.
Maybe if we see this shit fall apart and we don't inappropriately bail it out we'll make *actual* systematic adjustments, like we did in the 30's and 40's.
MisterDarcy said, (107 days ago)
1. True, but you don't get popular (elected) by saying things like that
2. ideally yes, but i think it'll probably come to bite us in the ass in end, considering that no man is an island in the current state of the economy.
3. re: china - yes, that's been the argument of why US Debt is sustainable, but there are enough reports of capital flight of Asian funds from the US to make some kind of steady "diversification" away from the dollar/us debt very real
4. re: 401k. You're damn right, but like I said who wants to tell votes that? Hence, we're stucking having to back all mutual funds in the US with a +50 billion dollar fund.
See the Atlantic Article "It is our fault too":
http://thecurrent.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/candidates-on-the-crash.php
Overall, I agree with you but politics be what they may, no one elected official can safely say such things. C'est la vie.
makeliketova said, (106 days ago)
MisterDarcy: coming from a country with universal healthcare and a government-subsidized version of a 401k system, I don't really think votes are the issue here.
The issue is putting government regulation back into the economy. Stat.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/12/VY36.html