The Government used our money for the bailout. If it rakes in profits, we should get a tax rebate

I found this from Maurice Saatchi on Times Online. It just made sense to me, not he economics of the idea, but the inherent justice that resonates from the concept.

In this economic crisis 25 million people will be exploited. By the end of 2010 they will have lost their jobs. I cannot see that we can go on acting as if nothing has happened. We cannot just have business as usual.

Those who believe that we should, assert that state intervention in failed private enterprises is a temporary tactic, and that the “strategy”, capitalism, will soon reassert itself. A new code of conduct for non-executive directors; a few new accounting standards to deal with off-balance-sheet items; the Governor of the Bank of England’s eyebrows to be more visible when raised; a little tweaking of the tier one capital ratios; a bit more transparency here, a touch more regulation there and everything would soon return to normal.

...As President Obama put it: only the State had the resources to rescue the situation. The State saved the banks. The State saved the mortgage companies. The State would safeguard our future by more regulation. In this crisis, the State was a welcome friend in a storm.

In a nutshell, the government has taken OUR taxes, and invested them in the banks.

If they make a profit, investing OUR money, then any profits should be paid to US, as tax rebates!

Sounds like a plan to me!

reply to post by kiwifoot


Absolutely. The problem is, America seems to have no problem socializing debt while privatizing profit. And as long as aggressive lobbying and expensive 'gifts' are permitted to campaigns and individual senators from lobbying groups or their corporate handlers, that's the way things are going to stay.

Originally posted by '___'eviant
reply to post by kiwifoot

 

Absolutely. The problem is, America seems to have no problem socializing debt while privatizing profit. And as long as aggressive lobbying and expensive 'gifts' are permitted to campaigns and individual senators from lobbying groups or their corporate handlers, that's the way things are going to stay.

I agree, the entire system stinks.

I love this line: "seems to have no problem socializing debt while privatizing profit."

A star for you sir.

But as has been said before, Obama's Government 'is a government Of Wall St, By Wall St and For Wall St.'

it will be a long time (if ever) before this will change my friend!

reply to post by kiwifoot


Not just Obama's government. Unfortunately, we did not magically appear in this mess overnight once he was elected. I pity the man, because even if he wanted change the system is far to corrupt to permit it.

Wall street has owned the White House since before the great depression, and it will until someone decides to blow it up.

Originally posted by D.E.M.
reply to post by kiwifoot

 

Not just Obama's government. Unfortunately, we did not magically appear in this mess overnight once he was elected. I pity the man, because even if he wanted change the system is far to corrupt to permit it.

Wall street has owned the White House since before the great depression, and it will until someone decides to blow it up.

yeah quite true, that wasn't a dig at Obama, but at politics in General.

I think he's doing the best he can within the constraints of the corrupt system he finds himself. But he had to have know, surely?

reply to post by kiwifoot


Why dont we use it to pay down the deficit? Seems like a better idea than just pissing it away.

reply to post by kiwifoot


Sorry Kiwi, that may have come off harsher than I intended.

Sometimes I wonder if they truly do know until they reach the top how corrupt it is. I think its a situation where you see the problems around you, and hope that by attaining the power of presidency you can change it. When you get there, and see the entire picture without any blinders, you truly do realize how futile it is, and that even if you found some way to chop through the centuries of corruption they would kill you before you could.

Obama has young daughters, he is not going to rock the boat out of threats to their safety, let alone his own. It would take a counter-network of ludicrous power and efficiency working on his side to cut out the rotten and evil one that he is forced to work within, and since everyone can be bought bribed or killed, that network is never going to be formed.

Thus will all governments like this go the way of those before them: Decline, collapse, and burn so that another Regime can arise out of the ashes. 2000 years of recorded history and the pattern hasn't been broken.

Wake Up!

Are you guys lost in La La Land?

There is not going to be any PROFIT! They don't even know where most of the money went. Its already GONE. It was nothing but a BANK and CAR company scam.

reply to post by RussianScientists


Ha Ha Ha ROTF Profit, what profit???

You gate a star cause you're smart like me

You, and the author of this article seem to have no clue what is going on.
The banking system is in horrendous shape. They are holding loans with tons of commercial, and residential real estate worth far less than the money that is owed against it.

They are actively avoiding foreclosing on this property because they cannot afford to show the losses. They are going so far as to have subsidiary's of the bank buy the foreclosures at the amount owed to avoid having to show the loss on the banks balance sheet. In other words they are committing accounting fraud to try and deceive stockholders into thinking they are solvent when they are not.

The government by the way is actively letting them get away with the fraud because they can't afford for the truth to come out. They are letting them lie and praying the problem goes away by some miracle - but it won't.

The banks also have tons of credit card debt with charge off rates of 10% and climbing. All of this in an environment where unemployment is not improving. Add to this the fact interest rates will soon be forced higher due to the over extension of government debt which will increase defaults that much more when the option arm rates are forced up, and housing prices are forced down.

The economy has not plummeted yet for one reason and one reason only - massive government spending by taking out more government debt. This will not cause growth, since the country is broke, we will pay for this debt and that will hurt the economy. All the government has done for the last year is effectively max out a new credit card to pay off another one. It does not make the problem go away, it only buys a little time, and makes the problem worse in the long run.

Any 'profit' that the major banks are supposedly earning, with possibly the exception of goldman sachs, since they don't have the loan exposure is accounting fraud used as an excuse to continue to pay management ridiculous bonuses and fleece the sheep dumb enough to buy stock of these zombie banks.

The money we have given to the banks is just enough to allow them to pretend they are solvent.

There will NOT be a profit, and things will be getting much worse, and likely soon.

reply to post by proximo


Big word you missed......


IF they make a profit!

I agree with you, mostly, but trust me, one day we will get out of this financial mess, maybe not five years, ten years, even twenty, but trust me, when I retire- and the banks have flushed the toxic debt from their balance sheets, and the system has been overhauled- then I'm coming for my rebate...again friend...IF!

Funny word that 'IF'.

reply to post by kiwifoot


Hi Kiwi Foot,

We saw the word IF.

THERE WILL BE NO "IF".

It is 100 PERCENT "GONE"!!!!!! THERE CAN BE NO "IF".

I just had to give you a "WAKE UP CALL" my friend. It's nice to dream and you are still dreaming even in your last post. The only way out of the financial troubles that the USA is in, is if there is a TOTAL COLLAPSE of the USA Dollar.

There will be NO paying off of the National Debt, unless the USA can still fool the REST of the WORLD to keep accepting WORTHLESS USA DOLLARS.

The rest of the world that is not included in the AMERICA's realizes that the USA DOLLAR is not worth anything. But the other fact is, there currency is not worth anything either and you can take that to the bank.

People will want to have a currency that is backed by something that is worth something. China is going in that direction. Pretty soon the Chineese Yang will be the dominant World Currency since it is backing it's currency with silver and gold.

Don't worry about you yourself paying any of the National Debt off my friend, all the USA government has to do is crank up their printing presses and saying here is the same old dollar and pass it out to everyone they owe, and then everyone will really realize that it is not worth the paper it is written on.

But... as long and the USA government can get away with passing around something for nothing and suckers believing in it, then they have it good.

Kiwi Foot, you are alright in my book. You are a positive person and we need more positive people like yourself.