No more fairy god mother for US Banks

[Ngck]

now very easily get heart attack. so i stay at the sideline and watch first.

[Genie47]

Its politics. Those that voted no want to send a signal to the banks.

 

There will be another round since Paulson doesn't want to give up. There will be part two and it most likely will pull through.

 

Too much debt? Can always sell one or two aircraft carriers plus planes. Outsource the patrol of the seas and peacekeeping to other countries not in debt.

Edited September 30, 2008 by Genie47

[Acemundo]

i think this is greed at its best plus the crappy remuneration culture in USA and other parts of the world that are creating these financial tsunamis.

 

First, the system places irrational amount of emphasis on short term profits than long term ones. Hence no sales guy, no CEO will really care to differentiate creditworthy borrowers from credit unworthy ones.

 

Secondly, since the free market cannot keep such malpractice in check, it would still have been safely kept on a leash if there is regular review by statutory boards. Unfortunately, until today, most governments believed that banks are free market vehicles and that supervision would have tied their feet rather than helped them

 

Thirdly, there isn't sufficient sophistication of the persons or the mechansims of the banking and related industries in assessing mortgages repackaged and sold as packaged loans, related instruments or swaps in the market. As such, sub-prime mortgages were successfully packages with good ones to deceive such institutions into buying over such packaged loans or underwriting the risks of such mortgages.

 

There needs to a complete overhaul of the entire banking and financial system, especially the remuneration aspects of it. IF people weren't paid so much just for bringing in credit unworthy borrowers, there would not have been a bloodshed as severe as this.

Edited September 30, 2008 by Acemundo

[Vyap]

just sharing 2cts worth.........bailout may not be ideal option .... depending on what econ theory...... many moons ago while in oxford..... some will argue that $700Bn if use for econ activities & development = create multiplier effects... = job creation & wealth creation so depending which side of the fence u are lah!

[Typhoonz]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/29/news/econo...sion=2008092914

[Acemundo]

haha i don't profess to be the resident Economics or Finance Professor in MCF. so far, I have only criticise what I think are the misdeeds of those bankers in USA and did not comment on whether the bailout should be endorsed.

 

Generally I agree with you about the multiplier effect, however that doesn't take into account psychological impact. Will the psychological devastation of various failed giants instead be another big multiplier?

 

On the other hand, I also kind of feel that a bailout may breed more of such irresponsble banks and bankers in the future. let's just say, i am sitting on the fence.

[Caravan]

Monday, September 29th, 2008

The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning ...a message from Michael Moore

 

Friends,

 

Let me cut to the chase. The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door.

 

No matter what they say, no matter how many scare words they use, they are up to their old tricks of creating fear and confusion in order to make and keep themselves and the upper one percent filthy rich. Just read the first four paragraphs of the lead story in last Monday's New York Times and you can see what the real deal is:

 

"Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it.

 

"Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages.

 

"At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees.

 

"Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury's proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions."

 

Unbelievable. Wall Street and its backers created this mess and now they are going to clean up like bandits. Even Rudy Giuliani is lobbying for his firm to be hired (and paid) to "consult" in the bailout.

 

The problem is, nobody truly knows what this "collapse" is all about. Even Treasury Secretary Paulson admitted he doesn't know the exact amount that is needed (he just picked the $700 billion number out of his head!). The head of the congressional budget office said he can't figure it out nor can he explain it to anyone.

 

And yet, they are screeching about how the end is near! Panic! Recession! The Great Depression! Y2K! Bird flu! Killer bees! We must pass the bailout bill today!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

 

Falling for whom? NOTHING in this "bailout" package will lower the price of the gas you have to put in your car to get to work. NOTHING in this bill will protect you from losing your home. NOTHING in this bill will give you health insurance.

 

Health insurance? Mike, why are you bringing this up? What's this got to do with the Wall Street collapse?

 

It has everything to do with it. This so-called "collapse" was triggered by the massive defaulting and foreclosures going on with people's home mortgages. Do you know why so many Americans are losing their homes? To hear the Republicans describe it, it's because too many working class idiots were given mortgages that they really couldn't afford. Here's the truth: The number one cause of people declaring bankruptcy is because of medical bills. Let me state this simply: If we had had universal health coverage, this mortgage "crisis" may never have happened.

 

This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars!

 

I have to stop writing this and you have to stop reading it. They are staging a financial coup this morning in our country. They are hoping Congress will act fast before they stop to think, before we have a chance to stop them ourselves. So stop reading this and do something -- NOW! Here's what you can do immediately:

 

1. Call or e-mail Senator Obama. Tell him he does not need to be sitting there trying to help prop up Bush and Cheney and the mess they've made. Tell him we know he has the smarts to slow this thing down and figure out what's the best route to take. Tell him the rich have to pay for whatever help is offered. Use the leverage we have now to insist on a moratorium on home foreclosures, to insist on a move to universal health coverage, and tell him that we the people need to be in charge of the economic decisions that affect our lives, not the barons of Wall Street.

 

2. Take to the streets. Participate in one of the hundreds of quickly-called demonstrations that are taking place all over the country (especially those near Wall Street and DC).

 

3. Call your Representative in Congress and your Senators. (click here to find their phone numbers). Tell them what you told Senator Obama.

 

When you screw up in life, there is hell to pay. Each and every one of you reading this knows that basic lesson and has paid the consequences of your actions at some point. In this great democracy, we cannot let there be one set of rules for the vast majority of hard-working citizens, and another set of rules for the elite, who, when they screw up, are handed one more gift on a silver platter. No more! Not again!

 

Yours,

Michael Moore

[email protected]

MichaelMoore.com

 

P.S. Having read further the details of this bailout bill, you need to know you are being lied to. They talk about how they will prevent golden parachutes. It says NOTHING about what these executives and fat cats will make in SALARY. According to Rep. Brad Sherman of California, these top managers will continue to receive million-dollar-a-month paychecks under this new bill. There is no direct ownership given to the American people for the money being handed over. Foreign banks and investors will be allowed to receive billion-dollar handouts. A large chunk of this $700 billion is going to be given directly to Chinese and Middle Eastern banks. There is NO guarantee of ever seeing that money again.

 

P.P.S. From talking to people I know in DC, they say the reason so many Dems are behind this is because Wall Street this weekend put a gun to their heads and said either turn over the $700 billion or the first thing we'll start blowing up are the pension funds and 401(k)s of your middle class constituents. The Dems are scared they may make good on their threat. But this is not the time to back down or act like the typical Democrat we have witnessed for the last eight years. The Dems handed a stolen election over to Bush. The Dems gave Bush the votes he needed to invade a sovereign country. Once they took over Congress in 2007, they refused to pull the plug on the war. And now they have been cowered into being accomplices in the crime of the century. You have to call them now and say "NO!" If we let them do this, just imagine how hard it will be to get anything good done when President Obama is in the White House. THESE DEMOCRATS ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS THE BACKBONE WE GIVE THEM. CALL CONGRESS NOW.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/...Date=2008-09-29

[Acemundo]

who shld pay for the bailout? obviously the executives of all the american banks. in good times they rake in so much money from giving sub prime mortgage loans. of course 羊毛长在羊身上 the money to clean up the mess should come from them

[Vyap]

hmm......not sure the amarikan bank executives have combined $700bn...I certainly wld not 1 to bet on that! simple math...how many amarikan local brand name banks (100 ???). In SGP we only hv 4 local/native brand name banks (DBS, OCBC,UOB,POSB). how many u think amarikan have? Even with 100 in local/native amarikan banks... can the CEO each given on ave of $7bn in bonus???!!.... hmm not sure abt it lah!

[Ngck]

if every bank CEO pay drop to $80k per month and their subordinates no more then that then i approve the 700B rescue package

 

too bad i cannot vote

[Acemundo]

haha of course i am not sure if they have....but they sure made a lot of money during the last few years. if there is rescue package, they should contribute as much as possible.