Be INFORMED

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Government/Economy In Collapse

…And that is exactly what is happening people! Our United States government, with the exception of the chosen few who have been mining the store, is slowly and surely going down straight into the toilet. Guess what? There is nothing that you or I can do about it. Mainstream America is smack dab in the middle of a royal screwing that we are not going to like.
President Obama isn’t going to help any one of us during this so-called economic crisis. That’s not his duty. Obama’s duty is to do the bidding of those Wall Street bankers here in the United States and also to help out the other bankers from around the world who actually are running things on the various continents. Those big, invisible bankers are running not only our government, but they are also running many other governments.
Proof? How about those massive bailouts that former President Bush started handing out to AIG, Bank of America, and others, which or new President Obama has also continued to do?
Think about something else for a second or two also. Economic expansion is the goal of the new administration? Yet they are doing the same thing that Bush and his cronies have been doing for years. The Obama administration is handing trillions of our tax dollars over to the banks and the brokerages with no oversight of any kind thus far. You and I get plenty of lip service about Congressional oversight but we see nothing at this point.
So. Is giving all of our money to the bankers stimulating the economy? I would say NO. It may be stimulating the bankers and their shareholders economy quite a bit, but it is not doing jack crap for the economy in which you and I are living. When was the last time that you got a bonus for being incompetent? We don’t get a bonus, we get a pink slip.
This bull of handing out our tax dollars to the biggest corporations in the country because some are considered to big to fail is just a different variation of those old Reagan “ trickle down “ economic policies. The cash will not trickle down but it will tidal wave across to most of those who have more than they will ever need. What do you and I get? A few crumbs if we are lucky and those very wealthy folks feel a tinge of guilt. Don’t count on it happening.
If any one of those idiots in Washington where really looking out for our interest and the best interest of this country then they would be issuing most of our tax dollars back to you and myself in the form of some very hefty government checks so that we could spend the money on whatever strikes our fancy, thus helping our economy.. You want an economic stimulus Washington, D.C.? Give the cash to mainstream America and watch how quickly we bring America from out of the abyss! Giving the cash to the wealthy is not going to stimulate out economy, as we have already been seeing.     (Continued)

Thursday, April 09, 2009

$10.9 Trillion Economic Rescue Bill?

  That is the figure that  the people over at Reuters have come with thus far.

April 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has launched an
unprecedented array of actions to salvage the economy and
stabilize the financial sector that could put up to $10.903
trillion of taxpayers' money at risk.
However, much less has been disbursed and a considerable
amount of those funds could be recouped.
Following is a rundown of the total amount of known public
funds that could be at risk -- either spent, loaned, allocated
or pledged, based on the programs' upper limits. Some programs
have no specified limit; in these instances, the total reflects
amounts actually pledged, loaned or disbursed.
The total does not include a potential $750 billion in new
aid to banks that was in President Barack Obama's budget plan
on Feb. 26 but not formally requested.
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORP GUARANTEES
* Up to about $1.9 trillion in Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp guarantees for banks, including $1.4 trillion in senior
unsecured debt issued by banks and $500 billion in
transaction deposit accounts typically used by businesses to
pay employees and vendors.
FED SUPPORT FOR MORTGAGE, CONSUMER CREDIT MARKETS
* Up to $1.6 trillion in Fed support for mortgage and
consumer credit markets, including purchases of up to $600
billion in debt and mortgage-backed securities issued by
government-sponsored enterprises. The Fed is now launching,
with U.S. Treasury backing, a $200 billion loan facility to
support consumer credit, such as auto, credit card and student
loans, that is expected to grow to $1 trillion.
FED COMMERCIAL PAPER FUNDING FACILITY (CPFF)
* Up to about $1.8 trillion in Fed purchases of top-rated
U.S. dollar commercial paper under a facility launched in
October. The Fed said it does not intend to buy anywhere near
this amount, which represents what eligible issuers could sell
at up to $1 billion per issuer. As of April 2, the Fed's
holdings in this facility were $249.73 billion.
FED DISCOUNT WINDOW LENDING COMMITMENTS
* Unlimited commitments to lend through discount window to
banks and broker dealers. Credit extended under these
facilities totaled $133.08 billion on April 2.
FED MONEY MARKET INVESTOR FUNDING FACILITY
* Up to $600 billion in Fed purchases of U.S. dollar
commercial paper and certificates of deposit under a Money
Market Investor Funding Facility. As of April 2, the Fed held
nothing in this facility.
FED TERM AUCTION FACILITY LOANS
* Up to $600 billion in Fed Term Auction Facility loans are
offered through twice-monthly $150 billion auctions. On April
2, $467.28 billion in TAF credit was outstanding.
FED TERM SECURITIES LENDING FACILITY (TSLF)
* Up to $200 billion in loans to primary dealers for up to
28 days against all investment-grade debt securities as
collateral. The Fed plans to auction this amount through seven
auctions in April.
FED CURRENCY SWAP LINES
* Unlimited temporary Fed currency swap lines with the
European Central Bank and central banks in England, Japan and
Switzerland. The Fed also maintains swap lines with 10 other
central banks. On April 2, the Fed held $308.79 billion in
foreign currency under these agreements.
OBAMA FISCAL STIMULUS PROGRAM
* Obama signed into law on Feb. 17 a $787 billion fiscal
stimulus plan, including $287 billion in temporary tax breaks
and $500 billion in spending on infrastructure, research
facilities, energy projects and aid to states, the unemployed
and the poor.
TREASURY TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM (TARP)
* $700 billion for the U.S. Treasury to shore up the
financial system: Nearly $200 billion in bank preferred stock
investments, $29.8 billion in aid to automakers, their
suppliers and their finance companies, and $110 billion in
additional rescues for American International Group (AIG.N),
Citigroup (C.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N). For details, click
on [ID:nN05338459].
AIG LOAN SUPPORT (NON-TARP)
* In addition to $70 billion in capital investments under
TARP, AIG has been granted a $60 billion government credit line
and up to $52 billion in loans for assets shifted to the Fed's
balance sheet.
TREASURY-LED PUBLIC-PRIVATE INVESTMENT FUND
* The Treasury intends to launch a public-private
investment fund that would buy $500 billion to $1 trillion in
distressed assets from banks, establishing benchmark prices.
Details are still being developed, but officials have said the
government would provide loans to private investment funds to
buy the assets.
FANNIE MAE/FREDDIE MAC SUPPORT
* Up to $400 billion to backstop Fannie Mae (FNM.N) (FNM.P)
and Freddie Mac (FRE.N) (FRE.P). The Treasury will inject up to
$200 billion into each institution as needed to maintain a
positive net worth. Freddie's capital draw is expected to grow
to as much as $49 billion in coming weeks, while Fannie has
said it will draw $15.2 billion.
* Expansion of loan portfolios to allow Fannie and Freddie
to increase MBS purchases by up to $244 billion since the
government took control of them in September 2008.
* The Treasury has directly purchased at least $106.89
billion in Fannie/Freddie mortgage-backed securities since
September to aid the housing market. It has pledged to continue
these purchases.
HOUSING SUPPORT
* $300 billion for the Federal Housing Administration to
refinance failing mortgages into new, reduced-principal loans
with a federal guarantee, passed in July 2008.
* $25 billion modification costs for loans held directly by
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of a foreclosure prevention
plan that also uses $50 billion in TARP funds.
* $6 billion in grants and "stabilization funds" to local
communities to help them buy and repair homes abandoned due to
mortgage foreclosures.
* $1.5 billion in relocation aid for renters displaced by
foreclosures.
MONEY MARKET FUND GUARANTEES
* Up to $50 billion from the Great Depression-era Exchange
Stabilization Fund to guarantee principal in money market
mutual funds to boost confidence in them. The Treasury collects
premium payments from participating funds.
BEAR STEARNS SALE SUPPORT
* $29 billion in Fed financing for JPMorgan Chase's (JPM.N)
government-brokered buyout of Bear Stearns & Co in March. The
Fed agreed to take $30 billion in questionable Bear assets as
collateral, making JPMorgan liable for the first $1 billion in
losses, while agreeing to shoulder any further losses.
(Compiled by David Lawder; Editing by James Dalgleish)