S&L 2.0?

[inteller]

I see what is happening with all of the big investment banks getting bailed out and I have to wonder, did we learn nothing from the 1990s S&L debacle?

[Conan71]

Of course we didn't learn anything from it.  Lenders get in trouble with risky lending vehicles every 7 to 10 years and expect the gov't to bail them out.  That's exactly what consumer bankruptcy reform amounted to a few years ago- another bail-out because banks got stupid and loaned lifestyles to borrowers they could not afford.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Of course we didn't learn anything from it.  Lenders get in trouble with risky lending vehicles every 7 to 10 years and expect the gov't to bail them out.  That's exactly what consumer bankruptcy reform amounted to a few years ago- another bail-out because banks got stupid and loaned lifestyles to borrowers they could not afford.

yeah, but the problem there was they made it harder on the little guy declaring bankruptcy, while corps get to get away almost scott free when they declare bankruptcy.

[we vs us]

Good timing, Inteller.  Here's a satisfying little rant from E.J. Dionne:

quote:
The Wall Street titans have turned into a bunch of welfare clients. They are desperate to be bailed out by government from their own incompetence, and from the deregulatory regime for which they lobbied so hard. They have lost "confidence" in each other, you see, because none of these oh-so-wise captains of the universe have any idea what kinds of devalued securities sit in one another's portfolios.

So they have stopped investing. The biggest, most respected investment firms threaten to come crashing down. You can't have that. It's just fine to make it harder for the average Joe to file for bankruptcy, as did that wretched bankruptcy bill passed by Congress in 2005 at the request of the credit card industry. But the big guys are "too big to fail," because they could bring us all down with them.

Enter the federal government, the institution to which the wealthy are not supposed to pay capital gains or inheritance taxes. Good God, you don't expect these people to trade in their BMWs for Saturns, do you?

from the Washington Post.

[inteller]

What our federal government is doing right now is grounds for a coup.  I can't see how any of this can be legal.  These guys need to crash and burn.  If I lose big on a stock pick no one ever comes and bails me out.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Of course we didn't learn anything from it.  Lenders get in trouble with risky lending vehicles every 7 to 10 years and expect the gov't to bail them out.  That's exactly what consumer bankruptcy reform amounted to a few years ago- another bail-out because banks got stupid and loaned lifestyles to borrowers they could not afford.

yeah, but the problem there was they made it harder on the little guy declaring bankruptcy, while corps get to get away almost scott free when they declare bankruptcy.

I think that's pretty much what I said...

[FOTD]

You all seem upset with the republican government's failure in over sight. Don't you see it's a "Brownie" moment?

The depression about to hit us is the logical result of 28 years of Insane Conservative economic and social policies.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by FOTD

You all seem upset with the republican government's failure in over sight. Don't you see it's a "Brownie" moment?

The depression about to hit us is the logical result of 28 years of Insane Conservative economic and social policies.

well, someone here is insane but I'm not sure it is 28 years old.  Maybe 12 or 13.

[FOTD]

Recession? Depression? Shocking Gallup Poll...


http://allspinzone.com/wp/2008/03/18/recession-depression-shocking-gallup-poll/


"Remember - and don't (ever)let any of your acquaintances forget - what we're experiencing is a direct result of GOP fiscal policies that began during Ronald Reagan's reign, and that were elevated to the high art of social theft during the Bush years."

[FOTD]

"Is 'Conservative Economics' Bankrupt? Is Bear Stearns SH*T in the Woods?"

http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=1617

"WE WERE AGAINST FEDERAL INTERVENTION BEFORE WE WERE FOR IT ... IN OTHER WORDS, AFTER THE LITTLE GUY, BUT BEFORE THE BIG GUY, GETS CRUSHED."


You watch, this will make Enron look like nothing...

[PonderInc]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

I see what is happening with all of the big investment banks getting bailed out and I have to wonder, did we learn nothing from the 1990s S&L debacle?

Um, well...we learned that the S&L crisis was in 1980, not the 1990's.  But, hey, time flies when you're having fun...

[FOTD]

They must be talking about couples outside the OKC oily elite....

"In Oklahoma City, couples planning their weddings are demonstrating uncustomary thrift, forgoing Dungeness crab and special linens. "

Slump Moves From Wall St. to Main St

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/business/21econ.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

"For the country as a whole, recent data shows that the economy is deteriorating at an accelerating rate. "

"In Oklahoma City, Aunt Pittypat's Catering has lost one-fifth of its business in the last two months, as $25,000 weddings are scaled down to smaller affairs.

"People are just being a lot more conservative," said Maggie Howell, a co-owner. "They want crab and seafood, but they're settling for cheese displays."


The economic advisors to Dumbya must be saying "let them eat cheese" as they try to deal with this paralysis...

[FOTD]

U.S. near economic collapse?

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/03/quiet-coup-towards-nationalization.html

"The Federal Reserve and Bank of England denied a report on Saturday that they were in talks over possibly using public funds to make mass purchases of mortgage-backed securities to ease the global credit crisis."

"The Bush administration is resisting the proposal.

"The credit markets themselves are really in uncharted waters," Rubin said. "A lot of trouble could lie ahead."

"To be sure, the Fed's Splashy "Sunday Night Special" bailout of Bear Stearns is rather trivial in both its implications and consequences when compared to Thursday's Quiet Coup,"

[FOTD]

Trillions in losses coming. The derivitives monster...
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20080323/ZNYT01/803230363&cachetime=5

"The Federal Reserve not only taken has action unprecedented since the Great Depression — by lending money directly to major investment banks but also has put taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in questionable trades these same bankers made when the good times were rolling."

"A milestone in the deregulation effort came in the fall of 2000, when a lame-duck session of Congress passed a little-noticed piece of legislation called the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. The bill effectively kept much of the market for derivatives and other exotic instruments off-limits to agencies that regulate more conventional assets like stocks, bonds and futures contracts."

[FOTD]

Why would anybody with half a brain support any person in on the march to war in Iraq. We need a complete overhaul of Congress and the Executive branch. Let's see, that would mean everyone in the Oklahoma delegation!

Connecting all the dots: Economy a victim of war
By Don Rose
March 24, 2008  

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0324rosemar24,0,5397085.story

"Clearly, the economy is a casualty of war."


"We could have assured Social Security and Medicare funding for decades to come with the $3 trillion now down the Iraqi sinkhole, but let's set that aside for a moment.

Just consider the kind of broad economic stimulus we really require to provide jobs during this crisis and help pull us out of recession. We should be making a massive investment in health services, roads, schools and other infrastructure—an investment two or three times the relatively puny $168 billion program recently signed into law.

But we can't afford to invest what we really need because we're so deep in debt. We're at the economic mercy of all the foreign nations who loaned us billions to fight this needless war."

Tax cuts did not help. All they did was put the sheep to pasture. It's slaughter time now.